Hear about the legacy of the British Empire

A podcast deep dive into the British Empire and India

Season 1 of this acclaimed UK podcast, hosted by William Dalrymple and Anita Anand, delves into the East India Company, the Raj, Gandhi, and the forces that shaped—and ultimately unraveled—British rule in India.

The British Empire, explained

This three-minute 1440 explainer traces the rise of the British Empire, which at its height ruled nearly one in four people—about 500 million—and spanned so many regions that admirers called it “the empire on which the sun never sets.”

Hear the untold colonial backstories of the British Museum’s most famous artifacts

This podcast from VICE’s Unfiltered History Tour visits the British Museum’s prized objects through accounts from experts and communities from which they were taken.

British colonialism left economic institutions that still shape growth today

This analysis argues that while the British Empire inflicted exploitation and long-term harm, it also exported institutions—like standardized property rights and land surveying—that boosted economic development in some colonies.

An alternate-history BBC homepage imagines a world where the British Empire endured

An image on Reddit envisions a 2021 BBC homepage from an uncollapsed Empire, featuring hypothetical crises in Zimbabwe, Northern Ireland, and Barbados, alongside upbeat coverage of tourism in “British Palestine”—a snapshot of how imperial news might look today.

Oil’s legacy: fueling industrial growth and shaping imperial strategies

This episode of The Rest Is History podcast traces oil’s pivotal role—from fueling industrial growth to steering imperial power. It also examines how access to oil shaped US politics, World War II, and sparked the creation of OPEC following the Suez Crisis.

Being a Byzantine emperor

The Byzantium and Friends podcast, hosted by Anthony Kaldellis, surveys current research in the history of the Byzantine Empire and its neighbors. In each episode, Professor Kaldellis interviews a scholar about their recent work. The cumulative effect is to reveal a world much more complex, and much more interesting, than the Byzantium found in traditional surveys. The linked episode considers the perks and pitfalls of being a Byzantine emperor.

How the Beatles became the most influential band on Earth

Beatles geek and comedian Conan O'Brien is a special guest with the Rest is History podcast in this exploration of the quartet from Liverpool's mammoth role in global pop culture. The two-part podcast was recorded in Abbey Road Studios, the world's first dedicated recording facility, where the band recorded 190 of its 210 songs.

How did China go from an empire to a republic?

In the 1800s, as China's economy was in flux, foreign imperialist powers began appearing on the horizon, leading China to lose land and influence in the region. This 48-minute podcast episode explores how this destabilization set the stage for the...

'Statelessness: Citizens of Nowhere' podcast examines how statelessness erodes identity

This podcast series explores how millions live without citizenship or legal status. Through expert interviews and personal stories, it examines how history, borders, and policy can leave entire populations without citizenship and rights.

Hear an oral history of the Electoral College and why it still exists

This podcast episode traces how the Electoral College emerged from rushed compromises, slavery-era power politics, and party maneuvering—showing why the system looks the way it does today and why efforts to change it have repeatedly stalled.

Exposing a beloved British personality as a pedophile

After Jimmy Savile's 2011 death, comments damning him began populating an online networking site for an "emotionally disturbed girls" residential school. These comments pricked the ears of two BBC journalists whose desks had been slowly covered in rumors of abuse by the public figure and former BBC presenter. This podcast series focuses on how journalists bring stories to light and is one of two episodes detailing Savile's story.

The Inca's last stand against the Spanish

The Inca Emperor marched to meet the Spanish, expecting them to surrender. Spoiler: They didn't. Listen to this podcast episode to hear what led up to this moment and what happened next.

Listen to storytellers explain the legacy of memories shared between children and their mothers

In this podcast, people describe the strength of certain memories, what events stay with them, and when and why grief washes over them. One describes the challenging task of selling her mother's cemetery plots; another, keeping a promise to her son to learn to swim; and in the third, a son discusses the strength of familiar food smells.

Governments are arguably very dependent on consulting firms like McKinsey and Deloitte

This podcast episode discusses the consultancy industry’s rise and how these firms make billions of dollars, even amid significant scandals.

Britain's PM signaled the acceptance of African decolonization in 1960

This audio excerpt captures Harold Macmillan’s 1960 “Wind of Change” speech, in which he acknowledged rising African nationalism and declared that Britain would not resist decolonization—a pivotal moment signaling the Empire’s accelerating retreat from the continent.

What was the impact of the Haitian Revolution of 1791?

This 53-minute podcast explores the context surrounding the Haitian Revolution, a 13-year rebellion led by the then-French colony's enslaved population. The Spanish colonized the Caribbean island after Christopher Columbus landed on it in 1492,...

