History & Geopolitics

Anton Jäger

Ezra Klein speaks with historian Anton Jäger about "hyperpolitics," the term from Jäger's book "Hyperpolitics: Extreme Politicization Without Political Consequences." Jäger argues that the last decade's political volatility — movements like Trumpism and wokeness saturating the culture and then evaporating or generating backlash — is best understood as extreme engagement disconnected from durable institutions. Even with high voter turnout and mass protests, institutional trust is low and institutional relationships have decayed. The conversation examines how this condition emerged and what it would take to create lasting political change.

Katrina Navickas

Throughline examines the historical Luddite rebellion, a 19th-century labor movement that fought industrial automation, to understand modern anxieties about artificial intelligence. The episode responds to a listener's question about what the Luddites' struggle for human agency can teach us in the face of AI-driven job displacement. Historian Katrina Navickas provides context on the political and social pressures that drove skilled workers to destroy machinery.

Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones

Dan Snow sits down with historian Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, author of 'Babylon: The Mother of All Cities', to explore the real story of Babylon beyond its biblical reputation. The conversation reveals Babylon as history's first true megacity—an ancient metropolis so culturally influential that even conquering empires adopted Babylonian customs. Llewellyn-Jones explains how Babylon's portrayal in the Bible as the ultimate city of sin has overshadowed its genuine historical significance for 2,600 years.

Yangwen Zheng, Rana Mitter, Ronald Po

Misha Glenny selects this 2024 episode from the In Our Time archive, in which Yangwen Zheng, Rana Mitter, and Ronald Po discuss Empress Dowager Cixi. Cixi rose from low-ranking concubine to the most powerful figure in the late Qing court, ruling for nearly fifty years first through her young son and then through another child emperor. Her reign coincided with repeated humiliations of China by Western powers and Japan, and she faced the challenge of modernizing the empire. While she had opportunities to drive reforms, Cixi often obstructed or delayed them when they threatened the Qing dynasty or her own interests. She has been personally blamed for many of China’s setbacks, though historians debate how much responsibility was truly hers.

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook continue their series on the fall of the Roman Republic. They explore first-century BC Rome, the rivalry between Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla, the Social War, and the threat of Germanic tribes along the frontier. The episode frames the northern threat as an existential crisis for Rome and traces how Marius' defensive wars set the stage for Sulla's rise.

Nicholas Lemann

The SAT has shaped college admissions for a century. This episode traces its origins from an Army intelligence test to the central gatekeeper of American higher education, examining who decided it was the best way to measure potential and how it became so entrenched. Historian Nicholas Lemann explains the test's surprising military roots and the vision of the man who transformed it into a tool for building a new American elite.

Rick Rubin

Ezra Klein revisits his 2023 conversation with legendary music producer Rick Rubin about his book "The Creative Act: A Way of Being." Rather than recounting studio stories, Rubin offers a spiritual guide to cultivating the receptive mind states that allow real creativity to emerge. The discussion explores how to open yourself to the world, learn to trust your own taste, and resist the forces that fragment attention—a message that feels even more urgent in an era of AI-generated content.

Andrea Miele, Tuomas Holmberg

Andrea Miele (Beezie) and Tuomas Holmberg (Collector Crypt) join Empire to discuss why tokenized collectibles are exploding. They explore how crypto is transforming the antiquated collectibles market by adding liquidity, instant buybacks, and gamified commerce. The conversation covers lower fees, sustainable token economics, and whether this model can expand beyond trading cards.

Dan Jones

Dan Snow and Dan Jones team up to explore some of the world's most fascinating historical sites. They discuss the mysterious Templar tunnels in the Old City of Acre, the last moments of Admiral Nelson on HMS Victory, and the archaeological evidence for Troy at Harselik. They also touch on Easter Island and the signing of the Magna Carta at Runnymede. This episode is a tour of iconic places filled with rich histories.

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook begin a series on the Roman Civil War, starting with the rise of Gaius Marius. The episode follows Marius from total obscurity to fame, fortune, and political power, and asks why that ascent was so dangerous. It sets up the existential threat facing Rome in the first century BC and the question of whether Marius would be the man to confront it. The opening installment frames the coming struggle for hegemony between two titanic Roman generals and politicians in an age of tumult.

