Stay ConnectedEvery headline has a history.
Bianca Nobilo uncovers the hidden historical forces behind geopolitics, war, myth, and scandal to expose how power really works and why the past is weaponised.
Whatever is happening in the world, History Uncensored asks: how did we get here?
Who are the Houthis, and how did they become powerful enough to challenge Saudi Arabia and disrupt global trade?
Following the attack on Riyadh airport, Bianca Nobilo and Tim Marshall examine how Yemen’s long running war has become a major regional and global security threat.
From Yemen’s strategic position on the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb strait to the origins of the Houthi movement and its long running rivalry with Saudi Arabia, we explore why instability on the kingdom’s southern border poses such a significant security threat.
(00:00:00) Bianca and Tim discuss "Why now?"
(00:02:01) How ancient geography shapes today
(00:04:50) Look to history to understand the Houthis
(00:08:30) Enter British empire
(00:12:49) An Iranian proxy?
(00:18:26) Path to resolution?
(00:20:39) Asymmetric warfare
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The news is out… Tim Marshall joins Bianca Nobilo as co-host of History Uncensored!
In this brand-new episode, Tim and Bianca explore the strange, dramatic and often terrifying history of aircraft hijackings.
Following the attack aboard a Flydubai flight travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv on September 30, they look back at the origins of hijackings, the political motives behind them and their evolution into a defining feature of modern terrorism.
From the Cold War and Russia to 9/11, Tim and Bianca revisit some of the most notorious hijackings in history.
(00:00:00) Hijackings 'as old as air travel'
(00:00:40) BIG NEWS - welcoming Tim Marshall
(00:01:19) Flydubai to 9/11 - History of hijacking
(00:02:19) Hijacking's origins
(00:04:40) Before hijacking there was piracy
(00:08:39) Baron Franz Nopcsa
(00:10:44) First recorded aircraft hijacking??
(00:12:47) Terrorism was not always the reason
(00:14:27) D.B. Cooper mystery, 1971
(00:16:24) Hijackings reflect geopolitical tension
(00:22:44) The changing face of hijacking
(00:24:57) Flydubai incident 2026
(00:27:34) Terrorism as theatre and propaganda of the deed
(00:34:14) Dawson's Field hijackings
(00:37:58) How will historians view the Flydubai attack?
(00:42:13) History Uncensored's goal
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How does Vladimir Putin use history to justify Russia’s war in Ukraine?
In this episode, Bianca Nobilo speaks to Bill Browder about the Kremlin’s use of historical narratives and how Putin’s version of Russia’s past has helped frame the war as a fight against fascism, Nazism and threats to the Russian people.
They explore why Putin needs these myths to sustain support for the war, and whether the West should pay closer attention to the history leaders invoke before they act.
(00:00:00) How history is wielded as a weapon
(00:02:37) History, manipulation, propaganda
(00:04:50) Putin understands history is emotive - Bill Browder
(00:07:41) Do Putin’s historic narratives contradict?
(00:10:24) 'We need to start paying a lot more attention'
(00:14:05) Would Putin stop at Ukraine?
(00:15:55) Bill Browder on being expelled from Russia
(00:19:47) Do Russians believe Putin's version of history?
(00:23:23) A warning to world leaders
(00:25:23) Could Russia use nukes? What does history suggest?
(00:28:17) Bianca's goal
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On September 24, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, the leaders of two global rivals will meet at the White House. But to understand why this meeting matters, we have to go back to 1985, when Ronald Reagan welcomed China’s leader Li Xiannian to Washington.
Back then, the balance of power looked completely different. 41 years later, Trump and Xi meet in a world of trade wars, Taiwan tensions, AI competition and global conflict.
Bianca Nobilo is joined by American political scientist Ian Arthur Bremmer to take a look at the history of the world’s biggest superpowers.
(00:00:14) Trump and Xi - leaders and legacy
(00:00:51) How China became a U.S. rival
(00:03:34) How the past shapes these leaders - with Ian Bremmer
(00:05:54) How leaders use and control history
(00:11:05) Term limits v decades
(00:15:38) Taiwan - how important is this moment?
(00:19:04) The Thucydides Trap
(00:23:16) AI, Cuban Missile Crisis, and mutually assured destruction
(00:27:30) This moment in the broad sweep of history
(00:29:34) Bianca's goal
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Artificial intelligence could change humanity forever. But the history of AI began thousands of years before computers, machine learning and ChatGPT existed.
In just a few decades, humans have gone from mechanical computers and early ideas about machine intelligence to powerful AI systems capable of generating text and images, writing code, solving complex problems and performing tasks once thought to require human intelligence.
But how did we get here?
Bianca Nobilo explores the fascinating 2,000 year history of artificial intelligence, alongside AI engineer George Zarkadakis.
(00:00:05) AI - millennia in the making
(00:00:29) From Talos to Turing... to total extinction?
(00:04:23) Theory of Mind - with George Zarkadakis
(00:05:55) Gods and demons - When does fear creep in?
(00:08:14) Scientific foundations
(00:11:51) Sex, war and robots
(00:15:12) Is AI conscious?
(00:16:56) Consciousness v intelligence
(00:22:17) "We don't know what's happening inside those machines"
(00:26:39) Human extinction in the coming decades - is it likely?
(00:32:40) Does AI have a survival instinct?
(00:36:15) 'Mutually assured destruction' and Cold War parallels
(00:37:41) Is there an off switch?
(00:40:37) Will humanity view this as our greatest mistake?
