Real Dictators

World War Two begins. After the invasion of Poland, Hitler sets his sights on Scandinavia. A devastating lightning war rolls over Western Europe, as the German panzers arrive in Paris. Meanwhile, the ...

1 Mar 202356min

Hitler continues his Godfather act, ignoring the Munich settlement and gobbling up the rest of Czechoslovakia. As he turns 50, the Führer is showered with extravagant birthday gifts. Meanwhile, behind...

22 Feb 202356min

Hitler expands the Third Reich, annexing Austria and the Sudetenland. Britain and France seek a diplomatic solution at the Munich Conference. But how long will appeasement keep war at bay? Meanwhile, ...

15 Feb 202355min

This is Part 15 of the Hitler Story. You can start listening here. Or, scroll down the Real Dictators feed for episodes on Hitler’s early years and rise to power. We pick up the tale in the mid-1930s....

8 Feb 202357min

At the age of 93, Mugabe’s days in office are numbered. But the succession crisis threatens to tear Zimbabwe apart. In South Africa, exiles hatch an extraordinary plan to oust him. And when the dictat...

30 Nov 20221h

After two decades in office, Mugabe has already shown himself to be a tyrant. At the dawn of the 21st century, the outside world sits up and takes notice. Mugabe seizes white-owned farms and drags his...

23 Nov 202254min

Mugabe is now the leader of independent Zimbabwe. But behind the façade of democracy, he is already governing through fear. Emboldened, he unleashes a campaign of genocide on his opponents. For now, f...

16 Nov 202254min

For almost four decades, Robert Mugabe held the reins of power in Zimbabwe with an iron grip. As a youthful idealist, he led a revolutionary movement that put his country back in African hands. But on...

9 Nov 202255min