I am not usually a podcast listener, but have recently been hooked by the Empire podcast, where historians tell the story of the rise and fall of some of history’s most important, well, empires.
In an episode released in January, the subject is the history of coffee, particularly its impact in the Ottoman Empire, spread through Europe, and development in England. The hosts are William Dalrymple, a Scot who has lived most of his adult life in India and written many terrific books, and Anita Anand, a British journalist and historian of Punjabi descent. They are joined for this episode by Harvard professor Cemal Kafadar, who has written of coffee in early modern Istanbul.
I realize this description has been less than enthralling, but give it a try. The podcast is available on Apple podcasts and on Spotify.