Mao has declared that China is a communist republic. How did life change for ordinary people living in this new nation? To what extent was Mao’s China modelled on the USSR, and how did Mao and Stalin feel about each other? And how did Mao destroy the pillars of traditional culture and  violently purge “class enemies”?

William and Anita are joined once again by Rana Mitter, author of A Bitter Revolution: China’s Struggle with the Modern World, and Modern China: A Very Short Introduction, to discuss The Great Leap Forward and its consequences.

Try Attio for free at attio.com/empire

Join the Empire Club: Unlock the full Empire experience – with bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to miniseries and live show tickets, exclusive book discounts, a members-only newsletter, and access to our private Discord chatroom. Sign up directly at empirepoduk.com 

For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com.

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @empirepoduk

Blue Sky: @empirepoduk

X: @empirepoduk

Editor: Bruno Di Castri

Researcher: Imogen Marriott

Assistant Producer: Alfie Norris

Producer: Anouska Lewis

Executive Producer: Dom Johnson

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How did World War II break out in Asia in 1937? Why did Mao Zedong and his fellow communists live in caves after the Long March? How did the notorious Nanjing Massacre occur?

** Binge all six episodes of the series on Chairman Mao by joining the Empire Club today at ⁠empirepoduk.com⁠. **

Anita and William are joined once again by Rana Mitter, author of China’s War with Japan 1937-1945, The Struggle for Survival (or Forgotten Ally, China’s World War II), and Modern China: A Very Short Introduction.

Join the Empire Club: Unlock the full Empire experience – with bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to miniseries and live show tickets, exclusive book discounts, a members-only newsletter, and access to our private Discord chatroom. Sign up directly at empirepoduk.com 

For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com.

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @empirepoduk

Blue Sky: @empirepoduk

X: @empirepoduk

Editor: Adam Thornton

Researcher: Imogen Marriott

Assistant Producer: Alfie Norris

Producer: Anouska Lewis

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why did the communists and nationalists join forces with the USSR during the Chinese Civil War? When did the nationalists purge communists in what is known as the “White Terror”? Why did 80,000 communists walk across the country in the “Long March”, and how is this retreat reframed in Chinese political memory today?

** Binge all six episodes of the series on Chairman Mao by joining the Empire Club today at ⁠empirepoduk.com⁠. **

William and Anita are joined once again by Rana Mitter, author of A Bitter Revolution: China’s Struggle with the Modern World, and Modern China: A Very Short Introduction, to discuss the Chinese Civil War and the Long March. 

Join the Empire Club: Unlock the full Empire experience – with bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to miniseries and live show tickets, exclusive book discounts, a members-only newsletter, and access to our private Discord chatroom. Sign up directly at empirepoduk.com 

For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com.

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @empirepoduk

Blue Sky: @empirepoduk

X: @empirepoduk

Editor: James Clayden

Researcher: Imogen Marriott

Assistant Producer: Alfie Norris

Producer: Anouska Lewis

Executive Producer: Dom Johnson

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A revolutionary hero or a brutal despot? Mao Zedong has one of the most recognisable portraits on Earth. How did he rise to become the founder of the People’s Republic of China? 

** Binge all six episodes of the series on Chairman Mao by joining the Empire Club today at empirepoduk.com. **

A child born in a rural village, Mao hated the Confucian traditions he grew up with. He read profusely and rebelled against his father. But how did his early life shape him into the dictator he would become?

William and Anita are joined by the brilliant Rana Mitter, author of A Bitter Revolution: China’s Struggle with the Modern World, Modern China: A Very Short Introduction and China’s War with Japan 1937-1945, The Struggle for Survival (or Forgotten Ally, China’s World War II) to discuss the origin story of Mao Zedong. 

Join the Empire Club: Unlock the full Empire experience – with bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to miniseries and live show tickets, exclusive book discounts, a members-only newsletter, and access to our private Discord chatroom. Sign up directly at empirepoduk.com 

For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com.

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @empirepoduk

Blue Sky: @empirepoduk

X: @empirepoduk

Editor: James Clayden

Researcher: Imogen Marriott

Assistant Producer: Alfie Norris

Producer: Anouska Lewis

Executive Producer: Dom Johnson

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How did the Phoenicians create the alphabet we still use today? Was the Bronze Age collapse comparable to the fall of Rome? What does DNA evidence tell us about the origins of the Philistines and Israelites?

William is joined by Professor Eric Cline, author of 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed and After 1177 B.C.: The Survival Of Civilizations, to explore the era of recovery that followed the Bronze Age collapse and the new world which emerged from its ashes. 

Join the Empire Club: Unlock the full Empire experience – with bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to miniseries and live show tickets, exclusive book discounts, a members-only newsletter, and access to our private Discord chatroom. Sign up directly at empirepoduk.com 

For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com.

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @empirepoduk

Blue Sky: @empirepoduk

X: @empirepoduk

Editor: Adam Thornton

Producer: Anouska Lewis

Executive Producer: Dom Johnson

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Which ancient civilisation was the best at surviving the Apocalypse, and which was the worst? Who were the Hittites, and what did they actually call themselves? Does the Bronze Age collapse serve as a warning to the modern world? 

William and Anita are joined by Professor Eric Cline, author of 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed and After 1177 B.C.: The Survival Of Civilizations, to discuss how the end of the ancient "globalised" system serves as a chilling warning for our own interconnected world.

Join the Empire Club: Unlock the full Empire experience – with bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to miniseries and live show tickets, exclusive book discounts, a members-only newsletter, and access to our private Discord chatroom. Sign up directly at empirepoduk.com 

For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com.

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @empirepoduk

Blue Sky: @empirepoduk

X: @empirepoduk

Editor: Charlie Rodwell

Producer: Anouska Lewis

Executive Producer: Dom Johnson

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Who were the ‘Sea Peoples’? Was the Bronze Age Collapse caused by a single catastrophic event? How did the Egyptians try to adapt to the changing climate? From the scientific evidence hidden in ancient pollen to the first historical mention of "Israel" and the rise of the Philistines, this episode uncovers how a global systemic collapse redrew the map of the ancient world.

William and Anita are joined by Professor Eric Cline, author of 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed, and After 1177 B.C.: The Survival Of Civilizations, to explore how a series of catastrophes shattered the interconnected superpowers of the Pharaohs, Hittites, and Mycenaeans… 

Join the Empire Club: Unlock the full Empire experience – with bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to miniseries and live show tickets, exclusive book discounts, a members-only newsletter, and access to our private Discord chatroom. Sign up directly at empirepoduk.com 

For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com.

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @empirepoduk

Blue Sky: @empirepoduk

X: @empirepoduk

Editors: Bruno Di Castri and Jack Meek

Producer: Anouska Lewis

Executive Producer: Dom Johnson

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The legendary ancient Greek poet, Homer, is a key source to our understanding of the Bronze Age Collapse, but did a single genius named Homer even exist? How could sophisticated poems like The Iliad and The Odyssey survive a "Dark Age" where even writing was destroyed? And what can the depiction of Greek gods in these poems tell us about religion at the time? 

William and Anita are joined by Simon Goldhill, Professor in Greek Literature and Culture at King's College, Cambridge, to discuss whether Homer wrote History…

Join the Empire Club: Unlock the full Empire experience – with bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to miniseries and live show tickets, exclusive book discounts, a members-only newsletter, and access to our private Discord chatroom. Sign up directly at empirepoduk.com 

For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com.

Sign up and get 10% off at BetterHelp.com/EMPIRE.

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @empirepoduk

Blue Sky: @empirepoduk

X: @empirepoduk

Editor: Bruno Di Castri

Producer: Anouska Lewis

Executive Producer: Dom Johnson

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stephen Fry joins William and Anita to discuss how Greek Myths have shaped our understanding of the Bronze Age Collapse. 

Was the Trojan Horse real? What can we learn about the end of ancient civilisations through The Odyssey and The Iliad? How much truth lies within the story of the Trojan War, and where is the real archaeological site of Troy today? 

Join the Empire Club: Unlock the full Empire experience – with bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to miniseries and live show tickets, exclusive book discounts, a members-only newsletter, and access to our private Discord chatroom. Sign up directly at empirepoduk.com 

For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com.

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @empirepoduk

Blue Sky: @empirepoduk

X: @empirepoduk

Editor: Bruno Di Castri

Producer: Anouska Lewis

Executive Producer: Dom Johnson

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is the beginning of the most dramatic imperial collapses in history. Why were Ancient civilisations so interconnected 3000 years ago? How did this interconnectedness lead to their downfall? Did people at the time know that disaster was on the horizon?

In Episode 1 of a brand new series, Anita and William are joined by Josephine Quinn, author of How The World Made The West, and Professor of Ancient History at Cambridge University, to discuss the interconnected Ancient Mediterranean city states on the brink of the Bronze Age Collapse of 1147 BCE.

Join the Empire Club: Unlock the full Empire experience – with bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to miniseries and live show tickets, exclusive book discounts, a members-only newsletter, and access to our private Discord chatroom. Sign up directly at empirepoduk.com 

For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com.

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @empirepoduk

Blue Sky: @empirepoduk

X: @empirepoduk

Editor: James Clayden

Producer: Anouska Lewis

Executive Producer: Dom Johnson

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices