Best Empress Dowager Podcasts (2024)

1
Karma 50:55

27m ago50:55

50:55

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the doctrine of Karma as developed initially among Hindus, Jains and Buddhists in India from the first millennium BCE. Common to each is an idea, broadly, that you reap what you sow: how you act in this world has consequences either for your later life or your future lives, depending on your view of rebirth and trans…

1
Fielding's Tom Jones 54:47

2d ago54:47

54:47

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss "The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling" (1749) by Henry Fielding (1707-1754), one of the most influential of the early English novels and a favourite of Dickens. Coleridge wrote that it had one of the 'three most perfect plots ever planned'. Fielding had made his name in the theatre with satirical plays that were so …

1
The Orkneyinga Saga 51:02

9d ago51:02

51:02

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Saga of the Earls of Orkney, as told in the 13th Century by an unknown Icelander. This was the story of arguably the most important, strategically, of all the islands in the British Viking world, when the Earls controlled Shetland, Orkney and Caithness from which they could raid the Irish and British coasts, from…

1
The Orkneyinga Saga 51:02

9d ago51:02

51:02

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Saga of the Earls of Orkney, as told in the 13th Century by an unknown Icelander. This was the story of arguably the most important, strategically, of all the islands in the British Viking world, when the Earls controlled Shetland, Orkney and Caithness from which they could raid the Irish and British coasts, from…

1
S2 Ep11: Fergusons Gang: Pineapples, Artichokes And Bill Stickers 19:02

13d ago19:02

19:02

In collaboration with the National Trust Podcast, join Jorja and Mollie as they dive into the ultimate girl gang - Fergusons Gang, a group of aristocratic women who used mystery and intrigue to help the National Trust save rural England. A story of fake names, bomb scares, and secret meeting places.By History Gap

1
The Wang Jingwei Regime: A Puppet Regime in Nanjing 28:19

14d ago28:19

28:19

In 1938, after the Battle of Wuhan, Wang Jingwei left Chongqing and the Republic of China team in Chongqing for Hanoi. He negotiated with Japanese officials and eventually set up a puppet regime know as the Wang Jingwei Regime and also as the Reorganized National Government of the Republic of China. It was almost totally under Japanese domination, …

1
Marsilius of Padua 56:44

18d ago56:44

56:44

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the canonical figures from the history of political thought. Marsilius of Padua (c1275 to c1343) wrote 'Defensor Pacis' (The Defender of the Peace) around 1324 when the Papacy, the Holy Roman Emperor and the French King were fighting over who had supreme power on Earth. In this work Marsilius argued that the p…

1
Marsilius of Padua 56:44

16d ago56:44

56:44

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the canonical figures from the history of political thought. Marsilius of Padua (c1275 to c1343) wrote 'Defensor Pacis' (The Defender of the Peace) around 1324 when the Papacy, the Holy Roman Emperor and the French King were fighting over who had supreme power on Earth. In this work Marsilius argued that the p…

1
S2 Ep10: Rosalind Franklin, The Dark Lady of Science 25:57

21d ago25:57

25:57

In this week's episode Mollie and Jorja explore the life and controversy of British Scientist Rosalind Franklin who's work helped discover the structure of DNA. The girls also discuss the men who took the credit and the history of women in STEM.By History Gap

1
Empress Dowager Cixi 50:02

23d ago50:02

50:02

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the woman who, for almost fifty years, was the most powerful figure in the Chinese court. Cixi (1835-1908) started out at court as one of the Emperor's many concubines, yet was the only one who gave him a son to succeed him and who also possessed great political skill and ambition. When their son became emperor he wa…

1
Empress Dowager Cixi 50:02

25d ago50:02

50:02

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the woman who, for almost fifty years, was the most powerful figure in the Chinese court. Cixi (1835-1908) started out at court as one of the Emperor's many concubines, yet was the only one who gave him a son to succeed him and who also possessed great political skill and ambition. When their son became emperor he wa…

1
S2 Ep9: Estée Lauder The Woman Behind The Brand 20:33

28d ago20:33

20:33

This week on History Gap Mollie and Jorja look into the life and inspirations of Estee Lauder the make up and beauty tycoon. From rags to riches, chic rumours about her age, and daring adventures in the skincare world. The girls also explore the history of make up and beauty from ancient Egypt to the present day.…

