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On the West coast of Africa there once, the Mali empire in its Golden Age was once bigger than the entirety of Western Europe put together, made possible by the efforts of one man Mansa Musa the Sultan of Mali. He was the richest man to have ever lived, worth 400 billion dollars in today's terms, his gold mines supplied the British Empire and the rest of the European Empires for 800 years, despite the dry desolate environment of Mali he founded the greatest center of learning in all of world Timbuktu, his great holy pilgrimage to Mecca was the greatest the world had seen.

Predators, ruthless warriors, looters, barbarians - these are some of the words that were used to describe Vikings. However, do those words really paint a clear picture of who Vikings were? The answer is no. Vikings were an influential lot that completely changed how things were done in Europe both economically and socially. During their time, the Vikings were so dominant to everyone that they single-handedly shaped an era.

As World War II raged across the Russian steppes, in Africa and especially in the skies over Europe, elite German and Soviet forces fought a bitter battle in an isolated northern corner of Europe. Here, the battle was for control of the ice-free port of Murmansk, where the Soviet Union received convoy after convoy loaded with British and American tanks, guns, fuel, small arms, food and aircraft. Supplies from the Allied convoys kept the Soviet Union alive at a critical time during the early stages of the war, and Hitler therefore tried every means to stop the convoys.

For more than 200 years, Egypt's ancient monuments have fascinated researchers and curiosity seekers worldwide. From small children's mummies to colossal pyramids, every archaeological find has been scrutinised to unravel the mysteries of one of the world's oldest civilisations. Initially, investigations were conducted with digging spoons, brushes, and meticulous archaeological methods. In recent years, advanced scanning and DNA analysis have been employed.

Hidden in the lush vegetation of the Central American rainforest lie the remnants of the Mayan civilisation. These ruins bear witness to a thriving society that flourished for almost four millennia. Here, rulers presided over communities with millions of inhabitants, scholars developed advanced mathematical calendars, and slaves toiled to raise pyramids so towering that they surpassed even the great structures of the Egyptians. Yet, inexplicably, the Mayans vanished from their cities, and their once-mighty civilization faded into obscurity.

For six years, Britain and Nazi Germany fought a bitter battle for control of the Atlantic. Allied offensives against Hitler's armies on the continent were conditioned by their bases on the British Isles, which made air strikes and landings possible. But during 1939, the Germans began to ‘starve’ the British into surrender by cutting off vital supplies of food and equipment from the Allies. This was done with the help of U-boats that tried to sink more cargo ships than the shipyards could produce - even when these actions were suicidal.

In the past 50 years, significant progress has been made in mapping and understanding Scandinavia during the Viking Age. Archaeologists and historians have carefully studied various sources, such as ancient postholes and thousand-year-old grape seeds, in their efforts to uncover the truth about the Viking world. This work is crucial because the Vikings did not document their history, and what we know is based on exaggerated accounts from monks and sagas. However, with the help of patience and modern technology, researchers are slowly piecing together the puzzle.

Six attempts were made by German officers to kill Hitler in autumn 1943 and summer 1944. Explosives in personal gifts, assassins armed with hand grenades and pistols, and even suicide bombers with pockets full of explosives hunted the Führer, who undoubtedly recognised the danger. The security arrangements around the leader of the Nazi regime were therefore enormous when, in July 1944, Officer Claus von Stauffenberg travelled to Hitler's Führerbunker in East Prussia to kill first Adolf Hitler and then the entire Third Reich.

In 52 BC, after six years of war against the Gallic tribes, Julius Caesar had tamed another enemy of the Roman Republic. Almost one million Gauls were taken as slaves, while their land became just another Roman province. Soon tonnes of grain along with lucrative taxes were flowing towards the imperial capital, whose inhabitants enjoyed all the luxuries of the provinces. Everything had changed since outlaws had founded Rome almost 500 years earlier.

The World History Addicts Podcast is a show that covers global geopolitics and world history from a social and anthropological lens starring myself and my co-host Nick.