Following on from last week in this episode things reach boiling point. Marriage alliances are discarded, invasions undertaken D day style, brutal battles are fought as Perdicass marches to destroy Ptolemy. All this and possibly one of the most audacious and consequential heists in all of recorded history. And crocodiles, lots of crocodiles.

Tristan Hughes has writen a brilliant book about the years immediately following the Death of Alexander the Great. As Tristan says, history didn't just stop at Alexander's death and start again when Rome takes on Carthage. And in fact this period is one of the most fascinating and eventful in ancient history. It is also one of the most confusing and I hope this podcast is both entertaining and clarifying!

And check out HistoryHit. When not writing histories Tristan is a presenter with them - probably the most extensive and certainly one of the best online resources for history. Incredibly wide in its range and absolutely top quality.

Really thrilled to have Bret Devereaux and Ed Watts on the podcast together. We looked at Gladiator as a film (two thumbs up!) and also unpicking some of the history. Ranging far and wide we covered the battle scenes, gladiators, the role of an emperor and lots, lots more. Ed argues that Commodus was doing okay until stabbed in the back by his sister and Bret gives a masterclass in how not to name a Roman. I lower the tone by bringing the nazis into it.

Bret's superb blog is here. 

Ed's latest book is here.

And check out Ed's brilliant YouTube channel.

I chatted to Battleship Bean and John Schilling about nuclear war. We discussed the wonderful Dr Strangleove and tried to unpick some of the realities of a nuclear war. How powerful are modern weapons?  Would they knock out electrical systems world wide?  Would such a war result in nuclear winter?

A book I mentioned in the podcast and which I recommend (though Bean is not a fan) is Command and Control by John Schlosser. Bean himself has written several articles on the subject on his excellent blog:

https://www.navalgazing.net/Nuclear-Weapon-Destructiveness

https://www.navalgazing.net/Nuclear-Strategy

https://www.navalgazing.net/Nuclear-Winter

I'm uploading this on the anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing and am very much hoping that that and the bombing of Nagasaki on 9 August is the last we see of these things.

What happens when a Habsburg prince abandons European luxury to rule a bankrupt, divided Mexico? Emperor Maximilian's journey from triumph to tragedy reveals the human cost of imperial ambition and misguided honor.

After their triumphant entry into Mexico City, Maximilian and Carlotta faced the monumental task of governing a nation torn by civil war. Despite liberal reforms that surprised his conservative backers, Maximilian struggled with Mexico's bankrupted finances while making monthly payments to maintain French military support. The Catholic Church, expecting a champion of tradition, instead undermined him at every turn when he confirmed rather than reversed the nationalization of church property.

The tide turned dramatically when the American Civil War ended in 1865, allowing the United States to pressure France into withdrawing troops. Napoleon III, who had promised unwavering support, abandoned Maximilian to his fate. In desperation, Empress Carlotta embarked on a mission to Europe, confronting Napoleon directly before suffering a devastating mental breakdown at the Vatican—convinced the French emperor was plotting to poison her.

This fascinating episode explores the twists and turns of the story ending in Maximilian's defiant last stand. 

Karl Marx called it 'one of the most monstrous enterprises in the annals of international history'. This seems unfair to the young Hapsburg royals who travel to Mexico in 1864 to become its emperor and empress. Highly liberal by the standards of the day and with the best of intentions they will face a terrible struggle to rule and (ultimately) to try to survive.

Edward Shawcross has written one of the best books I have read in years. It is simply a fantastic page turner. And Edward is also a hugely entertaining speaker as you will find out as you listen to the podcast. 

This episode is part 1 and takes us up to the point the young couple arrive in Mexico. Enjoy!

In the Dutch Republic of the 1630's trading in tulips went mad with bulbs and even parts of a bulb changing hands for astronomical prices. Historian Mike Dash traces the extraordinary story from its beginnings centuries before up to and beyond the inevitable crash. I can't recommend Mike and his books enough. Hard core history and a fantastically accessible reading style. His book Tulipomania is an absolute pleasure.

James Howard - Johnston returns to talk about the astonishing upending of the world order that happened just a few years after the death of Muhammad. The Persian empire destroyed and the Roman Empire reduced to a Byzantine rump. It is a long episode and slightly scholarly but I honestly don't think you can understand the world we live in today without some understanding of these extraordinary times. So have at it!

Paul Lockhart is brilliant on the history of guns (and firepower more widely). He is interested not just in the weapons themselves but how they changed the nature of the nation state itself.  Once gunpowder is introduced everything changes. Warfare increasingly becomes something only a powerful state can really afford and a Darwinian competition starts to unfold from the 1500's onwards. Listening to him a lot of developments in history began to make so much more sense to me.

His book Firepower is incredibly readable. It just gallops along. Highly, highly recommended. 

Ed Watts is one of the most engaging writers and speakers on Roman history I have talked to. In this podcast we talk about the fall of the Republic  - why and how it happened and who was most to blame. The podcast picks up the themes of his excellent book Mortal Republic which is highly, highly recommended.