Empire

Goalhanger
  • 4.7 (1.4K)
  • HISTORY
  • UPDATED SEMIWEEKLY
Empire Podcast
THE EMPIRE CLUB

Bonus episodes, early access and ad-free listening

$6.00/mo or $60.00/yr after trial

How do empires rise? Why do they fall? And how have they shaped the world around us today? William Dalrymple and Anita Anand explore the stories, personalities and events of empire over the course of history.

  1. 3 DAYS AGO

    189. Culloden: Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Last Stand

    Few battles in history have been remembered as powerfully, nor been as mythologised, as Culloden on the 16th of April 1746. Under the leadership of Charles Edward Stuart - Bonnie Prince Charlie, ‘the Young Pretender’ - the Jacobites fight to the death upon Culloden Moor to place their own king on the British throne. Outgunned, outnumbered, the kilted swordsmen and musketeers took on the forces of the Hanoverian George II of England, in what would be the last battle fought on British soil. What would be their fate? In today’s episode, William and Anita are joined again by historian Jacqueline Riding to discuss the Battle of Culloden: one of the most cataclysmic battles in British history.  To fill out the survey: survey.empirepoduk.com To buy William's book: https://coles-books.co.uk/the-golden-road-by-william-dalrymple-signed-edition Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: empirepoduk@gmail.com Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1h 3m

  2. 5 DAYS AGO

    188. Bonnie Prince Charlie: The Young Pretender

    In 1688 the Stuart King James II was ousted from the throne by his daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange, in what is called the Glorious Revolution. This momentous change would set in motion decades of unrest across the British Isles, as the supporters of James Stuart; his son the ‘Old Pretender’ James, and his flamboyant grandson, ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’, both exiled in France and Italy, sought to restore them to the throne of Britain. In Scotland especially, the hereditary home of the Stuarts, rebellion was constantly brewing amongst the Scottish clans, where demands by the English king for them to bend the knee would result in the bloody massacre of Glencoe…finally, with time passing and the momentum of the Stuart cause fading, the Young Pretender; Bonnie Prince Charlie, took up his family’s struggle and sailed to Scotland to reclaim his father’s crown….the storm clouds of revolt were brewing. What would be Scotland’s fate, and indeed that of Britain? In today’s episode, William and Anita are joined by historian Jacqueline Riding to discuss the Jacobites and their fight to restore the Stuarts to the British throne, in the build up to the cataclysmic Battle of Culloden… To fill out the survey: survey.empirepoduk.com To buy William's book: https://coles-books.co.uk/the-golden-road-by-william-dalrymple-signed-edition Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: empirepoduk@gmail.com Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    54 min

  3. 6 DAYS AGO • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Bonus: Class & Caste, Bikini Atoll, and the Hawaiian Flag

    Why did the Brahmins leave India to travel to Cambodia in the first place? If they were taking a spiritual risk it must have been something very important that caused them to go against their own beliefs? How did America end up being in a position to do nuclear weapons testing in the marshall islands and do they still have some form of jurisdiction over there? Why is the Union Jack incorporated into the Hawaiian state flag? Hear William and Anita answer these questions and more in this week’s bonus episode. To fill out the survey: survey.empirepoduk.com To buy William's book: https://coles-books.co.uk/the-golden-road-by-william-dalrymple-signed-edition Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: empirepoduk@gmail.com Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn

    26 min

  4. SEP 18

    187. The Birth of Britain

    With the accession of James I and VI in 1603, Scotland was assimilated into the composite monarchy of the United Kingdom. James, an eccentric, insecure and rambling figure, preoccupied with witches, was himself an alien in his new English court. Even at this stage though, it seems unlikely that the two nations would be legally combined under one parliament. But, with Scottish interests abroad constantly embattled by a lack of resources and the exclusionist attitude of its English neighbours; their flailing economy, and in-fighting, Scottish sovereignty within the composite monarchy began diminishing. As such, many in Scotland began resisting any union of the two nations with increasing desperation, while the English government - under the pro-union Queen Anne - in response redoubled their efforts to see the Scottish parliament subsumed…Was the union of Scotland and England now inevitable, or could a Scottish Referendum in 1706 protect Scottish independence?   In this week’s episode, William and Anita are joined by renowned historian Murray Pittock to discuss the process by which Scotland was brought into Union with England, the condition of the new state, and the long term repercussions of this seminal moment for the future of Great Britain… To fill out the survey: survey.empirepoduk.com To buy William's book: https://coles-books.co.uk/the-golden-road-by-william-dalrymple-signed-edition Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: empirepoduk@gmail.com Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    55 min