1
Philippa Foot 58:12

1M ago58:12

58:12

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the most significant philosophers of the twentieth century, Philippa Foot (1920 - 2010). Her central question was, “Why be moral?” Drawing on Aristotle and Aquinas, Foot spent her life working through her instinct that there was something lacking in the prevailing philosophy of the 1950s and 1960s which held t…

1
S2 Ep8: Anne Lister, Lovers and Life 22:01

1M ago22:01

22:01

On this week's episode Mollie and Jorja explore the life of British diarist Anne Lister. Famously nicknamed 'Gentleman Jack' and coined as the 'first modern lesbian' Anne lived a life controversial to the status quo. From coded diaries, to lesbian love affairs, join Jorja and Mollie into the adventures of Anne Lister.…

1
Sir Thomas Wyatt 58:01

1M ago58:01

58:01

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss 'the greatest poet of his age', Thomas Wyatt (1503 -1542), who brought the poetry of the Italian Renaissance into the English Tudor world, especially the sonnet, so preparing the way for Shakespeare and Donne. As an ambassador to Henry VIII and, allegedly, too close to Anne Boleyn, he experienced great privilege unde…

1
S2 Ep7: Agatha Christie Inventor Of Sleuths 22:46

1M ago22:46

22:46

On this episode of History Gap, Mollie and Jorja look into the life and characters of Agatha Christie. As an accomplished writer her work stands the test of time, but how much do we really know about her life?By History Gap

501
Mercury 53:49

2M ago53:49

53:49

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the planet which is closest to our Sun. We see it as an evening or a morning star, close to where the Sun has just set or is about to rise, and observations of Mercury helped Copernicus understand that Earth and the other planets orbit the Sun, so displacing Earth from the centre of our system. In the 20th century, f…

1
Living Under Japanese Occupation 29:20

2M ago29:20

29:20

Japan controlled Taiwan as a colony from 1895 to 1945. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Chinese language education and publications stopped and the Imperial Subject Movement tried to Japanize residents of Taiwan. The Baojia system was helpful in controlling the locals and confiscating grain during the war. The Taiwanese were mobilized to suppor…

1
S2 Ep6: Empress Dowager Cixi A Killer Queen 20:30

2M ago20:30

20:30

From teenage concubine to an Empress ruling China, this is episode is about to get a little bit Game of Thrones. Join Mollie and Jorja as they tell the story of Cixi and how she worked her way up the ranks of the Imperial Chinese Harem. To some she's a trailblazer that brought change to China, to others she's a cunning murderer. What will you think…

601
Bertolt Brecht 59:34

2M ago59:34

59:34

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the greatest European playwrights of the twentieth century. The aim of Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) was to make the familiar ‘strange’: with plays such as Mother Courage and The Caucasian Chalk Circle he wanted his audience not to sit back but to engage, observe and discover the contradictions in life, and act o…

1
S2 Ep5: Bessie Coleman The Stunt Pilot 14:41

2M ago14:41

14:41

Bessie Coleman was America's first black and Native American woman to gain a pilots license and was known as 'Queen Bess' by her fans. From fearsome stunts, to paving the way for black women after her, Bessie lived quite the life of adventure. Join Jorja and Mollie as they tell her story.By History Gap

651
Napoleon's Hundred Days 58:56

2M ago58:56

58:56

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Napoleon Bonaparte's temporary return to power in France in 1815, following his escape from exile on Elba . He arrived with fewer than a thousand men, yet three weeks later he had displaced Louis XVIII and taken charge of an army as large as any that the Allied Powers could muster individually. He saw that his best c…

1
Napoleon's Hundred Days 58:56

2M ago58:56

58:56

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Napoleon Bonaparte's temporary return to power in France in 1815, following his escape from exile on Elba . He arrived with fewer than a thousand men, yet three weeks later he had displaced Louis XVIII and taken charge of an army as large as any that the Allied Powers could muster individually. He saw that his best c…

1
S2 Ep4: Grace O'Malley - The Irish Pirate Queen 24:01

2M ago24:01

24:01

From a young girl Grace O'Malley learned the ways of piracy and the ocean, before long she was a fearsome Pirate Queen with a 20 ship fleet and over 200 men under her thumb. She was so infamous she even caught the attention of Queen Elizabeth herself. Join Jorja and Mollie as they tell her story.By History Gap

