The Atomic Bomb & Civil War Cigars: Greatest 'What Ifs' from History

The Atomic Bomb & Civil War Cigars: Greatest 'What Ifs' from History

We think of history as a neat chain of predictable events; but what if the truth is far wilder than that? Today, we're talking about the pivotal forces of randomness and chance, and how tiny moments can change the course of our human story.


Dan is joined by Brian Klaas, associate professor in global politics at University College London and author of 'Fluke: Chance, Chaos and Why Everything We Do Matters'. Brian unpicks our traditional telling of history, and explains how our world really works.


Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Anisha Deva.


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Episoder(1497)

THE LEADERS: Roosevelt

THE LEADERS: Roosevelt

How instrumental was Roosevelt in the Allied victory? He'd guided America through the Great Depression, he changed American society and his post-war vision shaped the world we see today. He knew WWII ...

28 Mar 20251h 5min

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

He was responsible for the fastest trains in history. He built innovative new hospitals for Florence Nightingale. His vessels shattered records for crossing the Atlantic and he enabled the laying of t...

26 Mar 202530min

THE LEADERS: Hirohito

THE LEADERS: Hirohito

Was Hirohito really as passive as history has painted him? Emperor Hirohito stood at the head of Japan’s war machine, yet after 1945, both the Japanese and the Americans painted him as a powerless obs...

24 Mar 202553min

The Rise & Fall of The Moors in Spain

The Rise & Fall of The Moors in Spain

In 711 an Arab and Berber army crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and invaded the Iberian Peninsula. Seven years later, their conquests had birthed the Muslim kingdom of al-Andalus. This marked the begin...

21 Mar 202542min

THE LEADERS: Stalin

THE LEADERS: Stalin

Was WWII actually Stalin's War? He's a man whose name is synonymous with absolute power, the epitome of ruthless ambition, his story is one of both triumph and unspeakable cruelty. A man whose brutali...

19 Mar 20251h 1min

Babylon: The Most Important City of Antiquity

Babylon: The Most Important City of Antiquity

The urban cultures of ancient Mesopotamia formed the foundation for so much of our modern world. Nowhere exemplifies this better than the city of Babylon, which was the cultural seedbed for the Greek ...

17 Mar 202534min

THE LEADERS: Mussolini

THE LEADERS: Mussolini

Once a political heavyweight with dreams of a new Roman Empire, Mussolini's journey from a rebellious socialist youth to the fascist leader of Italy is a story of ego, brutality and ultimately incompe...

14 Mar 20251h 2min

The Origins of Jim Crow

The Origins of Jim Crow

The Jim Crow era is one of the darkest periods in American history. The country was divided by laws, customs and etiquettes that demeaned African Americans and segregated them from white Americans. Bu...

12 Mar 202535min

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