Empire: World History

Latest Episodes:

324. Indian Uprising 1857: Massacre and Revenge in Kanpur (Part 3) Jan 13, 2026

Show notes

In one of the darkest chapters of the 1857 uprising, brutal massacres are met with revenge brutal massacres as the rebellion reaches the East India Company garrison town of Kanpur or “Cawnpore”. Who was General Wheeler and why was the entrenchment he built so fragile? How were the atrocities at Kanpur used to justify gruesome violence against Indians?

In Episode 3 of the series, Anita and William discuss the gruesome history of the Kanpur massacre which lived on in Victorian memory for the decades that followed.

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Email: empire@goalhanger.com

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Editor: Bruno Di Castri

Producer: Anouska Lewis

Executive Producer: Dom Johnson

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323. Indian Uprising 1857: The Rebels March On Delhi (Part 2) Jan 08, 2026

Show notes

How did the mutiny amongst sepoys –Indian soldiers– turn into a national crisis? What ultimatum did the rebels give the Mughal emperor when they reached the Red Fort in Delhi? Why did the British fail to see what was coming?

In Episode 2 of the series, William and Anita discuss how the rebel sepoys travelled along the Bridge of Boats to take the rebellion to Delhi.

For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com.

Email: empire@goalhanger.com

Instagram: @empirepoduk

Blue Sky: @empirepoduk

X: @empirepoduk

Editor: Bruno Di Castri

Producer: Anouska Lewis

Executive Producer: Dom Johnson

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322. Indian Uprising 1857: The Mutiny (Part 1) Jan 06, 2026

Show notes

Secret messages are being passed from city to city inside chapattis, rebellion is in the air. When Indian soldiers in the East India Company army hear that bullet cartridges are greased with pig and cow fat, they take a stand against their British generals. A mutiny begins that will soon explode into an all-out revolution… This is the Indian Uprising of 1857.

How did India’s Greatest Rebellion begin? Why did the dynamic between British and Indian soldiers start to change in the 1850s? How did the British react when the mutiny broke out?

William Dalrymple and Anita Anand launch a brand new series on the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com.

Email: empire@goalhanger.com

Instagram: @empirepoduk

Blue Sky: @empirepoduk

X: @empirepoduk

Editor: Bruno Di Castri

Producer: Anouska Lewis

Executive Producer: Dom Johnson

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321. Exploding Rum-filled Coffins, Anglo-Indian Sisterhood, & Julia Margaret Cameron Jan 01, 2026

Show notes

How did Julia Margaret Cameron - Virginia Woolf's great aunt - become one of the most influential photography artists of her time? Who were the Anglo-Indian Pattle Sisters who charmed Victorian society in India and London? How did the family create a warm artistic oasis where celebrities like Tennyson and Watts loved spending time?

William is joined by art historian Emily Burns to discuss the life of his relative, the pioneering photographer, Julia Margaret Cameron.

For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com.

Email: empire@goalhanger.com

Instagram: @empirepoduk

Blue Sky: @empirepoduk

X: @empirepoduk

Producer: Anouska Lewis

Assistant Producer: Alfie Norris

Executive Producer: Dom Johnson

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320. Photos That Shook The World: Exposing Leopold in The Congo Dec 30, 2025

Show notes

How did one woman take on the brutal colonial King Leopold II in Congo with her camera? Who was Alice Seely Harris and why should we remember her name? How did she smuggle her photographs of the horrors going on in the Congo out of the country?

Anita and William discuss the life of Alice Seely Harris, the mouse who stood up to a lion using the power of her Kodak Camera…

For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com.

Email: empire@goalhanger.com

Instagram: @empirepoduk

Blue Sky: @empirepoduk

X: @empirepoduk

Producer: Anouska Lewis

Assistant Producer: Alfie Rowe

Executive Producer: Dom Johnson

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319. Heist of St Nicolas: The Medieval Mafia Who Stole Santa (Part 2) Dec 25, 2025

Show notes

Who were the Italian sailors who stole the bones of St Nicolas from his church in Turkey in 1087? How was the mythology of St Nicolas combined with Germanic pagan stories of Odin riding a white horse accompanied by ravens? How did polar-mania and Coca Cola advertising transform Dutch traditions around St Nicolas into the Santa Claus we know today?

William and Anita are joined once again by Sam Dalrymple to discuss his original research on the epic Heist of St Nicolas…

For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com.

Email: empire@goalhanger.com

Instagram: @empirepoduk

Blue Sky: @empirepoduk

X: @empirepoduk

Producer: Anouska Lewis

Executive Producer: Dom Johnson

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318. Heist of St Nicolas: Raiding Santa's Tomb (Part 1) Dec 23, 2025

Show notes

The original Santa Claus, Saint Nicolas, was a real bishop from Myra in modern-day Turkey, whose tomb there was popular with pilgrims, but 700 years after his death, a group of sailors decided to steal his magic bones…

What myth about St Nicolas first associated him with gift-giving? How did his story get merged with the Greek god of the seas, Poseidon? How were the tombs in his hometown connected with Ancient India?

Anita and William are joined by Sam Dalrymple to discuss his original research on the build up to the heist of St Nicolas’ body…

For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com.

Email: empire@goalhanger.com

Instagram: @empirepoduk

Blue Sky: @empirepoduk

X: @empirepoduk

Producer: Anouska Lewis

Executive Producer: Dom Johnson

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317. Churchill's Photographer: From Escaping Genocide to MLK Dec 18, 2025

Show notes

Who was Karsh and how did he become one of the most famous portrait photographers of the 20th century? How did Karsh escape from the Armenian Genocide as a child? What was the story behind some of the most famous photographs of Churchill, Einstein, Castro, Queen Elizabeth II, and Martin Luther King?

Anita and William explore the fascinating life of one of the photographers of Empire, Yousuf Karsh.

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Email: empire@goalhanger.com

Instagram: @empirepoduk

Blue Sky: @empirepoduk

X: @empirepoduk

Producer: Anouska Lewis

Assistant Producer: Alfie Norris

Executive Producer: Dom Johnson

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316. Hitler's Photographer: Nazi Secrets, Eva Braun, & Escaping Justice Dec 16, 2025

Show notes

Who was Heinrich Hoffman and how did he use his photography to promote Adolf Hitler and Nazism? When did Hoffman introduce Hitler to Eva Braun? What lies did he tell a Jewish journalist who interviewed him in 1950?

Anita and William discuss the life of Hitler’s photographer as part of a series on Eyes on Empire - exploring the influential people behind the lens who captured those in power.

And of course, you can still join for yourself any time at empirepoduk.com or on apple podcasts.

Email: empire@goalhanger.com

Instagram: @empirepoduk

Blue Sky: @empirepoduk

X: @empirepoduk

Producer: Anouska Lewis

Assistant Producer: Alfie Rowe

Executive Producer: Dom Johnson

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315. Controversy, Colonialism, & V.S. Naipaul Dec 11, 2025

Show notes

Who was V.S. Naipaul and why was he so controversial? How did Naipaul alter the way in which writers and readers saw the world, and in particular how they saw Trinidad? Why did he make an enemy of Salman Rushdie?

Anita and William are joined by Ben Moser to discuss the life of V.S. Naipaul.

And of course, you can still join for yourself any time at empirepoduk.com or on apple podcasts.

Email: empire@goalhanger.com

Instagram: @empirepoduk

Blue Sky: @empirepoduk

X: @empirepoduk

Producer: Anouska Lewis

Assistant Producer: Alfie Rowe

Executive Producer: Dom Johnson

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