In 1857 tensions in Company-controlled India came to a head in what the British called 'The Indian Mutiny', now referred to in India as the First War of Independence. The uprising and bloody reprisals sent shockwaves through the Empire, ended the rule of the East India Company, and led to the creation of the Raj.
LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/empire
Twitter: @Em ... Show More
Nov 20
309. Tintin, Nazis, & Soviets
What was the origin story of Hergé, the Belgian illustrator who created The Adventures of Tintin? How did an unlikely friendship transform Hergé’s life and lead him to draw Tintin crying in a comic strip for the first and only time?
Anita and William navigate the turbulent hot w ... Show More
45m 37s
Apr 2022
The Foundations of Modern India
<p>The greatest anti-imperial rebellion of the nineteenth century, The Indian Rebellion of 1857, witnessed mass violence against the British. Ninety years later, Indian freedom was founded on a deadly fratricide that singularly spared the outgoing masters. As a result, India’s fo ... Show More
25m 46s
Aug 2021
India's secret freedom radio
When Indian independence leaders, including Gandhi, were jailed in 1942, activists set up a secret radio station to carry the message of rebellion against British rule. Among the campaigners who worked at the station was Usha Mehta, who was later imprisoned for broadcasting anti- ... Show More
9m 52s
Feb 2024
417. Britain in 1974: State of Emergency (Part 1)
“Who governs Britain?”
Britain in the early 1970’s was a state in crisis, and by 1974, things had never seemed bleaker. Held hostage by the Trade Unions, British industry was flailing. England’s sporting record was atrocious, the economy was tanking and the prospect of a miners’ ... Show More
57m 47s
Dec 2014
Charles F. Walker, “The Tupac Amaru Rebellion” (Harvard UP, 2014)
Charles F. Walker‘s book The Tupac Amaru Rebellion (Harvard University Press, 2014) charts the rise, fall, and legacy of a massive uprising in colonial Peru. Indigenous societies in the Andes labored under heavy taxes, tributes, and discrimination imposed by the Spanish imperial ... Show More
39m 23s
Jan 2022
India's freedom fighter: Subhas Chandra Bose
In 2022, India is holding a series of events to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the birth of the independence campaigner, Subhas Chandra Bose. Unlike Mahatama Ghandi, Bose believed violence against the British Empire could be justified, and during World War Two he supported an ... Show More
10m 10s