Empire: World History

Latest Episodes:

256. Stalin & 8 Days That Changed The World (Ep 1) May 19, 2025

Show notes

How did one peace conference in Yalta in 1945 completely transform the world in just eight days? What was Joseph Stalin's backstory before becoming the Soviet leader? What is the relevance of the Yalta conference to global politics today?

In a brand new series, Anita and William explore how Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin and Franklin D. Roosevelt drew new borders and created new empire-like spheres of influence towards the end of The Second World War. With Europe left in a state of devastation, how did these three men reshape the world over the course of 8 days?

Love History? Get our exclusive History Today deal! You can get started with a 3-month trial for only £5 at https://historytoday.com/empire

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

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Email: empire@goalhanger.com

Instagram: @empirepoduk

Blue Sky: @empirepoduk

X: @empirepoduk

Assistant Producer: Becki Hills

Producer: Anouska Lewis

Senior Producer: Callum Hill

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255. Victorian Narcos: From Opium To Fentanyl (Ep 9) May 14, 2025

Show notes

What led to the Second Opium War? Why wasn’t China colonised by Europeans? When did China start referring to this period as the “century of humiliation” and how did this narrative shape nationalism in the 20th century?

Anita and William are joined by Stephen R. Platt, author of Imperial Twilight, for the final instalment of this series in which they discuss the Second Opium War and how its legacy continues to shape geopolitics today.

Love History? Get our exclusive History Today deal! You can get started with a 3-month trial for only £5 at https://historytoday.com/empire

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

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Email: empire@goalhanger.com

Instagram: @empirepoduk

Blue Sky: @empirepoduk

X: @empirepoduk

Assistant Producer: Becki Hills

Producer: Anouska Lewis

Senior Producer: Callum Hill

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254. Victorian Narcos: Fire Monkeys, Iron Gunships, & Peasant Warfare (Ep 8) May 12, 2025

Show notes

Who won the First Opium War? Why did British troops feel guilty about their role? What treaty led to Britain taking control of Hong Kong?

Anita and William discuss the tragic imbalance of The First Opium War, and the traumatic ways in which Chinese citizens responded to the humiliation it entailed…

You can get started with a 3-month trial for only £5 at https://historytoday.com/empire

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

Email: empire@goalhanger.com

Instagram: @empirepoduk

Blue Sky: @empirepoduk

X: @empirepoduk

Assistant Producer: Becki Hills

Producer: Anouska Lewis

Senior Producer: Callum Hill

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253. Victorian Narcos: Drug Dealers Lead Britain to War (Ep 7) May 07, 2025

Show notes

How did opium traders convince the British Cabinet to wage war on China? Who was Lord Palmerston? Why was China, one of the biggest empires in the world, so ill-prepared for war at sea?

William and Anita discuss how James Matheson launched a propaganda campaign in the British press which led to warships being sent to China, on the way to start The First Opium War…

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

Email: empire@goalhanger.com

Instagram: @empirepoduk

Blue Sky: @empirepoduk

X: @empirepoduk

Assistant Producer: Becki Hills

Producer: Anouska Lewis

Senior Producer: Callum Hill

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252. Victorian Narcos: Selling Drugs To The Queen (Ep 6) May 05, 2025

Show notes

Who was Commissioner Lin and how did he crack down on foreign opium in China? Why was Charles Elliot so hopeless that he landed Queen Victoria with a bill owing millions to drug dealers? What was the Canton factory system and what was it like to live there?

Anita and William meander through the at-times shocking story of how Victorian drug dealers willingly handed over millions of pounds worth of their product to Commissioner Lin, the emperor’s right-hand man.

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

Email: empire@goalhanger.com

Instagram: @empirepoduk

Blue Sky: @empirepoduk

X: @empirepoduk

Assistant Producer: Becki Hills

Producer: Anouska Lewis

Senior Producer: Callum Hill

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251. Victorian Narcos: Flooding China With Indian Opium (Ep 5) Apr 30, 2025

Show notes

Who were Jardine and Matheson? What was life like for workers growing opium in India? How does George Orwell relate to the East India Company opium trade?

William and Anita explore how William Jardine and James Matheson accumulated immense power and wealth by becoming international drug dealers in the 1830s…

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

Email: empire@goalhanger.com

Instagram: @empirepoduk

Blue Sky: @empirepoduk

X: @empirepoduk

Assistant Producer: Becki Hills

Producer: Anouska Lewis

Senior Producer: Callum Hill

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250. Victorian Narcos: Banished From Beijing (Ep 4) Apr 28, 2025

Show notes

How did the Macartney Mission fail so spectacularly? Where does the word ‘kowtow’ come from? Why were the diplomats banished from the Forbidden City?

Listen as William and Anita continue the story of how the Macartney expedition completely failed to develop diplomatic relations with imperial China in 1793.

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

Email: empire@goalhanger.com

Instagram: @empirepoduk

Blue Sky: @empirepoduk

X: @empirepoduk

Assistant Producer: Becki Hills

Producer: Anouska Lewis

Senior Producer: Callum Hill

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249. Victorian Narcos: Doomed Envoy to China (Ep 3) Apr 23, 2025

Show notes

Who led the first British envoy to China? What did Europeans think of China in the 1700s? Why did the diplomats bring a huge planetarium as a gift for the Chinese emperor?

William and Anita continue the story of the build up to the Opium Wars with the story of the doomed British envoy to China.

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

Email: empire@goalhanger.com

Instagram: @empirepoduk

Blue Sky: @empirepoduk

X: @empirepoduk

Assistant Producer: Becki Hills

Producer: Anouska Lewis

Senior Producer: Callum Hill

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248. Victorian Narcos: Sex, Drugs, & The Opium Agency (Ep 2) Apr 21, 2025

Show notes

How did Britain create a violent monopoly on opium production in India in the 1700s? What was the Opium Agency? Why did Chinese elites use opium during sex?

Anita and William discuss how the East India Company competed with other traders to sell Indian opium to China despite it being outlawed…

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

Email: empire@goalhanger.com

Instagram: @empirepoduk

Blue Sky: @empirepoduk

X: @empirepoduk

Assistant Producer: Becki Hills

Producer: Anouska Lewis

Senior Producer: Callum Hill

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

247. Victorian Narcos: Tea Starts A Drug War (Ep 1) Apr 16, 2025

Show notes

How did the British taste for tea start a war over the right to sell drugs to China? When did tea become fashionable in Britain? How did the Dutch bring tea to India?

William and Anita explore how the nation’s love of tea created a domino effect that led to the East India Company running a more prolific international drug cartel than Pablo Escobar…

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

Email: empire@goalhanger.com

Instagram: @empirepoduk

Blue Sky: @empirepoduk

X: @empirepoduk

Assistant Producer: Becki Hills

Producer: Anouska Lewis

Senior Producer: Callum Hill

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices