Cliff returns from Canada with a suitcase souvenir that matters: Juicy Ass, a punchy Canadian IPA, and it sets the tone for one of our biggest, broadest episodes yet. What starts as a beer tasting quickly expands into a globe-spanning conversation about power, history, pubs, and a planet under pressure.
At the heart of the episode is our Top 10: the largest empires of all time. From the vast, land-locked sweep of the Mongol Empire under Kublai Khan, to the sun-never-setting British Empire, we debate what “largest” even means — land area, influence, longevity, or legacy. Along the way we tackle the Roman Empire, the Persian Empire, the Qing Dynasty, the Spanish and French colonial empires, the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and the Empire of Japan, with plenty of historical detours into the Tang Dynasty, Abbasid Caliphate, and the Yuan Dynasty. Wikipedia gets a mention too — as both a miracle of shared knowledge and a reminder that history is often simplified into neat lists that hide uncomfortable truths about colonialism and power.
As ever, the big ideas are grounded in the local. We talk passionately about the threat facing English pubs, swapping memories of beloved locals like Fanny’s Pub in Bolton, Nellie’s, Sam Smith’s pubs, the Queen Victoria, and classic Lake District stops including The Black Labrador, The Punchbowl, Underbarrow, Crosthwaite, and Kendal, with a nod to a proper Wainwright bitter. It’s a heartfelt discussion about pubs as social glue — places of community, memory, and identity — and what we lose when they disappear.
The conversation then turns outward again, this time to climate change. From rising seas threatening Tuvalu and Venice, to concerns about the Gulf Stream, warming Siberia, and the global implications of Paris Accord politics, we reflect on how climate shifts may shape the next century in ways empires never could. History, we realise, isn’t just behind us — it’s being written right now.
Of course, it wouldn’t be Pints of View without the sideways turns: the Mandela Effect (Loony Tunes or Loony Toons?), nostalgic pop culture, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, fizzy drink diplomacy (Coca-Cola, Dr Pepper), the eternal UK vs US pint debate, and comparisons with beers from past episodes like Wusu and Chang. There are dad jokes, cultural oddities, and just enough chaos to keep things lively.
Big empires, small pubs, cold beer, and a warming world — Episode 16 is a reminder that history lives in maps, headlines, and the corner table of your local. Pull up a chair, crack open a Juicy Ass, and join the conversation.
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