751
Lysistrata 55:10

2M ago55:10

55:10

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Aristophanes' comedy in which the women of Athens and Sparta, led by Lysistrata, secure peace in the long-running war between them by staging a sex strike. To the men in the audience in 411BC, the idea that peace in the Peloponnesian War could be won so easily was ridiculous and the thought that their wives could hav…

1
S2 Ep3: Virginia Woolf 16:42

2M ago16:42

16:42

Virginia Woolf is one of the world's most famous women in literature, but how much do we actually know about her? In this episode of History Gap join Mollie and Jorja as they explore the life of Virginia including her relationship with Vita Sackville-West.By History Gap

1
Nikola Tesla 52:50

3M ago52:50

52:50

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) and his role in the development of electrical systems towards the end of the nineteenth century. He made his name in New York in the contest over which current should flow into homes and factories in America. Some such as Edison backed direct current or DC while …

1
S2 Ep2: Joan of Arc - The Myth, The Martyr 17:37

3M ago17:37

17:37

The myth, the legend, the Martyr most people have heard the name Joan of Arc, but how much do we really know about her? From peasant girl to taking charge of armies, Joan lives quite the life and pays the price. Jorja and Mollie tell her story.By History Gap

1
S2 Ep1: Junko Tabei - Climbing Everest 16:31

3M ago16:31

16:31

As a young girl Junko Tabei had a dream to climb mountains and so she did. Junko would go on to summit over 70 of the world's highest peaks and would even be the first woman to climb Mount Everest. Mollie and Jorja tell her story.By History Gap

851
The Kalevala 50:20

3M ago50:20

50:20

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Finnish epic poem that first appeared in print in 1835 in what was then the Grand Duchy of Finland, part of the Russian Empire and until recently part of Sweden. The compiler of this epic was a doctor, Elias Lönnrot (1802-1884), who had travelled the land to hear traditional poems about mythical heroes being sung…

1
S2 Ep1: History Gap Season 2 is coming! 1:03

3M ago1:03

1:03

History Gap is back with a new series and a new co-host. Join (extremely) amateur history fans comedy writer Mollie Goodfellow and creator and producer Jorja McAndrew as they educate themselves on some of the cool women from the past that they didn’t learn about in history lessons - mostly because they weren’t listening. From Junko Tabei, incredibl…

951
Julian the Apostate 50:14

3M ago50:14

50:14

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the last pagan ruler of the Roman Empire. Fifty years after Constantine the Great converted to Christianity and introduced a policy of tolerating the faith across the empire, Julian (c.331 - 363 AD) aimed to promote paganism instead, branding Constantine the worst of all his predecessors. Julian was a philosopher-emp…

1
Julian the Apostate 50:14

3M ago50:14

50:14

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the last pagan ruler of the Roman Empire. Fifty years after Constantine the Great converted to Christianity and introduced a policy of tolerating the faith across the empire, Julian (c.331 - 363 AD) aimed to promote paganism instead, branding Constantine the worst of all his predecessors. Julian was a philosopher-emp…

1001
The Waltz 52:12

3M ago52:12

52:12

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the dance which, from when it reached Britain in the early nineteenth century, revolutionised the relationship between music, literature and people here for the next hundred years. While it may seem formal now, it was the informality and daring that drove its popularity, with couples holding each other as they spun r…

1
The Brilliance of Chairman Mao 20:02

3M ago20:02

20:02

By the early 1940s, the Communists in Yan’an were feeling relatively secure. The Japanese advance in north China had not reached that area. The Sino-Japanese War and the United Front meant that Chiang Kai-shek’s main concern had been Japan and not the Communist Party. The Nationalist Government in China even funded the Communists in Yan’an. Thousan…

1
The Mokrani Revolt 57:32

4M ago57:32

57:32

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the revolt that broke out in 1871 in Algeria against French rule, spreading over hundreds of miles and countless towns and villages before being brutally suppressed. It began with the powerful Cheikh Mokrani and his family and was taken up by hundreds of thousands, becoming the last major revolt there before Algeria’…

1101
The Mokrani Revolt 57:32

3M ago57:32

57:32

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the revolt that broke out in 1871 in Algeria against French rule, spreading over hundreds of miles and countless towns and villages before being brutally suppressed. It began with the powerful Cheikh Mokrani and his family and was taken up by hundreds of thousands, becoming the last major revolt there before Algeria’…

