1979 was the year that set the Islamic world on the path to today. In Iran, the revolution established the nation as a theocracy that sought to defend Shi'ism across the world. In Saudi Arabia, the siege of the Holy Mosque led to the nation embracing a more radical Sunni Islam that it began to export around the world. Almost immediately they began to clash, ... Show More
Nov 20
309. Tintin, Nazis, & Soviets
How did the young journalist with the quiff haircut and his companion Snowy The Dog feature in Nazi propaganda in the 1940s? 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 ... Show More
45m 37s
Nov 2022
259. Iran: England - 'The Little Satan'
On the day of England vs. Iran, Tom and Dominic are joined by friend of the show, Ali Ansari, to discuss Anglo-Iranian relations.
Tune in to hear stories of freemasons, early Iranian analysis of Tories and Whigs, the Anglo-Persian War, Salman Rushdie's fatwa, the ancestor of Br ... Show More
52m 38s
May 2023
Irán 1979, la revolución de los ayatolás - Ep.6 (El Islam, de Mahoma al S.XXI)
Hace cuarenta años, el mundo se vio sorprendido por la primera revolución islámica, que acabó con la tiranía de los Pahlaví pero convirtió la antigua Persia en un brutal Estado teocrático impuesto a sangre y fuego.
Hemos preparado para ti este podcast narrativo documental donde d ... Show More
17m 6s
May 2023
Al-Ándalus y los Califatos, empieza la expansión- Ep.3 (El Islam, de Mahoma al S.XXI)
En apenas unas décadas, el islam medieval forjó uno de los mayores imperios de todos los tiempos, mientras abasíes,omeyas y fatimíes se disputaban la hegemonía y la legitimidad.
El año 661 marca el inicio de una edad dorada para el islam con la irrupción en escena del clan Omeya, ... Show More
17m 28s
May 2024
MeK - Iran's Scientologists
On today's episode, we talk about MeK, an Iranian opposition group operating out of Albania who's entire purpose is to overthrow the Islamic republic of Iran. Also, they're pretty much a cult, definitely a terrorist group, and has been buying up US politicians since the early 00' ... Show More
1h 25m
Apr 2022
20: History of Everything: Saladin
Al-Nasir Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, better known simply as Salah ad-Din or Saladin, was a Sunni Muslim Arab who became the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria, and was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Saladin led the Muslim military campaign against the Crusader states in ... Show More
47m 45s
Apr 2024
Iran & Israel: From Allies to Enemies
<p>On the 1st of April, 2024, a presumed Israeli airstrike destroyed the Iranian consulate in Damascus, killing 13 people. Amongst them was a Brigadier General of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Mohammad Reza Zahedi. In retaliation, Iran launched its first-ever dir ... Show More
38m 55s
Dec 2019
Lyn Julius, "Uprooted: How 3000 Years of Jewish Civilization in the Arab World Vanished Overnight" (Vallentine Mitchell, 2018)
Who are the Jews from Arab countries? What were relations with Muslims like? What made Jews leave countries where they had been settled for thousands of years? And what lessons can we learn from the mass exodus of minorities from the Middle East?
This neglected piece of history, ... Show More
41m 8s