Charting the countries with large Sikh populations

While the vast majority of contemporary Sikhs live in Punjab, India, millions have moved elsewhere in the world, especially in anglophone countries. This chart shows which countries host the largest communities of the Sikh diaspora in the world.

Explore new and contemporary perspectives with Emerging Civil War

Emerging Civil War brings together historians and writers who offer fresh research, essays, and battlefield stories that uncover overlooked events, people, and places—showing that scholarship on the war is still evolving over 160 years later.

Hear a leading historian discuss the life and legacy of Alexander Hamilton

Historian Joanne Freeman discusses Hamilton's reputation, personality, and political world. The discussion distinguishes between historical record and myth and reflects on how the musical reshaped public understanding of his life.

Listen to 3 scholars discuss the work of Emily Dickinson

Fiona Green, Linda Freedman, and Paraic Finnerty—three British academics who study Dickinson—discuss the poet's life, distinctive writing style, and impact on the generations who followed, illustrating that part of Dickinson's appeal lies in her open-ended verse, which invites readers' many interpretations.

The Americans abandoned Philadelphia to the British in 1777

While George Washington's army was encamped in Valley Forge, the British took over the capital of Philadelphia (and the colonies, at the time), including Ben Franklin's house. It wouldn't last long. This is one of a series of podcast episodes exploring the war's battles.

King is a major influence on modern genre writers

Stephen King's influence is felt across literature, film, and television—even outside the many books and adaptations that make up his long and storied career. This podcast features interviews with "Lost" showrunner Damon Lindelof and horror novelist Grady Hendrix, two writers who also happen to be King superfans.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan on why iftar at someone else's table is the whole point

The podcast "Not Even Water" interviews Khan about how Ramadan is actually lived, examining the hospitality culture that surrounds iftar, the logistics of suhoor, and what the month feels like from the inside. The episode is a grounded, personal view of the season.

One of Warren Buffett’s investing principles is investing in well-managed companies

The "Founders" podcast reviews biographies of the world’s top entrepreneurs, and this episode explores a 2012 book about Warren Buffett. The episode includes Buffett's advice on becoming a better business manager and investor.

Hear about the 250-year history of the United States Postal Service, complete with some of its strangest deliveries, important innovations, and the figures that made it an American institution.

Explore an interactive map of battles from the American Revolution, along with detailed summaries of each engagement

After NASA's Voyager 1 captured Earth as a single pixel as it left the solar system in 1990, astronomer Carl Sagan used the image to reflect on humanity's fragility and the responsibility to protect 'the only world we've ever known.'

Explore the history, structure, and species of Australia's Great Barrier Reef with this interactive journey narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

Hear 50 years of iconic hip-hop samples, the genre's foundational looped tracks

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

One disco producer saw 'Star Wars' four times on its opening weekend and was so inspired that he recorded the album 'Star Wars and Other Intergalactic Funk,' which produced a chart-topping single.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

Explore a list of the 100 best novels of all time, compiled by some of the world's best living writers, including Salman Rushdie, Stephen King, and Jennifer Egan.

The American cockroach is actually from Africa, an apparent hitchhiker aboard ships carrying enslaved people, with evidence suggesting the bug may have arrived in the New World as early as the 1600s.

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

See how Ebola tore through Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia in 2014-2016.

How Amazon operates a 'flywheel' business model, a self-reinforcing cycle that drives continuous growth

This site reaches millions of visitors who are tired of AI chatbots and seeking human connection. Pretend to be an AI chatbot and ask questions, provide answers, and draw for people in real time.

The concept of phantom limbs, the perception that amputated limbs are still present, dates back to a French military surgeon in the 16th century.

The US Constitution is widely regarded as the longest-standing written national constitution still in force—see how it has influenced rights worldwide.

See a 3D reconstruction of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital that was home to an estimated population of 200,000 to 400,000.

See 33 images that became central to huge scandals, including a young Charles and Camilla, Michael Jackson's baby on a hotel balcony, and Hugh Grant's mugshot.

Watch contemporary footage covering the US-backed Shah of Iran fleeing the country in the face of the 1979 Iranian Revolution

Some Pokémon have been named after real and fictional organisms, while some real-world species have been named after Pokémon, such as Chilicola charizard and Binburrum zapdos.

See how fireworks are made and learn how metals like magnesium and copper are responsible for different colors.

Bone marrow (soft tissue found inside certain bones) generates roughly 500 billion new blood cells each day

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.