The hosts debate whether crypto’s recent rebound reflects a shift from traditional valuation to narrative-driven markets. They examine the underperformance of Pump relative to Hyperliquid, Ethena’s tokenomics reset, and the sustainability of AI assistant hype. The conversation also covers whether FOMO can onboard mainstream users and the convergence of trading and social media. A lively discussion on the current state of crypto and the power of market stories.

Robin Wigglesworth

Ezra Klein talks with Robin Wigglesworth of the Financial Times about the recent rise in U.S. Treasury yields and its implications. Wigglesworth explains why yields have been climbing to levels not seen consistently since before the Great Recession, and why that matters, given the Treasury market's role as the bedrock of the global economy. The conversation covers the Trump administration's erratic and ultimately futile efforts to push yields down, and explores what continuing high yields would mean for mortgages, consumer credit, the stock market, and the broader economy.

Dan Snow explores the birth of aerial warfare in World War I, tracing how fragile reconnaissance planes rapidly evolved into lethal fighter aircraft. The episode details the emergence of legendary aces like the Red Baron, the fierce dogfights that defined the air war, and the brutal conditions faced by the young pilots who fought and died in the skies. Listeners get a vivid picture of the first war in the air and the astonishing speed of technological change.

Richard Corfield, Joe Cann, Lynne Frostick

In this archive edition of In Our Time, Misha Glenny revisits a January 2008 discussion on plate tectonics, the revolutionary theory that the Earth's outer shell is divided into moving plates. Richard Corfield, Joe Cann, and Lynne Frostick explain how this idea solved long-standing geological puzzles—from the matching shapes of Africa and South America to the distribution of fossils across oceans—and revealed a planet in constant, slow motion where continents drift, mountains rise, and ocean basins widen. The conversation highlights how plate tectonics reshaped our understanding of earthquakes, volcanoes, and the dynamic relationship between the Earth's interior and its surface.

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook discuss Bloody Sunday, the violent events of 30 January 1972 in Northern Ireland. The episode examines how the day erupted, including the terrible violence that immediately preceded it. It then covers the consequences of that day and the final attempt at peace in Northern Ireland. This continues the show's series on the Troubles.

Judith Hawley, Markman Ellis, Jonathan Morris

Misha Glenny revisits an In Our Time programme first released in December 2019 on the history and social impact of coffee. With Judith Hawley, Markman Ellis, and Jonathan Morris, the discussion traces coffee from its origins in Ethiopia through the Ottoman Empire to Western Europe. It examines how 17th-century coffee houses kept patrons awake and animated, helped spread ideas and influenced culture, and how coffee became a colonial product grown by slaves or indentured labour. The programme also covers the shift from arabica to robusta, Dutch and French trade, and Brazil's rise as a major producer serving the United States in the 19th century.

Dan Snow explores the court of Kublai Khan through the diary of Marco Polo. The episode follows Polo's four-year journey across deserts, mountains and oceans to reach the heart of a Mongol empire that dwarfed the other powers of its age. It focuses on the scale, wealth and spectacle of the Khan's court, and the contrast between that medieval superpower and the world of medieval Europe.

Alison Clarke, Bob Kealing

Brownie Wise turned Tupperware into a defining product of postwar American kitchens and became one of the first female corporate executives in U.S. history, yet her name has largely been forgotten. Throughline's Hidden Histories series traces her rise and fall in the plastics industry. Guests Alison Clarke and Bob Kealing discuss how she built the Tupperware party empire and the corporate betrayal that erased her legacy. The episode explores the promise of plastic in 1950s America and the personal cost of one of corporate America's most dramatic power struggles.

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook conclude their series on Elizabeth I with the Babington Plot, a Catholic conspiracy to assassinate Elizabeth and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots. The episode follows how Sir Francis Walsingham and his network of spies tracked the plotters and gathered evidence against Mary. It also examines whether Spain aided the conspiracy, Mary's subsequent trial, and Elizabeth's decision over whether to execute a fellow queen and cousin.

Jasmine Sun

Jasmine Sun, who covers AI's internal culture and its growing public opposition, joins Ezra Klein after a reporting trip through the Midwest. They discuss the emerging bipartisan backlash against AI data centers—exemplified by New York's statewide moratorium and over 100 local proposals—and what it signals about AI's real-world political friction. The conversation explores whether the resistance is driven by the physical infrastructure itself or a broader unease with AI, and what tech companies must learn if they hope to maintain their momentum.

