A monarch travelling in disguise on a secret mission to build an alliance and discover technology to save his empire? What is this, a fantasy novel? No This is the Grand Embassy of Peter The Great. Having already sent some young nobles abroad to study nautical matters, Peter, in 1697, went with the so-called Grand Embassy to western Europe. The embassy compr ... Show More
Aug 17
The Dog Meat General: Craziest Leader in Chinese History
Meet Zhang Zongchang—the warlord so unhinged, so chaotic, that his own soldiers called him "72-Cannon Zhang" while everyone else just called him the Dog Meat General. Standing nearly 6'6" in an era when most Chinese men were a foot shorter, this mountain of a man ruled China's Sh ... Show More
25m 32s
Nov 2021
A Secret Mission to Cross the Pacific
December 1, 1564. Spanish vessels left a secret port in Mexico about two weeks ago. Their goal: to sail across the Pacific and back, charting a new route for international trade, and giving Spain an edge against its chief colonial rival, Portugal. But today, when a storm hits, th ... Show More
32m 5s
May 2025
565. The Great Northern War: Revenge of the Cossacks (Part 2)
After establishing the city of St Petersburg, what was Peter the Great’s next step in his titanic struggle against Charles XII of Sweden, for mastery of northern and eastern Europe? What drastic, brutal action did he take against Poland, to slow the Swedish advance into his terri ... Show More
1h 7m