Yesterday

271. Canada’s Dark Secret: Stolen Children, Unmarked Graves, & Survival Stories (Ep 5)

What was life like for Indigenous children forced to attend Residential Schools in Canada in the 1800s and 1900s? When was the final residential school closed? Which grim discovery in 2021 forced non-Indigenous Canadians to grapple with this dark history? Listen as Anita and Will ... Show More

51m 29s

Jul 7

270. The Day The Brits Burned The White House (Ep 4)

Why did Washington invade Quebec? How did the US fail to take the Canadian territories during the Revolutionary Wars? And why did the British burn the White House? Anita and William are once again joined by Maya Jasanoff to discuss how the American Revolution birthed Canada. ---- ... Show More

53m 15s

Jul 2

269. Colonising Canada: The Truth Behind ‘The Last of The Mohicans’ (Ep 3)

Is there any truth in the film 'The Last of The Mohicans' and how did the French and Indian War that it's based on change the make-up of Canada? Why was the Seven Years War the first truly global war? What is the connection between the forced removal of the Acadians in Canada and ... Show More

59m 58s

Jul 2010

Ep. 6 | The Opium War

In this week’s episode, we give an overview of the First Opium War, one of the most humiliating events in Modern Chinese history. From this event that culminated in the first of many unequal treaties in 1842, China began a steady downhill slide and suffered a multitude of setback ... Show More

33m 52s

Jul 2024

The Mighty Ashanti: Rival to the British Empire

At the end of the 17th century, a small clan - the Akan - in West Africa began growing into what would later become the powerful Ashanti Empire. The state grew rapidly in both wealth and land until it spanned most of modern day Ghana, the Ivory Coast, and Togo. Luke Pepera join ... Show More

29m 42s

Sep 2024

British Brides for American Tobacco: A Tudor Trade

In 1621 the Virginia Company of London put out a call for young, handsome and honestly educated women to become wives for the planters in its new colony in Jamestown. Hopeful husbands were supposed to pay for their English brides in best leaf tobacco. But who were the women who m ... Show More

34m 47s

May 2024

Origins of the Silk Road

The Silk Road was a pivotal ancient exchange network that connected the grassy steppes of Asia and the Middle East with the western world. The passage of goods, ideas and technologies along this bustling commercial artery was crucial to the development of the ancient East and Wes ... Show More

43m 4s

Jul 2024

The Dark History of Bearded Ladies & the Victorian Freak Show

What would it have really been like to visit a Victorian freak show? Were "freak performers" exploited, or empowered in a world that would likely have otherwise rejected them? And has the Victorian freak show ever really gone away? Joining Kate today is John Woolf, author of The ... Show More

39 m

Oct 2024

Alexander the Great, the End of the Persian Empire, and the Descent into India

Alexander the Great's campaigns didn't end once he had defeated the Persian king Darius III and conquered the heart of his empire; he went still further, into the vastness of the Iranian Plateau and Central Asia, and then south into India.Patrick's book is now available! Get The ... Show More

40m 30s

Aug 2024

The Cocaine Craze in Victorian Britain

Many things may come to mind when you hear the word 'cocaine' - and we'd wager that the last thing on that list would be the Victorians. But as it turns out, the Victorians were avid cocaine users, whether it be to remedy ailments and injuries, give them an edge in competitive sp ... Show More

30m 7s

Oct 2024

The Silk Road: Where Cultures Collided

At the edge of the Gobi Desert, Dunhuang was once a bustling oasis on the famous Silk Road connecting China and the Mediterranean. For more than 1000 years, Dunhuang was an important pilgrimage site and a cultural melting pot where ideas, technologies and art flowed freely - enco ... Show More

33m 10s

Feb 2025

20. Death on the Thames: An Assassin in London (Ep 1)

How do you get away with murder in the heart of London? And which weapon would you choose to avoid arousing suspicion? Georgi Markov was a Bulgarian dissident writer wanted by the Eastern Bloc for spreading anti-regime messaging across Western Europe. He'd fled to London and begu ... Show More

43m 33s

Jun 2024

#484 | Robert Fortune: The Man Who Stole Tea From China

Robert Fortune, a Scottish botanist, pulled off one of history's greatest acts of corporate espionage: stealing the secrets of tea production from China. In this episode we'll explore his daring adventure, the fascinating world of 19th-century tea trade, and how his actions f ... Show More

20m 27s

248. Victorian Narcos: Sex, Drugs, & The...