Throughline revisits an episode from the NPR archives exploring how 'We Shall Overcome' became the defining anthem of generations of protesters. The episode traces the song's roots in Black gospel tradition and its transformation into a universal call for justice and equality. Over 19 minutes, the show examines the song's role in the civil rights movement and its enduring power to unite people across different struggles and eras.

Dr Adrian Chase, Dr Diane Chase, Jose Mes

Dan Snow travels to the remote jungles of Belize to explore the rise of the ancient Maya civilization. Over 3,000 years, the Maya built towering pyramids, established powerful city-states, and engaged in warfare and ritual. This episode traces their emergence as a dominant force in the Americas, long before the Aztecs or Inca. It also touches on the enduring mystery of their ninth-century collapse. Featuring insights from archaeologists Dr Adrian Chase, Dr Diane Chase, and Jose Mes.

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook explore the life of Sir Francis Drake, examining why he is celebrated as one of England’s great heroes despite his controversial actions. They trace his rise from obscure poverty, his exploits in piracy and global exploration, his escalating feud with Spain, and his pivotal clash with the Armada in 1588.

Malcolm Gladwell examines the formation of the Wu-Tang Clan on Staten Island during the borough's secession movement in the early 1990s. The episode explores the hidden history of the group and its place in the hip-hop scene of that era.

Suzanne Williams, Liz Harper, Helen Scales

In this episode of In Our Time, Melvyn Bragg and guests Suzanne Williams, Liz Harper, and Helen Scales explore the world of seashells, from their evolution and ecology to their cultural significance. They discuss how the astonishing shapes of shells reveal the history of Earth's oceans, and how humans have treasured them as art, currency, and instruments across millennia.

Sally Helm, Markus Krajewski, Giles Slade

Throughline uncovers the hidden history of the lightbulb cartel, a 1920s conspiracy that deliberately shortened bulb lifespan to boost sales. This seemingly small corporate decision set the template for planned obsolescence—the business strategy of designing products with a limited lifespan to drive repeat purchases. How that strategy has expanded from lightbulbs to modern smartphones, software, and nearly every consumer good, shaping our throwaway culture and environmental crises. Featuring Markus Krajewski, author of The Great Lightbulb Conspiracy, Giles Slade, author of Made to Break, and NPR's Sally Helm.

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook continue their series on Elizabeth I's conflict with Catholicism. This episode focuses on the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre of 1572, the deadliest bloodbath of the Tudor age, and how it shaped Francis Walsingham's counter-intelligence efforts against Catholic conspiracies. They also delve into a shadowy plot brewing in Rome that threatened Elizabeth's reign.

Throughline examines the history of American comedy as a protected form of speech, tracing how humor has functioned as a tool for critiquing power. The episode argues that no matter how crude or distasteful the joke, the stand-up stage is a constitutionally protected space in a democracy. It’s a fast-paced look at how the First Amendment has been applied to comedy and why the right to be funny is a serious matter.

Johann Kerbrat

Johann Kerbrat, GM of Crypto at Robinhood, explains how Robinhood Chain will connect decentralized finance, tokenized assets, and mainstream users. He discusses the explosive launch of the chain, the strategy behind keeping DeFi partners independent, and the long-term vision of bringing tokenized equities to a global audience. The conversation also covers Robinhood's competitive position and how financial products may converge on blockchain rails.

Morris Katz

Morris Katz, senior adviser to failed Senate candidate Graham Platner and strategist behind several populist political upsets, discusses what went wrong in Platner's campaign against Maine Governor Janet Mills—and what his string of victories and defeats reveals about the current political moment. Katz's track record includes Zohran Mamdani's NYC mayoral victory and John Fetterman's 2022 Senate win, but also Platner's implosion and its consequences for Democratic Senate control.

In the third installment of 'The Staten Island Problem,' Malcolm Gladwell delves into the fierce local battle over Staten Island's possible secession from New York City, using newly discovered audio recordings of community debates. To understand the dynamics, he introduces the 'Tuvalu Effect,' a historical analogy drawn from a remote Polynesian island. The episode further explores the human side of the debate through the voices of Staten Island residents themselves.

Kerry Brown, Dan Wang

This episode examines how China transformed from an impoverished nation into a global superpower, focusing on the leadership of Deng Xiaoping after 1978. Guests Kerry Brown and Dan Wang discuss Deng's strategy of controlled capitalism and market reforms, which turned China into the world's factory and reshaped its socio-economic and political systems in under a decade.

