Ruby Lal’s new biography of the Mughal Princess Gulbadan brings to life the princess’s remarkable seven-year pilgrimage, from her home in the harem of her nephew Emperor Akbar in India to the holy city of Mecca. Surviving shipwrecks and expulsion orders from the Ottoman Sultan, Gulbadan eventually returned to India where she would go on to write groundbreaki ... Show More
Today
1,000 Days of War in Sudan
For this month’s edition of Global Insights on The Lede, journalist Isma’il Kushkush and international law expert Mutasim Ali join Kwangu Liwewe to discuss the lack of international attention on the war in Sudan, and the prospect of success for peace talks underway in Cairo. Prod ... Show More
33m 45s
Jan 19
Inside the System That Built the Modern World
Sven Beckert joins Faisal Al Yafai on The Lede to unpack how capitalism came to shape our modern world, as set out in his new book, “Capitalism: A Global History,” taking in Aden, Cairo, and Guangzhou along the way. Produced by Finbar Anderson
40m 51s
Jan 12
Inside the Rise of France’s Far Right
The Financial Times journalist and writer Victor Mallet joins Faisal Al Yafai on the podcast to discuss the rise of the far right in France, the prospects of victory for Marine Le Pen’s National Rally, and his new book, “Far-Right France.” Produced by Finbar Anderson
48m 44s
Aug 2024
Gulbadan Begum: princess, explorer, author
Gulbadan Begum was meant to live a quiet life in a Mughal harem. Instead she set off on a daring pilgrimage to Islam's holy cities and, on her return, wrote an extraordinary account of her dynasty. In conversation with Spencer Mizen, Ruby Lal explores the life of a princess who t ... Show More
27m 41s
Mar 2024
Adventures of a Mughal Princess
<p>In the British Library, there is a manuscript copy of the memoir of Princess Gulbadan, the only surviving female-authored memoir from the Mughal Empire. In it, Gulbadan tells her extraordinary story: from growing up in a multi-cultural society, via life in a walled harem, to ... Show More
38m 6s
Aug 2024
Iman Mersal, "Traces of Enayat" (Transit Books, 2023)
Traces of Enayat (Transit Books, 2023) is a work of creative nonfiction tracing the mysterious life and erasure of Egyptian literature’s tragic heroine. It begins in Cairo, 1963. Four years before her lone novel is finally published, the writer Enayat al-Zayyat takes her own life ... Show More
1h 1m
Sep 2024
Kavita Kane on Writing Hidden Voices of Mythological Women: Sita's Sister Urmila & Karna's Wife Urvi
In this episode of Cyrus Says, bestselling author Kavita Kané joins Cyrus to discuss her revolutionary approach to Indian mythology, where she highlights the lesser-known women who played pivotal roles. With eight bestselling novels, including Karna’s Wife (2013), Sita’s Sister ( ... Show More
56m 35s
Nov 2024
204. Babur: The First Mughal Emperor
“To wander from mountain to mountain, hopeless and homeless, has nothing to recommend it” - Babur
Before he became the father of the Mughal dynasty, and the author of one of the most important memoirs in world history, Babur was a provincial young prince in modern-day Uzbekista ... Show More
50m 59s
Dec 2024
208. Humayun Reconquers India
Kicked out of India, Humayun roams the desert as a nomad, accompanied by his young pregnant wife, his court poets, and his library camels. Sher Shah has taken his throne and the Mughal Empire seems as though it will end soon after it had begun. But Humayun does not give up, he se ... Show More
52m 12s
Mar 2022
International, part 5: Hürrem Sultan: From Slavery To Queen (pt 1/2)
Hürrem Sultan, aka Haseki Sultan, aka Roxelana, was born around 1502 and was captured and sold into slavery as a young girl. She caught the attention of the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, and wound up shattering all kinds of glass ceilings for women, the enslaved, and concubines a ... Show More
1h 8m
Jan 2022
Nicholas Jubber, "The Fairy Tellers: A Journey into the Secret History of Fairy Tales" (John Murray, 2022)
In The Fairy Tellers: A Journey into the Secret History of Fairy Tales (John Murray, 2022), Nick Jubber unearths the lives of the dreamers who made our most beloved fairy tales: inventors, thieves, rebels and forgotten geniuses who gave us classic tales such as 'Cinderella', 'Han ... Show More
52m 53s