It took Alexander just three years to effectively conquer the Persian Empire. Two decisive battles - Issus and Gaugamela - proved his supremacy over the Persian king Darius III, and the two-century rule of the Achaemenids died on battlefields in the Fertile Crescent. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World in hardcopy, ebook, or audiobook (read by Patrick) here: https://bit.ly/PWverge. And check out Patrick's new...

Paul Bergrin is a hotshot criminal defense attorney in Newark, New Jersey. Seemingly unstoppable and with unorthodox methods, he’s built a reputation for getting his clients off the hook. But as Paul's legend grows, so do the suspicions swirling around him.  When FBI Agent Shawn Brokos starts investigating a major drug ring, she makes a shocking discovery: the gang's most powerful player is none other than Newark’s star attorney. Has the ex-federal prosecutor crossed the line and started...

Gladiators are one of the most enduring symbols of the Roman world, but what do we really know about them? Gladiator historian Alexander Mariotti joins me to discuss the logic behind gladiatorial games, the lives of real gladiators, and how the reality contrasts with the popular image we have today. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World in hardcopy, ebook, or audiobook (read by Patrick) here: https://bit.ly/PWverge....

Alexander wasn't yet "The Great" when he invaded the westernmost provinces of the Persian Empire in 334 BC, but he quickly showed that he was a serious threat to the old and still-powerful state ruled by Darius III. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World in hardcopy, ebook, or audiobook (read by Patrick) here: https://bit.ly/PWverge. And check out Patrick's new podcast The Pursuit of Dadliness! It’s all about “Dad...

At a time when we’re debating where policing is going, we’re going to tell you where the police came from. Guided by Peabody award-winning host Chenjerai Kumanyika, Empire City will provide the first accessible narrative history of the American police and its place in popular culture. Who are the police? And why were police departments created in the first place? To find answers, we’re going to tell the origin story of the largest police force in the world: The NYPD. We begin in the late 1800’s...

Philip of Macedonia was a towering figure, and if he had been succeeded by anyone other than Alexander the Great, he would be far better known today. But in 336 BC, at the peak of his powers, Philip was assassinated, and it became Alexander's kingdom to expand. He would do so beyond anyone's wildest dreams. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World in hardcopy, ebook, or audiobook (read by Patrick) here:...

When we think of the rise of Rome, our usual image is one of conquest: Roman armies marching out year after year to subdue their adversaries. But Professor Nicola Terrenato has an alternative way of understanding that process, one rooted in negotiation, the relationships and networks of elite families, and the self-interest of powerful individuals both in Rome and other Italian communities. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that...

We all know the name of Alexander the Great, but his father Philip the One-Eye was no less important a historical figure. In just 20 years, he turned Macedonia into the preeminent power in the Greek world, laying the foundation for the much better-known exploits of his son and heir. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World in hardcopy, ebook, or audiobook (read by Patrick) here: https://bit.ly/PWverge. And check out...

For most of the history of ancient Greece, Macedonia was a backwater: a semi-barbarian kingdom on the fringes of the Greek world, only tangentially involved in the dealings of the sophisticated city-states to the south. But with the rise of King Philip II, father of Alexander the Great, all of that began to change very quickly. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World in hardcopy, ebook, or audiobook (read by Patrick)...

What was Italy like during the period of Rome's rise to power? Dr. Kathryn Lomas, author of The Rise of Rome: From the Iron Age to the Punic Wars, joins me to discuss the fascinating history of Italy outside and inside the city of Rome. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World in hardcopy, ebook, or audiobook (read by Patrick) here: https://bit.ly/PWverge. And check out Patrick's new podcast The Pursuit of Dadliness!...

Pablo Escobar is a household name, known for his reign of terror in Colombia’s cocaine wars. But it wasn’t always that way. The leader of one of the world’s most infamous drug cartels fought his way to the top throughout the 1970s and 80s. Escobar’s Medellin cartel was determined to extinguish its main rival — the Cali cartel, but with billions of dollars at stake, trade disputes quickly turned into actual battles with body counts. The new season of Business Wars goes deep into the battles...

It's time for another mailbag! Patrick answers questions about the Axial Age, the best places to see Iron Age archaeology, and how to be a discerning consumer of history. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World in hardcopy, ebook, or audiobook (read by Patrick) here: https://bit.ly/PWverge. And check out Patrick's new podcast The Pursuit of Dadliness! It’s all about “Dad Culture,” and Patrick will interview some...

