313. Rudyard Kipling: Escaping India & Writing The Jungle Book (Part 2)
What inspired Kipling to write his two most famous works: The Jungle Book and Kim? Why did Kipling hate London and swiftly move to the US? How did Kipling develop such astute observational writing abo...
4 Dec 202533min
312. Rudyard Kipling: Son of Empire (Part 1)
Rudyard Kipling was one of the most evocative writers of India, yet he was a jingoist and an imperialist until his dying day. So how do we grapple with this conundrum, why was Kipling such a man of c...
2 Dec 202525min
311. Cricket In India: Beating The Brits At Their Own Game (Part 2)
How did Britain’s imperial game become so popular in India? Why were India’s princes the ‘nepo babies’ of cricket? How does the legacy of Partition continue to affect matches in India and Pakistan tod...
27 Nov 202541min
310. The Origin of The Ashes & The Killer Cricket Scandal (Part 1)
How is the history of cricket completely intertwined with the history of the British Empire? What was the Bodyline Controversy of the 1930s and how did it nearly kill a player? Who was Don Bradman and...
25 Nov 202549min
309. Tintin, Nazis, & Soviets
What was the origin story of Hergé, the Belgian illustrator who created The Adventures of Tintin? How did an unlikely friendship transform Hergé’s life and lead him to draw Tintin crying in a comic st...
20 Nov 202545min
308. Asterix and Obelix, Babar The Elephant, & Colonial Cartoons
How did a story made up by a mother for her sick children turn into Babar The Elephant? Why did two immigrants to France create such a patriotically French cartoon in Asterix and Obelix? How should we...
18 Nov 202547min
307. Austen vs Brontë: Unmasking Slavery Heiresses
What is the true history behind the “madwoman in the attic” in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre? How was Jane Austen’s aunt deeply connected to slavery in Barbados? Who were the British heiresses who marr...
13 Nov 202541min
306. Joseph Conrad: From Russian Exile To The Heart of Darkness
How did a Polish sailor become one of the greatest writers in the English language? Why were Conrad’s parents exiled to the harsh conditions of northern Russia? Should we continue to read The Heart of...
11 Nov 20251h
