Greg Jenner is joined by Professor Bill Sillar and comedian Sue Perkins to learn all about the South American Inca empire. At their height, the Inca controlled a vast territory from their base in Peru, one that stretched down the mountainous west coast of the continent, from Ecuador all the way down to Argentina. But the empire barely lasted for a century. Beginning in the mid-15th Century, it fell in the 1530s with the arrival of Spanish conquistadores, led by Pizarro. This episode goes beyond famous sites like Machu Picchu and explores all aspects of Incan life, death – and taxes! Along the way, it takes in social and family structures, food and drink, religious practices, art and architecture. [The podcast version of this episode has been edited slightly to amend an incorrect reference to the weight of the stones carried from Cuzco to Ecuador] This is a radio edit of the original podcast episode. For the full-length version, please look further back in the feed. Research by: Andrew Himmelberg Written by: Andrew Himmelberg, Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Emma Nagouse and Greg Jenner Produced by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner Audio Producer: Steve Hankey Production Coordinator: Caitlin Hobbs Senior Producer: Emma Nagouse
Boxer turned bouncer, Viv Graham was one of the northeast's most notorious hard men.
He was huge, he was strong.
You could take anybody out.
Not many men on earth could match Viv Graham.
But his life of violence led to his downfall.
Why did it happen?
Why did they do that?
How did Viv Graham build an empire?
It was the power, the presence, the aura.
And who was he really?
Gangster?
The story of Viv Graham listen first on BBC sounds.
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Hello and welcome to you're dead to me, the radio four comedy podcast that takes history seriously.
My name is Greg Jenner.
I am a public historian, author and broadcaster.
And today we are loading up our llamas and doing the Machu Picchu trail to learn all about the inca empire.
And to help us, we have two very special guests in archaeology corner.
He's professor at the Institute of Archaeology at University College London, where much of his research focuses on the archaeology of the indigenous peoples of the Andes.
Before, during and after the inca empire is Professor Bill Silla.