  5. SEP 16

    186. Scotland: A Nation in Crisis

    When charting the rise of Scotland’s global influence, few events have been as tragically remarkable as the Darien Scheme of 1698, which saw woefully unprepared Scottish pioneers attempt to settle and colonise the Isthmus of Panama. Scotland during this period was a country bound to England under one crown, originally that of James I and VI, though still in its own right a sovereign state. However, competitive enmity was developing between the two neighbours over the question of empire and their competing ambitions overseas, with England increasingly restricting Scottish trade as a result. This, and a bad harvest saw Scottish finances in dire straits. So it was that the Scottish government, upon the urging of wheeler-dealer businessman William Patterson who himself had been inspired by pirates, decided to fund an expedition to create a permanent Scots colony; New Caledonia, on the thin strip of land uniting North and South America, and so ideally suited for trade. Little did the Scots men, women and children who set out that November - full of hope and enthusiasm - know of the hunger, danger and disease that awaited them… In today’s episode, Anita and William are joined by archaeologist Mark Horton to discuss the disastrous Darien scheme, and the long-term repercussions of this calamitous expedition for the future of Scotland. To fill out the survey: survey.empirepoduk.com To buy William's book: https://coles-books.co.uk/the-golden-road-by-william-dalrymple-signed-edition Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: empirepoduk@gmail.com Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    55 min

  6. SEP 11

    185. The God Kings of Angkor Wat

    In the 9th century AD, two years after the Holy Roman Empire was established in Western Christendom, another world-shaking empire was rising in the east, more powerful even than that of Charlemagne and far wealthier. Born in what is today Northern Cambodia but long before the horrors of the Khmer Rouge, the mighty Khmer empire dominated most of mainland Southeast Asia, stretching as far north as southern China, and far outsizing the Byzantine empire and its peak. In 802 a mighty warrior king, Jayavarman II, united the warring clans, made dynastic alliances and conquered his way to supremacy. His descendants would become God Kings…Meanwhile, in the famed city of Angkor, the divine kings of the Khmers built a temple of such epic proportions and complexity, such beauty, that its fame - like the temple itself - would endure across the ages: Angkor Wat. But what is the truth of Angkor Wat’s origins? And how much does it owe to the example of India? Join William and Anita as they discuss the extraordinary Khmer empire and the divine kings who raised her, illuminating as they do, one of the greatest lost history’s in all the world. To fill out the survey: survey.empirepoduk.com To buy William's book: https://coles-books.co.uk/the-golden-road-by-william-dalrymple-signed-edition Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: empirepoduk@gmail.com Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    55 min

  7. SEP 9

    184. The Buddhist Merlin

    While in the West the legends of King Arthur were being born, a Buddhist tantric magician of immense magical powers - Vajrabodhi - was enshrining himself as the Merlin of first India, and then China. Undeniably one of the most extraordinary characters of the 8th century, Vajrabodhi would play a crucial role in transporting Buddhism to the Chinese court, along with Indian scholarship. After being sent there on an important embassy by his cousin, a mighty Pallava king of Southern India, Vajrabodhi embarked upon a colourful odyssey to rival those of antiquity, meeting, as he went, a young boy who would later become his loyal companion and a powerful sorcerer in his own right; Amoghavajra. Together they were alleged to have sent rain dragons to cure droughts, and concocted spells or mantras capable of destroying the invading hordes of Islam and the Tibetans. What then is the truth of these exceptional monks and their purported “magic”? Did they really conquer rampaging armies and even master the elements? Join William and Anita as they discuss Vajrabodhi, the Buddhist magician of India, and his sorcerer’s apprentice. From wizards, spells, and rain dragons, to invading armies, and the secrets of the previously unexplainable Borobudur… To fill out the survey: survey.empirepoduk.com To buy William's book: https://coles-books.co.uk/the-golden-road-by-william-dalrymple-signed-edition Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: empirepoduk@gmail.com Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producers: Anouska Lewis and Tabby Syrett Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    35 min

  8. SEP 8 • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Bonus: Fantastic Beasts, Arthurian Legends, and Romans in Britain

    Which traces of Roman Britain are linked to the legends of King Arthur? What are the mysterious Pictish Symbol Stones? What happened when the emperor Septimius Severus tried to invade Scotland? What is the Mappa Mundi - the largest medieval map - and what bizarre and mystical worlds and beasts does it depict? Did people really believe that dragons, sea monsters and unicorns existed? What is a chained library? What can historical maps tell us about the changing perspectives of historical people from different parts of the globe? And, which parts of the world have an under appreciated history? Join Anita and William as they discuss some intriguing historical subjects. survey.empirepoduk.com Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: empirepoduk@gmail.com Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn

    21 min
See All (215)

Hosts & Guests

4.7
out of 5
1,369 Ratings

About

How do empires rise? Why do they fall? And how have they shaped the world around us today? William Dalrymple and Anita Anand explore the stories, personalities and events of empire over the course of history.

Information

  • Creator
    Goalhanger
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2024
  • Episodes
    215
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Provider
    Goalhanger Podcasts

You Might Also Like

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes, and get the latest updates.
Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada