Cultural Dessert

'Empire' podcast

20 January 2023

I’m completely hooked on the ‘Empire’ podcast which looks at how empires rise, why they fall and how they have shaped the world around us today. ‘Empire’ uses the classic podcast formula of simply bringing together knowledgeable enthusiasts and allowing us to eavesdrop on their conversation. The historians William Dalrymple and Anita Anand, plus expert guests, weave a series of truly fascinating, shocking and revealing stories which provide much needed context and nuance to many of the challenges facing us today. The first series of ‘Empire’ focussed on the British in India, covering the East India Company, the Raj, Gandhi, Independence and Partition. The second series, which started in December 2022, looks at the Ottoman Empire. But the podcast format, with new episodes recorded each week, enables ‘Empire’ to respond to current events, such as the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the appointment of the UK’s first Indian-origin Prime Minister. The episode featuring David Olusoga discussing the Queen, the Commonwealth, the future of the monarchy and the long shadow of Empire, and the episode with Sathnam Sanghera talking about his book ‘Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain’ are both brilliant. All episodes of ‘Empire’ are still available to download: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/empire/id1639561921

Labels: Radio

posted by Robin Simpson @ 11:19 am