Greg Xethalis

Jason Yanowitz and Greg Xethalis from Multicoin discuss the CLARITY Act—proposed legislation that could fundamentally reshape crypto regulation in America. They examine how the bill addresses CFTC oversight, token classification frameworks, DeFi protections, and disclosure requirements, while also exploring the political and technical obstacles threatening its passage.

Rosalind Polly Blakesley, Robert Wenley, Francesca Whitlum-Cooper

Misha Glenny and three art historians examine the life and work of Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun (1755–1842), one of the most successful portrait painters of the 18th century. A prodigy who became Marie Antoinette's favored portraitist, Vigée Le Brun faced relentless sexism from critics who refused to believe a woman could paint so skillfully. When the French Revolution forced her to flee France, she rebuilt her career across Europe—Naples, Vienna, St. Petersburg, London—before eventually returning home. Her legacy spans royal courts and major galleries worldwide.

Dominic Sandbrook, Tom Holland

Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland investigate the mysterious death of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria and his teenage mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera at the Mayerling hunting lodge in 1889. They examine competing theories—romantic murder-suicide versus premeditated murder of a 17-year-old girl—and explore why the Habsburg family suppressed evidence and rewrote the official narrative. A deep dive into one of European history's most scandalous and contested deaths.

Paul Erlanger, Se Yong

Paul and Se, co-founders of Fomo, discuss why consumer crypto has struggled to achieve mainstream adoption and how Fomo is reimagining onchain trading through a social-first approach. They explore the intersection of social networks and finance, creator-driven distribution, transparent onchain data as a discovery mechanism, and why they believe social finance represents the next major platform shift in the crypto ecosystem.

Kevin Rudd

Kevin Rudd, former Australian prime minister and author of "On Xi Jinping," discusses Xi Jinping's ideology, consolidation of power, and vision for China's role in the world. Drawing from decades of personal interaction with Xi and doctoral research on Marxist nationalism, Rudd explains how Xi's background shaped his ambitions for China's industrial dominance and strategic posture toward the United States.

Professor Dame Mary Beard, Professor Edith Hall

Dan Snow explores Homer's Odyssey with two leading classicists to separate historical fact from mythological fiction. The discussion examines what the epic reveals about ancient Greek values, anxieties, geography, and storytelling traditions, while investigating the elusive authorship and the kernels of truth embedded in a story of monsters, gods, and the human condition.

Dan Taberski

Dan Taberski announces a new 6-part podcast series exploring the manifesto as a literary and political form. He argues that manifestos have been captured by cynical politicians and extremists, and proposes reclaiming them as tools for artists, visionaries, and ordinary people with something meaningful to say. The series asks whether we can find inspiration again without violence.

Tom Holland, Dominic Sandbrook

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook explore Homer's Odyssey, examining the legendary story of Odysseus and investigating what historical events may underlie this epic tale. The episode traces the various trials Odysseus faced and considers where these events might have occurred in real life, blending mythology with historical analysis.

Harry Sidebottom

Dan Snow interviews historian Harry Sidebottom to uncover the daily reality of ancient Rome's gladiators, from their harsh training to their complicated fame and role in Roman society.

A recounting of the conflict between the first Black mayor of New York City and the borough president of Staten Island, set against a backdrop of a riot, a mysterious sea voyage, and a secession movement. Malcolm Gladwell delves into the politics and personalities behind Staten Island's attempt to break away from New York City.

Throughline presents a musical journey through American history. The episode uses songs to explore stories about how the United States was founded and how it has evolved over time, offering listeners an auditory lens on the nation's past.

Dan Snow narrates his own retelling of Homer's Odyssey, following Odysseus's route across the Mediterranean. He visits real-world locations, from the ruins of Troy in Turkey to possible sites of the Cyclops' cave and Circe's island near Sicily, exploring how myth and history intersect. This episode is a storytelling journey that brings the ancient epic to life while grounding it in geography and archaeology.

Bryan Stevenson

On America's 250th anniversary, Bryan Stevenson, civil rights lawyer and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, discusses how to love a country amid its profound failures and imperfections. The conversation examines how Americans who were systemically failed still fought to move the country closer to its founding promises, and what it means to hold both America's horror and beauty in tension. Stevenson's museums in Montgomery, Alabama, document the country's history of enslavement, racial violence, and segregation while honoring those who endured and resisted.

Gary Gerstle

Dan Snow is joined by historian Gary Gerstle to explore the birth of the United States, focusing on the revolutionary ideas and the Declaration of Independence that shaped a new nation.

Jenny McElwain, Christopher Berry, Bill Baker

Misha Glenny and three botanists and paleobotanists explore the deep history of trees, from their emergence around 400 million years ago when low-lying plants developed stronger stems and grew upright. The discussion covers how trees transformed the planet by creating ecosystems, altering atmospheric composition, and reshaping the conditions for all life that followed. The episode reveals that even modern plants we cultivate as vegetables or houseplants can evolve into trees under the right conditions.

Tom Holland, Dominic Sandbrook

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook continue their exploration of Benjamin Franklin's life and role in the American Revolution. The episode examines Franklin's unlikely path to revolutionary conviction, his childhood and formative years, whether he truly identified as American, and the pivotal actions he took that helped set the Revolutionary struggle in motion. Franklin emerges as perhaps the most unique and multifaceted of the American founding fathers.

Professor Dame Mary Beard and others

Dan Snow announces a July mini-series on The Odyssey, featuring expert guests like Professor Dame Mary Beard. The series will explore the real history behind the epic, Mycenaean Greece, Homeric mysteries, and Odysseus's journey across the Mediterranean, timed with Christopher Nolan's upcoming film adaptation. The series begins July 2nd.

Heidi Schreck

In this episode, Throughline examines the personal and national meaning of the U.S. Constitution through the lens of writer and actor Heidi Schreck's one-woman play. The episode asks what the founding document means to Americans today and how its interpretation has shaped the country. Drawing on Schreck's deep love for the text and her exploration of its contradictions, the show considers the Constitution's enduring impact across generations.

Chris Rufo

Christopher Rufo, the influential New Right activist and author, discusses his strategy of using 'agitprop' and emotional resonance to drive political change. Ezra Klein presses him on the risks: Rufo now expresses concern that the movement he helped build is drifting into conspiracy theories, racialist thinking, and internal fractures. The conversation turns on whether short-term policy victories against D.E.I. and the administrative state may seed long-term institutional decay.

Vishal Garg

Vishal Garg, founder and CEO of Better.com, joins Empire to discuss how crypto and AI are reshaping the mortgage market. He details why the current mortgage process is ripe for disruption, Better's technology-driven business model, and the launch of crypto-backed mortgages that allow borrowers to keep their crypto holdings. The conversation also covers tokenization of home equity, partnerships with Coinbase and OpenAI, and the challenges of running a public company.

Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland launch a multi-part series on George Washington. They explore his origins, personality, and how he came to take on a pivotal role in the American Revolution. The episode sets out to assess whether Washington was truly central to the American victory and what made him the figure he became.

Jason Yanowitz, Santi Roel, Rob Hadick

In this weekly roundup, Jason, Santi, and Rob discuss the current crypto market downturn, with worries around Strategy weighing on prices. They analyze the state of crypto venture capital, the escalating competition among prediction markets, and Kraken's reported pursuit of a 15% stake in DeFi protocol Aave. The hosts also cover Fomo's $75 million raise at a $550 million valuation. The episode offers a snapshot of the key themes driving the crypto industry in late June 2026.

Peter Heather

In the final episode of the series, Dan Snow and Professor Peter Heather discuss the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. They explore why the empire, at its economic peak, fell apart, tracing the chaos of the third-century crisis through to the deposition of the last Western emperor, and why the Eastern half survived.

Captain America has long been a symbol of American ideals, but what happens when the war ends and the country changes? This short Throughline episode examines the comic book hero’s post-World War II evolution, using his story as a lens on the national conscience. It explores what it means to don the flag and what the country expects from its superheroes when the clear-cut enemy is gone.

Chris Hayes

Chris Hayes joins Ezra to examine how political attention is working in radically new ways during the 2026 election cycle. They discuss how unknowns like Graham Platner and James Talarico dominated major races, why Jon Ossoff's viral videos made him a 2028 frontrunner, and how Spencer Pratt's X presence failed to translate into electoral success. The episode explores what these cases reveal about attention, virality, and the fracturing of political visibility in the age of social media.

Mark Urban

Mark Urban, historian and defence specialist, traces the evolution of the tank from its WWI origins in agricultural tractors through WWII behemoths to modern descendants. The episode explores how 'landships' developed as a response to trench warfare and examines whether tanks retain strategic value in an era of drones, missiles, and precision strikes.

Ryan Watkins

Ryan Watkins joins Empire to discuss the crypto landscape in 2026, focusing on fund management, market cycles, and emerging opportunities. The episode explores whether four-year cycles still drive crypto markets, analyzes the Hyperliquid thesis in detail, and examines token unlock dynamics and Layer 1 narratives.

Tom Holland, Dominic Sandbrook

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook explore the controversial history of the German national anthem, tracing its origins, Austrian roots, and the anthem's transformation after Germany's split in the Cold War. The episode examines how symbols of national identity became entangled with political upheaval and examines East Germany's replacement anthem.

This episode examines how the Vietnam War became the first conflict broadcast directly into American homes through television, radio, and newspapers. It explores how uncensored war coverage brought the brutality of the battlefield to the public, profoundly shifting perceptions and ultimately transforming the relationship between media, the public, and military engagement.

Michael Selig

CFTC Chair Michael Selig joins hosts Rob, Santiago, and Jason to discuss the CFTC's recent policy announcement on perpetual swaps in the U.S., the regulatory coordination with the SEC, how to regulate decentralized finance, the push to make the U.S. the crypto capital of the world, prediction markets, 24/7 capital markets, and the Clarity Act.

Tom Holland, Dominic Sandbrook

Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland explore the origins of the Star-Spangled Banner, America's national anthem, and its connection to the War of 1812. The episode examines who wrote it, how a military conflict became encoded in America's most iconic song, and the controversial history buried within the anthem's creation and lyrics.

Ryan Zurrer

Empire hosts a weekly roundup on SpaceX's anticipated $1.75T IPO with early investor Ryan Zurrer, exploring valuation frameworks and market timing. The show also examines why the current crypto bear market feels worse than previous cycles, identifies DeFi opportunities for 2026, and discusses Strategy's Bitcoin sale and the potential path to $40k BTC.

Liam Donovan

Republican strategist Liam Donovan discusses why President Trump appears indifferent to Republican midterm prospects despite historically poor approval ratings. Rather than pivoting toward swing voters or supporting the strongest GOP candidates, Trump has announced a $1.8 billion 'lawfare victims' fund, threatened to escalate the Iran war, and intervened in primaries in ways that benefit Democrats—such as endorsing scandal-plagued Ken Paxton over incumbent John Cornyn in Texas. The episode explores Trump's apparent lack of concern for GOP electoral success and the political dynamics reshaping the Republican party.

John Cochrane, Meg Jacobs

Throughline explores the history of inflation in the U.S., examining how government has responded to rising prices across gas, meat, flights, and housing. The episode traces the economic mechanisms that drive inflation and the policy responses that have shaped outcomes, ultimately asking who bears the cost when inflation takes hold.

Dominic Sandbrook, Tom Holland

Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland examine the life of Edith Cavell, a British nurse who became a crucial figure in Belgian resistance to German occupation during World War I. The episode traces her nursing career, her espionage work, and her controversial execution—an act that shocked the world and raised questions about the laws of war.

Dominic Sandbrook, Tom Holland

Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland examine Italy's entry into World War I in 1915 alongside the Allies and their catastrophic attempt to invade the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The episode explores Italy's strategic motivations, the brutal Isonzo campaign, and the devastating human cost of one of the war's bloodiest theaters of conflict.

Mike Cagney

Mike Cagney, co-founder of Figure, discusses how the company became the leading non-bank HELOC lender in the U.S. and achieved a $10B valuation. The conversation covers Figure's use of blockchain rails to scale capital markets infrastructure, the strategic decision to build Figure, tokenization of equities, the Provenance blockchain, and Cagney's vision for the future of crypto and financial infrastructure.

Tom Holland, Dominic Sandbrook

Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland explore life on the Western Front during 1915, examining the horrific conditions of trench warfare, the psychological and physical toll of constant shelling, and Germany's early strategic attempts to break Allied lines. The episode details how soldiers adapted to industrial-scale warfare and introduces the technological innovations that reshaped combat.

Paul McCartney

Tom Holland sits down with Paul McCartney for a special interview exploring the Beatles legend's early influences, from growing up in postwar Liverpool to the band's informal musical education and the literature that shaped their work. The episode also includes the world premiere of 'Salesman Saint,' a track from McCartney's forthcoming album The Boys of Dungeon Lane, out May 29th.

Jim Balsillie

Jim Balsillie, the former co-CEO of Research in Motion, reflects on the critical mistake that led to Blackberry's downfall, once the fastest growing company in the world.

Throughline shares the personal stories of four individuals who lived through the Great Depression, revealing the human experience behind the historical era. The 18-minute episode uses their voices to illustrate resilience, loss, and the texture of daily life during economic collapse. It's a compact oral history that brings the 1930s to life through memory and testimony.

Lorenz Hemicker

Journalist Lorenz Hemicker returns to discuss his ongoing investigation into his grandfather's participation in the Rumbula massacre of 1941, in which 25,000 Jews were killed in Latvia. The episode explores how a radicalized WWI veteran became complicit in Nazi atrocities, documents the discovery of denazification files and evidence of a family weapons factory, and examines how families confront legacies of historical atrocity and moral culpability.

Tom Holland, Dominic Sandbrook

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook launch their exploration of one of history's most consequential conflicts: Persia's invasion of Greece. They examine why Darius, the most powerful man in the world and King of Kings, crossed the Aegean to destroy Athens in 490 BC, and how this totemic invasion unfolded. Part 1 of their deep dive into the Greco-Persian Wars.

Julia Belluz

Julia Belluz, a health and science journalist, explores the explosion of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Zepbound, which one in eight American adults now use. The episode examines what we know and don't know about these medications, their unexpected uses beyond diabetes, how they're reshaping conversations about beauty standards and wellness, and whether these drugs represent genuine medical progress or a new frontier for pharmaceutical-driven culture.

Donald Burrows, Ruth Smith, Larry Zazzo

Misha Glenny explores George Frideric Handel's Messiah with three leading scholars. The discussion traces the oratorio's creation in 1742, Charles Jennens's libretto drawn from Old and New Testament prophecies about Christ's coming and redemption, and how Handel continuously adapted the work for different choirs and singers. Messiah became one of Handel's most enduring works, eventually adopted by massed choirs worldwide far beyond Handel's original conception.

Throughline explores how rapid industrialization in the mid-19th century widened inequality, leading Eugene Debs to found the Socialist Party of America and rally workers nationwide.

Helena Rosenblatt

Ezra Klein talks to historian Helena Rosenblatt about her book “The Lost History of Liberalism.” Klein argues that liberalism needs a positive, inspiring vision beyond simply opposing Donald Trump. Rosenblatt explains how recovering the lost values and moral commitments at the heart of the liberal tradition — values she uncovered in her research — can provide that vision. Drawing on her deep historical research, she shows that 19th-century liberals were concerned with community, virtue, and the common good, and that remembering this history is essential for liberalism’s revival.

Stani Kulechov & Mike Silagadze

Stani Kulechov and Mike Silagadze join Empire to dissect the $290M KelpDAO exploit and its near-catastrophic impact on DeFi. They discuss the systemic risks exposed by the attack, the launch of the DeFi United industry recovery fund, and strategies to prevent similar exploits. The conversation also covers the future of Aave and EtherFi in the wake of the crisis and a frank assessment of why DeFi tokens currently look uninvestable.

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook trace the long history of wine, from its earliest evidence in ancient Jordan to its role in Bronze Age Greece, the Roman Empire, and Viking culture. They discuss wine's appearances in The Odyssey, Julius Caesar's shrewd use of it, and the 1976 Judgement of Paris tasting that shook the wine world.

None – solo host episode

Patrick Wyman ends Tides of History with a series of short vignettes that touch on the entire sweep of human history, from the Paleolithic to early modernity. This farewell episode reflects on the podcast's long run, with Wyman thanking listeners and pointing them toward his upcoming projects: the new biography podcast Past Lives and the forthcoming book Lost Worlds. The episode is a personal sendoff rather than a deep dive into any single historical topic.

Tom Holland, Dominic Sandbrook

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook continue their examination of Britain's 1970s crisis, focusing on Prime Minister Harold Wilson's ability to survive amid financial collapse, widespread bombings in London, and runaway inflation. The episode explores one of the darkest periods in modern British history, when the nation faced potential meltdown and political instability threatened to overwhelm the government.

Josh Ireland

Josh Ireland, author of 'The Death of Trotsky,' examines the assassination of Leon Trotsky by Soviet agent Ramón Mercader in Mexico City. The episode explores Stalin's ruthless consolidation of power, the shadowy Kremlin politics that enabled the plot, and how Mercader—a Soviet-trained operative—infiltrated Trotsky's inner circle over years to carry out the killing. This was not a simple murder but a carefully orchestrated political elimination driven by Stalin's need to eliminate all rivals.

