Patrick's new book Lost Worlds: How Humans Tried, Failed, Succeeded, and Built Our World comes out May 5th! Check out a free preview of the first chapter of the audiobook, "The World As It Was," and learn about the Clovis people and reindeer hunters in Europe at the end of the last Ice Age. Preorder in hardcopy, ebook, or audiobook (read by Patrick) here: ht ... Show More
Apr 9
What I've Learned From Tides of History
Does history repeat itself? Not really, but that's not the reason it's worth studying: Our past is nothing more or less than the collective record of our species' achievements and failures, and it contains a variety of lessons, few of them easy and straightforward. In this episod ... Show More
33m 56s
Mar 26
Babylon, a City for the Ages: Interview with Professor Lloyd Llewelyn-Jones
The city of Babylon has appeared in our episodes time and again over the past several years: as the center of empires, a victim of vicious conquest, a wealthy center of economic innovation, and even the place where Alexander the Great drew his last breath. Professor Lloyd Llewely ... Show More
38m 28s
May 2025
The Dark Side of Ancient Egypt
<p>When people talk about Ancient Egypt, they often focus on the amazing pyramids, mummies, and the advanced civilisation.</p><br><p>At After Dark, we love to explore the grim reality of all of this: what was life like for the people who built those pyramids? What happened if yo ... Show More
41m 41s
Mar 2013
07: Khafra, He Appears Like the Sun
A forgotten heir; a Great Sphinx. Following the death of King Khufu, the throne passed to one of his sons, Djed-ef-Ra. Then, it passed to Khafra ("He Appears Like Ra"). These kings are important, but only Khafra is remembered thanks to his enormous pyramid and the Great Sphinx of ... Show More
37m 4s
Aug 2025
Ashurbanipal: The Last Great King of Assyria
Known as the 'King of the World' and the last great king of Assyria, Ashurbanipal bestrode the ancient Mesopotamian world as a warrior but also a scholar, ruling the great Assyrian empire at the height of its power.In this episode, Tristan Hughes is joined by Assyriologist Dr Sel ... Show More
52m 11s
Feb 2025
Genghis Khan | Survival of the Fittest | 1
As a young boy on the Mongolian steppes, Temujin (not yet Genghis Khan) shows promise. He’s a wily hunter, a skilled rider and a keen falconer. He needs all those skills when his father’s death casts his family into the wilderness. In his fight for survival, he begins to attract ... Show More
47m 52s
Sep 2025
Fall of the Sumerians
Tristan Hughes continues our special series on Great Disasters, journeying back to ancient Mesopotamia with Dr Paul Collins to explore the fall of the Sumerians.4,000 years ago, the great cities of Sumer — Ur, Uruk, Lagash, Girsu — stood as glittering centres of power, crowned wi ... Show More
1h 1m