Smart Cookies

Few conflicts have been as impactful as the two Opium Wars fought between China and the Western powers during the 19th century. These unjust wars, unanimously won by the West, ultimately resulted in a series of devastating concessions and ushered in China's so-called century of humiliation, the memory of which is still shaping global politics today. But how did it all start? Why was Britain intent on pushing opium on this vast and ancient empire? And how come Qing dynasty China crumbled in an instant? In this episode of the Smart Cookies podcast, Yang-Wen Zheng, Professor of Chinese History at the University of Manchester, takes us through through this tricky, yet monumental chapter of global history.

Neoliberal capitalism is dead. But what kind of a system has replaced it?In the era of tech titans, weakening institutions and growing social tensions it's hard to get a grip on the forces that are governing our lives. Throw the chaotic administration of Donald Trump into the mix and the political landscape becomes truly unrecognisable.Are we living in the era of technofeudalism, platform capitalism or libertarian authoritarianism? And how do increasing political killings, such as the one of MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk, fit into the mix?Professor William Davis, sociologist and political economist, author of the impactful books Happiness Industry and Nervous States, takes us through these unprecedented and transitory times.

It's the middle of the 13th century and the Mongols have bulldozed their way through a host of Middle Eastern kingdoms like they are playing a strategy game with a cheat code. One after the other, the powerful Christian, as well as Islamic, states fell until there were almost none left on the map. The conquest of EVERYTHING seemed inevitable... However, in one of history's greatest upsets of all time, the Mongols finally met their match. This is the second part of the conversation with Prof. Nicholas Morton, author of the Mongol Storm, an unputdownable history of Mongol conquests of the Middle East. We talk about the mysterious Assassins, the fall of the Crusader States, and the rise of the Ottomans, an empire that will dominate the Mediterranean for hundreds of years to come...

The Byzantine Empire, Anatolian Seljuks, The Ayyubid Empire, Kingdom of Armenia, The Crusader States, The Abbasid Caliphate, the Nizari Assassins... this isn't a list of factions for a new Age of Empires video game, it's a snapshot of the Middle East in the middle of the 13th century - a time (and place) of incredible diversity, sophistication and struggle.All of these states, whether Christian or Muslim, are continuously interlocked into alliances and division, cooperation and armed conflict. But however different, they suddenly have 1 thing in common - the whispers of a TERRIFYING new power rising in the East, approaching their borders with unprecedented speed...How will they deal with this apocalyptic threat? Will they try diplomacy, submit or go to war? Will they stand together or fall separately? All of these questions are the subject of "The Mongol Storm: Making and Breaking Empires in the Medieval Near East," a fascinating book by historian Nicholas Morton, professor of Medieval history at Nottingham Trent University.* This is the FIRST PART of our conversation. The SECOND part will be available next week... unless you're a PATREON subscriber. Then you can access it straight away!

In the mainstream media China still occupies the role of the main adversary of the West. It's usually portrayed negatively, as a belligerent country and a paragon of human rights abuses. But is China really just an endless Asian gulag, or is the picture a bit more complicated?To find out I talked to Kaiser Kuo, creator and host of the Sinica podcast, and former Director of International Communications at the Chinese search giant Baidu.In this wonderfully illuminating conversation we discuss inaccurate Western perceptions, China's unique political system, its breathtaking technological advances, as well as the realities and challenges of everyday life in a first-tier Chinese city in 2025.

The omnipresent problem of bad leadership in politics and business seems to be more pressing than ever. So why do we keep choosing incompetent leaders? What kind of people get ahead in the workplace? What does good leadership actually look like? And finally - do I have what it takes to fulfil my lifelong dream and become an effective basketball coach? Tune in to my convo with historian Martin Gutmann, author of the best-selling book The Unseen Leader, to find out!

Marci Shore is a historian, chair in European Intellectual history, a professor at the Munk School of Global affairs, and the author of The Taste of Ashes: The Afterlife of Totalitarianism in Eastern Europe. Since she's an expert in the history of totalitarian regimes, I ask her about Hitler's Nazi Germany, the brutal claustrophobia of Stalinism, the twisted psychology of Soviet purges and the totalitarian mechanisms that turned ordinary people into monsters. As prof. Shore recently made headlines when she announced she is leaving the US due to Donald Trump and his policies, we can't get past the question on how close current America is to a totalitarian state and even to civil war. Tovarishi and tovarischitze, you don't wanna miss this one!

Join Nick Srnicek, a Senior Lecturer in Digital Economy and author of 'Silicon Empires: The Fight for the Future,' as he dives deep into the motivations of AI leaders like Peter Thiel and Elon Musk. He discusses the implications of military contracts for AI companies and raises ethical concerns about power dynamics in the industry. The conversation also critiques the concept of universal basic income amidst automation, contrasting neoliberal and nationalistic ideologies in tech, and the need for collective action to shape a future that benefits society.

Marcus Chown is an award-winning writer, broadcaster and former radio astronomer at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. He's the author of The Ascent of Gravity, Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt you and Afterglow of Creation.His latest title, A Crack in Everything: How Black Holes Came in from the Cold and Took Cosmic Centre Stage details the mind-blowing science of black holes, and traces this, once preposterous idea to its obscure beginnings.In this interstellar conversation we discuss what would have happened if you managed to fall into a black hole, whether time travel is indeed possible, why black holes aren't really black and finally, why do we find them at the centre of every galaxy in space.

In light of a scandalous recent Guardian article which explored why Zoomers think we Millennials are profoundly uncool, I desperately needed some answers. So I turned to Dr. Carolina Are, an Innovation Fellow and a social media researcher at Northumbria University’s Centre for Digital Citizens.We proceeded to talk about the list of perceived millennial sins, the many different aesthetic sensibilities we inhabit, the various unique challenges that only Gen Z faces, the nature of cringe... and last but not last, about Goblin mode.