The famous Greco-Persian Wars didn't mark the end of the relationship between Persia and Greece, but its beginning. For the next 150 years, the seemingly internal politics of the Greek world became increasingly tied to what was happening under the rule of Persia's Greek king, culminating in the Peloponnesian War and its aftermath. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World in hardcopy, ebook, or audiobook (read by...

We tend to think of Rome's rise to power in Italy as inevitable, but it was far from guaranteed. Their most fearsome enemies within the Italian peninsula were the Samnites, hill-people from the mountainous central regions. But what made the Samnites so formidable, and how were they able to hold out for so long? The answer lies in the fact that they offered a genuine alternative to the Roman way of doing things. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and...

Self-confessed sports geeks Elis James and Colin Murray are here to serve up the juiciest tales from the world of sports – think epic rivalries, scrappy underdogs, and the wildest comebacks and you’re in the right ballpark. Thought you knew the story? Think again. From top-secret training sessions to dressing room dust-ups, join Colin & Elis as they dive into the greatest sporting stories of all time (and probably get a yellow card for simulation). Blood? Sweat? Tears? Sport has it all....

It's summer, which means it's time for some pleasure reading! Here are seven books that Patrick is recommending for your next summer reads: 1) Svetlana Alexievich, The Unwomanly Face of War: An Oral History of Women in World War II 2) Joel F. Harrington, The Faithful Executioner: Life and Death, Honor and Shame in the Turbulent Sixteenth Century 3) Dan Jones, The Wars of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors 4) Paul M. Cobb, The Race for Paradise: An Islamic...

At the beginning of the 4th century BC, Rome was still not the dominant force in Latium, the small region surrounding the city; by the end of that century, Rome was the dominant power in all of Italy. How did that happen? The answer lies not so much in conquest as cooperation. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World in hardcopy, ebook, or audiobook (read by Patrick) here: https://bit.ly/PWverge. And check out Patrick's...

The Cold War, Prohibition, the Gold Rush, the Space Race. Every part of your life - the words you speak, the ideas you share - can be traced to our history, but how well do you really know the stories that made America? We'll take you to the events, the times and the people that shaped our nation. And we'll show you how our history affected them, their families and affects you today. Hosted by Lindsay Graham (not the Senator). From Wondery, the network behind American Scandal, Tides of...

Gender is one of the fundamental forces structuring our world, but its impact is uneven in time and space. Dr. Alice Evans joins me to talk about the enormous strides toward gender equality that have defined the world in the past century or so, which she terms the Great Gender Divergence. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World in hardcopy, ebook, or audiobook (read by Patrick) here: https://bit.ly/PWverge. And check out...

By 450 BC, the Roman Republic was beginning to take on the outlines of a form we recognize, with elected magistrates, a Senate, and written laws. But these were hard times for Rome, and there was no guarantee that the city would even dominate its immediate area, much less Italy and beyond. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World in hardcopy, ebook, or audiobook (read by Patrick) here: https://bit.ly/PWverge. And check...

Wow in the World is the #1 science podcast for kids and their grown-ups. Hosts Mindy Thomas and Guy Raz share stories about the latest news in science, technology, and innovation. Stories that give kids hope, agency and make us all say "WOW"! New episodes come out every Monday. Listen to Wow in the World: http://wondery.fm/wowintheworld. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In 509 BC, the last king of Rome - Tarquinius Superbus - was expelled from the city, and the Republic was born. But what do we actually know about the early years of the Republic? Not much, and what we do know is at odds with the much later traditions on which we tend to rely. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World in hardcopy, ebook, or audiobook (read by Patrick) here: https://bit.ly/PWverge. And check out Patrick's...

It's been a while since Tides of History has gone to the Middle Ages, and a wonderful new book - House of Lilies: The Dynasty that Made Medieval France - provides us with the opportunity to return. Professor Justine Firnhaber-Baker is one of the world's leading experts on medieval France, and she joins the show to talk about her new book, the Capetian dynasty, and how medieval politics actually worked. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty...

The Peloponnesian War lasted for nearly 30 years, decades of ceaseless battles, sieges, and human misery that covered the whole of Greece. In the end, Athens' fate was decided not in Greece itself but in faraway Sicily, where the course of the war turned against Athens once and for all. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World in hardcopy, ebook, or audiobook (read by Patrick) here: https://bit.ly/PWverge. And check out...