Kate Hendry, Andrea Sella, Monica Grady

Misha Glenny and three expert guests explore silicon—the element at the heart of modern electronics, glass, and life itself. The episode traces silicon's cosmic origins in dying stars billions of years ago, its role in human technology from ancient glass-making to contemporary semiconductors, and its often-overlooked but critical function in Earth's biogeochemistry, atmospheric regulation, and the cycling of elements that sustains all life.

Atossa Araxia Abrahamian, Wayne Gramlich, Dan Girma, Jacob Silverman

Tech billionaires are funding experimental autonomous communities—private cities, floating homesteads, and startup colonies—designed to operate beyond existing legal and regulatory frameworks. Throughline traces this impulse through history, visiting the Arctic, ocean settlements, and Honduras to examine whether these utopian experiments create freedom or simply replicate existing inequalities in new spaces.

Craig Fehrman

Patrick Wyman interviews author Craig Fehrman about his new book This Vast Enterprise, which explores the Lewis and Clark Expedition through multiple perspectives. The conversation examines how understanding the richness and complexity of the expedition—including the roles of enslaved people, Indigenous nations, and various Corps members—allows us to better understand both the early 19th century and the nature of collective historical narratives.

Tim Harford (solo)

This episode comes to you from American Criminal, the true-crime history podcast that takes you inside the minds of some of America's most notorious outlaws, exploring the dark side of the American dream.

Sphygmograph Be Damned

Chris McKinlay is a good-looking, smart student at UCLA, but he can't seem to get a girlfriend. He's a computing expert, so why not use his technology prowess to supercharge his search for a soulmate? He starts building an army of bots and unleashes them into the world of online dating.

Tim Harford (solo)

In the final days of the Sixties, The Rolling Stones join forces with other rock legends to plan a free concert at Altamont Speedway that will rival Woodstock. The "bad boys of rock" don't have the warmest relationship with the police, so they choose another option for security: The Hells Angels.

Ellen Huet

Run by the charismatic Nicole Deadone, OneTaste billed itself as a sexual wellness startup celebrating the power of female orgasm. But behind the celebrity endorsements and promises of healing, lay a darker reality.

Tyler Cowen

Tyler Cowen — economist, author of The Great Stagnation — on whether America is finally escaping its innovation slowdown. Klein and Cowen debate AI, fertility decline, geographic sorting, and the political economy of growth.

William Dalrymple

Dalrymple and Anand explore how the Ottoman Empire grew from a small Anatolian principality to a superpower spanning three continents, emphasizing the administrative innovations and military strategies that enabled expansion.

William Dalrymple

The long decline of the Ottoman Empire from the 17th through the early 20th century. Dalrymple examines how a once-dominant empire failed to adapt to industrialization, nationalism, and the changing balance of European power.

William Dalrymple

How Napoleon's ambitions in Egypt were partly aimed at threatening British India. Dalrymple connects European and Asian imperial history, showing how the Napoleonic Wars reshaped the global colonial order.

William Dalrymple

How Indian textile manufacturing was the world's dominant industry for centuries — and how the British deliberately destroyed it to protect Lancashire mills. Dalrymple follows the cotton thread from Mughal looms to the Industrial Revolution.

William Dalrymple

Bahadur Shah Zafar II — the last Mughal emperor, a poet and calligrapher who became the reluctant figurehead of the 1857 rebellion. Dalrymple tells the story of the siege of Delhi and the destruction of Mughal civilization.

William Dalrymple

The Mughal Empire at its zenith under Akbar, Shah Jahan, and Aurangzeb. Dalrymple presents the Mughals as one of history's greatest civilizations — wealthier than contemporary Europe, architecturally magnificent, and culturally sophisticated.

Anita Anand

The partition of India in 1947 — the largest mass migration in history and one of the 20th century's great catastrophes. Anand brings personal family history to the story of 15 million displaced people and up to 2 million dead.

William Dalrymple

The Indian Rebellion of 1857 — called the Mutiny by the British and the First War of Independence by Indians. Dalrymple examines how a cartridge controversy ignited a widespread revolt against Company rule, leading to the end of both the Mughal Empire and the East India Company.