(00:42:30) Why it’s so hard to stop research
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Attorney and former United States Ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton joins Bianca Nobilo to reflect on the decisions that followed September 11 and how they reshaped American foreign policy and the world. From NATO’s historic invocation of Article 5 and relations with Russia, to the rise of China and the conflict with Iran, Bolton examines the choices that brought America to this moment. Is Donald Trump an aberration, or is America’s post Cold War foreign policy tradition disappearing? And if Bolton could return to September 10, 2001, what would surprise him most about the 25 years that followed? (00:00:00) 9/11 - 25 years on (00:02:46) America under attack - with John Bolton (00:04:16) Cold War rivals briefly align (00:07:18) The only time NATO invoked Article 5 (00:11:05) 'I don't stand by all the actions taken' after 9/11 - Bolton (00:13:47) Did fear drive decisions on Iraq? (00:20:41) Was America distracted as China rose? (00:22:46) Differences with Trump (00:26:50) 'Trump is an aberration' (00:29:00) 'The end of history'
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Britain was once the world’s dominant global power. A relatively small island nation built an empire spanning nearly a quarter of the Earth’s land, controlled vital trade routes, and became the centre of the Industrial Revolution. But how did Great Britain punch so far above its weight - and when did that extraordinary system of power actually break? The UK today remains a nuclear power, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, a major NATO and a country with enormous diplomatic, cultural and educational reach. Is that enough to remain a consequential global power or is Britain increasingly living off the legacy of a power it no longer possesses? Bianca Nobilo explores the rise and decline of British power with historian David Reynolds, Emeritus Professor of International History at Cambridge and author of Britannia Overruled. (00:00:00) Britain - a historical anomaly (00:04:24) 'Accidental empire' - Historian David Reynolds (00:06:01) How a tiny island became a global power (00:09:55) The world's strongest navy (00:12:02) Empire as a "multiplier" of British power (00:14:00) Was it ACTUALLY a superpower? (00:18:19) When does status start to decline? (00:21:51) How Churchill shaped how Britain sees itself (00:24:56) America and Britain - an 'inconceivable' relationship (00:31:03) Lost influence (00:34:57) Brexit and Britain's new identity (00:37:45) Bianca's goal
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Across Europe, migration is increasingly becoming a source of geopolitical tension and in some cases: a tool of state power. In recent weeks, Europe’s borders have produced extraordinary scenes: around 72,000 people crossed from Morocco illegally into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, while a record 230 people reached Britain in a single inflatable boat. Meanwhile, tunnels have been discovered beneath the borders between Belarus and its EU neighbours, amid accusations that Russia and its allies are exploiting migration as part of a wider hybrid strategy. But how much of this is deliberate and how much is simply the result of conflict, economic pressure, criminal smuggling networks and misinformation? Bianca Nobilo is joined by historian Peter Frankopan to dissect how migration is being used as a weapon in Europe. (00:00:00) Ceuta, Russia and migration as a weapon (00:02:17) An unprecedented era? - with Peter Frankopan (00:04:02) Migration as a tool - what history tells us (00:05:53) How unique is what's happening today? (00:09:12) When do attitudes start to change? (00:12:30) Age of information (00:15:22) Why Ceuta? History and geography combine (00:18:42) Attempts to destabilise Europe? (00:21:31) Are liberal democracies more vulnerable? (00:23:42) Key lessons from history
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For decades, Israel and Iran have been portrayed as bitter enemies - but their history tells a far more complicated story. Long before today’s war, Iran and Israel were strategic partners, trading oil, weapons, intelligence and military technology - even after Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. Their relationship stretches back much further, through the Persian Empire, Cyrus the Great and centuries of Jewish life under Persian rule. So how did two countries that once secretly armed and relied on each other become existential enemies? Bianca Nobilo traces the unlikely history of Iran and Israel; from the ancient world to the secret alliance of the 20th century, the Iranian Revolution, the Iran-Iraq War and the geopolitical upheavals that ultimately transformed cooperation into confrontation. Joining Bianca to discuss all of this and more is Iranian-Swedish writer and political analyst Trita Parsi. (00:00:00) Israel and Iran - allies to enemies (00:00:43) A relationship millennia in the making (00:06:47) Uncensoring the history with Trita Parsi (00:10:17) Corrupting history "for their own purposes" (00:12:23) What changed? Soviet Union & Saddam Hussein (00:14:48) State of Israel is formed (00:17:53) Cooperation and collaboration (00:21:43) What changed after the Islamic Revolution (00:24:59) Iran-Contra affair (00:27:45) U.S. role in today's hostile relationship
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Benjamin Netanyahu is one of the most consequential - and controversial - political leaders of the 21st century. To supporters, he is "King Bibi," the leader who has kept Israel secure through decades of war and regional instability. To critics, he is responsible for prolonging conflict and undermining the prospects for peace. He also faces an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity - allegations he rejects, and which Israel disputes. No leader has shaped modern Israel for longer. Born just 17 months after the creation of the State of Israel, Netanyahu has governed the country for nearly 19 years - almost a quarter of its history. But to understand the decisions he is making today in Gaza, Iran, the United States and on Israel's future, you first have to understand the history that shaped him. Bianca Nobilo is joined by Israel Correspondent for The Economist Anshel Pfeffer to uncover the Israeli Prime Minister's past.
00:00 Netanyahu 'wants to write his own history'
00:38 Bibi, "King of Israel", "Butcher of Gaza"
02:52 Netanyahu's upbringing - with Anshel Pfeffer
04:46 Death of his brother Yoni
08:48 Made in America?
11:33 Views on Palestinians and Palestine
15:53 Churchillian complex - "A really severe case"
19:09 Iran - the external enemy
26:08 Does ego shape his global role?
30:18 Will history remember him kindly?
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