Episodes

  • 305. Orwell: Dark Secrets, The CIA, & His Forgotten Failures (Part 4)

    305. Orwell: Dark Secrets, The CIA, & His Forgotten Failures (Part 4)
    Nov 6 2025
    Why was Orwell’s wife, Eileen, written out of his story when she co-wrote Animal Farm? How did the CIA twist the novel into anti-communist propaganda? As a writer who was so ahead of his time on imperialism and totalitarianism, why did Orwell fail when it came to the patriarchy? Anita and William are joined by Anna Funder, author of Wifedom: Mrs Orwell’s Invisible Life, to discuss the women who are missing from Orwell’s biography despite being crucial to his development as a writer. 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: empire@goalhanger.com Instagram: @empirepoduk Blue Sky: @empirepoduk X: @empirepoduk Producer: Anouska Lewis Executive Producer: Dom Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr
  • 304. Orwell: Animal Farm, 1984 & Totalitarian Dystopia (Part 3)

    304. Orwell: Animal Farm, 1984 & Totalitarian Dystopia (Part 3)
    Nov 4 2025
    What was the inspiration behind George Orwell’s most famous works? Why did he move to the remote Scottish island of Jura to finish writing 1984? What was Orwell’s “Snitch List” which he handed over to the government after World War 2? In Part 3 of this miniseries, Anita and William discuss Orwell’s life during WW2 and deep-dive his two most famous works…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: empire@goalhanger.com Instagram: @empirepoduk Blue Sky: @empirepoduk X: @empirepoduk Producer: Anouska Lewis Executive Producer: Dom Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    48 mins
  • 303. Orwell: Fighting Fascism In The Spanish Civil War (Part 2)

    303. Orwell: Fighting Fascism In The Spanish Civil War (Part 2)
    Oct 30 2025
    Why did George Orwell go to Spain to fight on the Republican side against General Franco? Who saved his life when he was shot in the throat? How did internal feuds on the leftist side of the war influence his writing and his paranoia? In Part 2 of this miniseries, William and Anita discuss Orwell’s fight against fascism and his experiences in the Spanish Civil War 1936-1939. 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: empire@goalhanger.com Instagram: @empirepoduk Blue Sky: @empirepoduk X: @empirepoduk Producer: Anouska Lewis Executive Producer: Dom Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    41 mins
  • 302. Orwell: The Anti-Imperialist In India & Burma (Part 1)

    302. Orwell: The Anti-Imperialist In India & Burma (Part 1)
    Oct 28 2025
    How was George Orwell’s childhood rooted in the British Empire and the opium trade in India? Why did George Orwell become a colonial police officer in Burma? When did Orwell develop his anti-imperialist stance? In the first part of this miniseries, Anita and William explore the early life of Eric Blair - later George Orwell - and his time in India and Burma. 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: empire@goalhanger.com Instagram: @empirepoduk Blue Sky: @empirepoduk X: @empirepoduk Producer: Anouska Lewis Executive Producer: Dom Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    43 mins
  • 301. Gaza: The First Arab-Israeli War & The Creation of The Gaza Strip (Part 11)

    301. Gaza: The First Arab-Israeli War & The Creation of The Gaza Strip (Part 11)
    Oct 22 2025
    How did neighbouring Arab nations respond to the displacement of Palestinians in 1948? Why was the future Egyptian prime minister, General Nasser, stationed in Gaza in 1948? How did the population of Gaza double almost overnight with the influx of refugees, and what conditions did they face? William and Anita are joined once again by Eugene Rogan, Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History at The University of Oxford, to discuss the First Arab-Israeli War in 1948. 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: empire@goalhanger.com Instagram: @empirepoduk Blue Sky: @empirepoduk X: @empirepoduk Assistant Producer: Becki Hills Producer: Anouska Lewis Executive Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    48 mins
  • 300. Gaza: The 1948 War (Part 10)

    300. Gaza: The 1948 War (Part 10)
    Oct 20 2025
    Why did the British decide to end their Mandate in Palestine less than three decades after it began? What was the UN Partition Plan for Palestine and why did the Zionist leadership accept it whilst the Arab Higher Committee rejected it? How did the displacement of thousands of Palestinians during the War of 1948 affect Gaza? Anita and William are joined once again by Eugene Rogan, Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History at the University of Oxford, to discuss the War of 1948 which led to the creation of Israel and the displacement of 700,000 Palestinians. 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: empire@goalhanger.com Instagram: @empirepoduk Blue Sky: @empirepoduk X: @empirepoduk Assistant Producer: Becki Hills Producer: Anouska Lewis Executive Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    52 mins
  • 299. Gaza: The Palestinian Revolt, The Black and Tans, & Bomber Harris (Part 9)

    299. Gaza: The Palestinian Revolt, The Black and Tans, & Bomber Harris (Part 9)
    Oct 15 2025
    When Palestinian Arabs rose up against the British in 1936, what repressive tactics were used to quell the revolt? Who was the WW2 hero “Bomber” Harris, and why did he bomb Palestinians in the 1930s? How did Christians, Muslims and Jews who had once co-existed in the region turn against each other in a divisive civil war? William and Anita are joined once again by Caroline Elkins, author of Legacy of Violence: A History of the British Empire, to discuss how unexpected characters from the web of British imperial violence appear in Palestine during the Revolt of 1936-1939. 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: empire@goalhanger.com Instagram: @empirepoduk Blue Sky: @empirepoduk X: @empirepoduk Assistant Producer: Becki Hills Producer: Anouska Lewis Executive Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    49 mins
  • 298. Gaza: The British Occupation of Palestine (Part 8)

    298. Gaza: The British Occupation of Palestine (Part 8)
    Oct 13 2025
    What was the British Mandate of Palestine that emerged after World War I? Why were the Black and Tans sent to Palestine and what methods did they use to enforce order? How did tensions between Zionist settlers and Arab Palestinians begin to rise in Mandate Palestine in the 1920s and 1930s? Anita and William are joined by Caroline Elkins, author of Legacy of Violence: A History of the British Empire, to discuss how violence was used in an effort to maintain order in the British Mandate of Palestine. 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: empire@goalhanger.com Instagram: @empirepoduk Blue Sky: @empirepoduk X: @empirepoduk Assistant Producer: Becki Hills Producer: Anouska Lewis Executive Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    50 mins