1151
Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle 58:02

4M ago58:02

58:02

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the German physicist who, at the age of 23 and while still a student, effectively created quantum mechanics for which he later won the Nobel Prize. Werner Heisenberg made this breakthrough in a paper in 1925 when, rather than starting with an idea of where atomic particles were at any one time, he worked backwards fr…

1
The Sack of Rome 1527 46:32

4M ago46:32

46:32

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the infamous assault of an army of the Holy Roman Emperor on the city of Rome in 1527. The troops soon broke through the walls of this holy city and, with their leader shot dead early on, they brought death and destruction to the city on an epic scale. Later writers compared it to the fall of Carthage or Jerusalem an…

1
The Sack of Rome 1527 46:32

4M ago46:32

46:32

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the infamous assault of an army of the Holy Roman Emperor on the city of Rome in 1527. The troops soon broke through the walls of this holy city and, with their leader shot dead early on, they brought death and destruction to the city on an epic scale. Later writers compared it to the fall of Carthage or Jerusalem an…

1
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland 49:58

4M ago49:58

49:58

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Lewis Carroll's book which first appeared in print in 1865 with illustrations by John Tenniel. It has since become one of the best known works in English, captivating readers who follow young Alice as she chases a white rabbit, pink eyed, in a waistcoat with pocket watch, down a rabbit hole that becomes a well and in…

1
Hormones 50:13

4M ago50:13

50:13

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss some of the chemical signals coursing through our bodies throughout our lives, produced in separate areas and spreading via the bloodstream. We call these 'hormones' and we produce more than 80 of them of which the best known are arguably oestrogen, testosterone, adrenalin, insulin and cortisol. On the whole hormones…

1
Hope and the Second United Front in Wuhan 26:11

4M ago26:11

26:11

For ten months in 1938, Hankou in Wuhan was the center of China's Second United Front and defense against the Japanese invasion. Artistic expression, political parties and free speech all blossomed. Neither the KMT nor the Communist Party fully controlled the city and a variety of generals, thinkers and artists came together to defend against Japan…

1
The Hanseatic League 49:01

5M ago49:01

49:01

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Hanseatic League or Hansa which dominated North European trade in the medieval period. With a trading network that stretched from Iceland to Novgorod via London and Bruges, these German-speaking Hansa merchants benefitted from tax exemptions and monopolies. Over time, the Hansa became immensely influential as rul…

1
The Hanseatic League 49:01

5M ago49:01

49:01

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Hanseatic League or Hansa which dominated North European trade in the medieval period. With a trading network that stretched from Iceland to Novgorod via London and Bruges, these German-speaking Hansa merchants benefitted from tax exemptions and monopolies. Over time, the Hansa became immensely influential as rul…

1
Panpsychism 53:59

5M ago53:59

53:59

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the idea that some kind of consciousness is present not just in our human brains but throughout the universe, right down to cells or even electrons. This is panpsychism and its proponents argue it offers a compelling alternative to those who say we are nothing but matter, like machines, and to those who say we are bo…

1
Nefertiti 49:50

5M ago49:50

49:50

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the woman who inspired one of the best known artefacts from ancient Egypt. The Bust of Nefertiti is multicoloured and symmetrical, about 49cm/18" high and, despite the missing left eye, still holds the gaze of onlookers below its tall, blue, flat topped headdress. Its discovery in 1912 in Amarna was kept quiet at fir…

1
Nefertiti 49:50

5M ago49:50

49:50

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the woman who inspired one of the best known artefacts from ancient Egypt. The Bust of Nefertiti is multicoloured and symmetrical, about 49cm/18" high and, despite the missing left eye, still holds the gaze of onlookers below its tall, blue, flat topped headdress. Its discovery in 1912 in Amarna was kept quiet at fir…

1
The National Palace Museum Treasures During the Second Sino Japanese War 55:21

5M ago55:21

55:21

The treasures of the National Palace Museum, originally the Forbidden City, followed China's path. They escaped the invading Japanese by leaving Beijing, first for Shanghai, then Nanjing and then followed southern, central and northern routes to Sichuan and safety. The Chinese government followed a similar path, as did countless Chinese individuals…

1
Condorcet 50:31

5M ago50:31

50:31

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Nicolas de Condorcet (1743-94), known as the Last of the Philosophes, the intellectuals in the French Enlightenment who sought to apply their learning to solving the problems of their world. He became a passionate believer in the progress of society, an advocate for equal rights for women and the abolition of the sla…

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Empress Dowager Podcasts

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