188. Bonnie Prince Charlie: The Young Pretender
In 1688 the Stuart King James II was ousted from the throne by his daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange, in what is called the Glorious Revolution. This momentous change would set in motion...
23 Sep 202451min
187. The Birth of Britain
With the accession of James I and VI in 1603, Scotland was assimilated into the composite monarchy of the United Kingdom. James, an eccentric, insecure and rambling figure, preoccupied with witches, w...
18 Sep 202453min
186. Scotland: A Nation in Crisis
When charting the rise of Scotland’s global influence, few events have been as tragically remarkable as the Darien Scheme of 1698, which saw woefully unprepared Scottish pioneers attempt to settle and...
16 Sep 202453min
185. The God Kings of Angkor Wat
In the 9th century AD, two years after the Holy Roman Empire was established in Western Christendom, another world-shaking empire was rising in the east, more powerful even than that of Charlemagne an...
11 Sep 202453min
184. The Buddhist Merlin
While in the West the legends of King Arthur were being born, a Buddhist tantric magician of immense magical powers - Vajrabodhi - was enshrining himself as the Merlin of first India, and then China. ...
9 Sep 202433min
183. The Poet Kings: Taking Hinduism to Southeast Asia
India’s transformation of the ancient world is indisputable, and tangible evidence of this can be found in the magnificent Hindu and Buddhist temples scattered across the landscapes of South East Asia...
4 Sep 202448min
182. The Lady Macbeth of China
Having garnered absolute power through bloody means, Empress Wu Zetian begins seeing apparitions, haunted by her violent schemes. With her husband incapacitated, the Empress at first held counsel on h...
2 Sep 202451min
181. The Dragon Empress: China’s Game of Thrones
The inculcation of Buddhism from India as the state religion in China was enabled by the violent rise of China’s only ever woman Emperor. Raised by pious Buddhist parents, Wu Zetian left a trail of bo...
28 Aug 202434min
