Dictators

A new president in the White House meant a new opportunity for a power play. Unfortunately for Hoover, Truman already thought the Bureau was becoming a secret police force. So he checked their power, and created a separate foreign intelligence agency — what will become the CIA. Meanwhile, Hoover was still bent on rooting out communist infiltrators and Soviet spies. Soon enough, he began handing intel over to Congressional committees like HUAC... and to his new friend and ally: a rising senator named Joseph McCarthy. This is the third episode in our six-part crossover special from Conspiracy Theories and Dictators. 

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By the 1930s, Hoover was America's top cop. He went after bank robbers and bandits in his War on Crime, never losing sight of his real nemesis: communism. Every maneuver went toward Hoover’s carefully crafted narrative of the FBI. As their prestige grew, so did their power. But while Hoover had FDR’s ear, he also faced the ire of embittered political rivals. This is episode two of our six-part crossover special from Conspiracy Theories and Dictators. 

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J. Edgar Hoover was eager and ruthless. The young intelligence officer believed wholeheartedly in the communist conspiracy, and he’d do anything to protect his country. Raids, deportations, mass arrests. He targeted everyone from Russian anarchists to American labor unions in his frenzy to curb the communist threat. No matter what the law said. This is the first episode in our six-part crossover special from Conspiracy Theories and Dictators. 

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After conquering England, Cnut learns of his brother’s sudden death — and becomes heir to the Danish throne. With two kingdoms under his hold, Cnut is on his way to creating his legendary North Sea Empire. But the battle for Scandinavia is just beginning. 

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The second son of King Sweyn of Denmark was a ruthless warlord who invaded England in a fight for the throne in the eleventh century — and who became one of the most powerful kings in Scandinavian history. 

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Ruthless warriors. Ancient sagas. This season, we’re exploring the lives of the Vikings — starting with the legend of a leader named Ragnar and his equally famous sons.

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The 1812 invasion of Russia was the beginning of the end for Napoleon. Russia’s scorched earth campaign not only prevented a quick French victory, it emboldened other countries to once again take up arms. And this time, they were prepared to take on the world’s greatest general. 

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After a coup puts Napoleon in power, he gets to work shoring up his authority and crafting his legacy. He overhauls the country’s legal system, and spends years fighting wars across Europe. With decisive victories, he positions France as a world superpower — and himself as emperor of France. 

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As a young Corsican boy, Napoleon dreamed of his island’s independence from France. But by the time he reached 30 years old, with a military career inspired by the likes of Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great, he was a hero of France — and one of the country's most powerful men. 

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Now that the Hunnic King posed a clear and escalating threat, a Roman cabal plotted to end the Age of Attila forever. They failed. Attila outmaneuvered their conspiracy, then turned his attention to the Western Roman Empire. And in 451 CE, the two armies met on the Catalaunian Plains. 

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