Empires and Nations

From Mongol domination and devastating foreign invasions to royal conspiracies and bloody factional rivalries, explore the turbulent history of Korea under the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties.

Discover how the rise of Neo-Confucianism transformed Korean society, reshaped women's status, and reinforced rigid social hierarchies. Behind the royal throne, ambitious monarchs, powerful scholars, and influential women fought for control in a world shaped by tradition, war, and political intrigue.

How did centuries of foreign pressure and internal power struggles transform Korean civilization?

Tune in to discover the history behind Korea's enduring traditions and identity.

From the rise of Goguryeo, Silla, and Baekje to the unification of the Korean Peninsula, discover the kingdoms, rivalries, and cultural influences that shaped Korea’s early history.

Explore Silla’s golden age, the rise of the Goryeo dynasty, and the military coups, regional conflicts, and popular rebellions that challenged its rule.

How did these turbulent centuries shape Korea’s distinct identity and civilization?

Tune in to explore the history behind modern Korea.

From the collapse of Libya to the war in Syria, we examine how regime-change policies, proxy warfare, and regional power struggles contributed to widespread instability.

How did foreign support for armed factions help create the conditions in which extremist groups, including ISIS, could rise?

Inspired by Scott Horton's Enough Already, this episode explores the human cost and long-term consequences of intervention across the Middle East and North Africa.

From Somalia and Pakistan to Libya and Afghanistan, we explore how covert operations, drone strikes, and foreign interventions reshaped entire countries.

Did these campaigns weaken extremism, or did they fuel new grievances, humanitarian disasters, and opportunities for groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS to expand?

Inspired by Scott Horton's work, we examine the unintended consequences of America's global War on Terror.

From the invasion of Afghanistan to the 2003 Iraq War, we examine the intelligence claims, neoconservative ambitions, and strategic decisions behind America's post-9/11 wars.

Why did the United States pursue regime change, and how did these interventions reshape the Middle East?

Inspired by Scott Horton's Enough Already, we revisit the decisions that helped turn the War on Terror into decades of conflict.

From Soviet sympathizers to FDR's road to World War II, we revisit the controversial chapters of 20th-century American history.

We also examine the Marshall Plan, the Great Society, and the debates surrounding civil rights, school busing, and affirmative action.

Which popular historical narratives hold up under scrutiny, and which deserve a second look?

What really caused the American Civil War, and what happened after the fighting ended?

We explore the political and economic conflicts behind secession, Lincoln's wartime policies, the realities of total war, and the controversial Reconstruction era.

From states' rights and federal power to the legacy of the Fourteenth Amendment, we revisit one of America's most divisive periods and examine the history behind the competing narratives.

In this episode, we explore Southeast Asia's transformation from the aftermath of World War II to the late twentieth century. We examine how newly independent nations navigated Cold War rivalries, as early experiments with liberal democracy gave way in many countries to authoritarian governments, military rule, and communist regimes.

We then turn to the region's economic transformation from the mid-1960s onwards, exploring how the Green Revolution, expanding global trade, rapid industrialization, and urbanization reshaped societies.

Finally, we investigate the era of high modernism, when governments expanded public education and pursued ambitious nation-building projects, before many societies renewed their interest in traditional cultural symbols, historical identities, and monarchies.

In this episode, we examine the contradictions of colonial rule in Southeast Asia, where rapid population growth coincided with economic stagnation and widespread rural poverty.

We explore how agricultural involution kept much of the indigenous population dependent on low-productivity farming, while colonial economic structures concentrated wealth and commercial power among European elites and Chinese entrepreneurs.

We also investigate the social and cultural changes of this period, including the erosion of women's economic independence, the decline of traditional industries, and the spread of Western customs and patriarchal norms.

Finally, we trace how Western education and mass communication helped shape a new generation of political thinkers, laying the foundations for nationalist movements that challenged colonial rule and forged modern national identities.

In this episode, we explore Southeast Asia's transformation between 1780 and 1900, as expanding global trade, capitalism, and European imperialism reshaped the region. We examine how free trade weakened established colonial monopolies and fuelled booming exports of pepper, coffee, sugar, and rice, with Chinese merchants and migrant labourers playing a crucial role in this economic expansion.

We also trace the rise of direct colonial rule in territories such as the Dutch East Indies and British Malaya, alongside local efforts to modernize, resist foreign domination, and preserve political independence.

From Siam's strategic reforms to Burma's failed resistance, we explore how this turbulent era replaced older systems of power with fixed borders and the foundations of modern Southeast Asian nation-states.