Every episode comes with a full transcript, images, and sources on our website. Season 1 covers 300,000 years -- from the emergence of Homo sapiens in Africa to the end of the Bronze Age. Archaeological records, manuscripts, stelae. historyofthemajorityworld.com

1896: Ethiopia defeated Italy at the Battle of Adwa -- one of the few times an African nation repelled a European colonial army. Italy later occupied Ethiopia with poison gas and concentration camps. Most Italians never learn this. historyofthemajorityworld.com/episodes/00-introduction

Why "Majority World"? In 1952, "Third World" was a revolutionary metaphor -- not a ranking. When it crossed into English, it became shorthand for poor and backward. Then "developing" implied these nations were simply behind on a universal path. historyofthemajorityworld.com/episodes/00-introduction

This podcast is an homage to Amin Maalouf's "The Crusades Through Arab Eyes" -- same history, different lens. The Crusaders were seen as cruel, ignorant, and culturally backward. We're trying to do that reframing on a global scale. historyofthemajorityworld.com/episodes/00-introduction

How much of the history you learned in school was actually world history? Western curricula teach Western history and call it world history. Entire civilizations, entire centuries, just missing. What's the biggest gap in yours? historyofthemajorityworld.com/episodes/00-introduction

1955: 29 Asian and African nations gathered in Bandung, Indonesia, to assert they didn't have to pick sides in the Cold War. "Third World" was originally a revolutionary metaphor about solidarity, not a ranking of poverty. historyofthemajorityworld.com/episodes/00-introduction

"North America is about 5% of the world's population. Europe roughly 10%. These regions that get called 'third world' -- they're the majority. Most people. Most of human history." The term was coined by Bangladeshi photographer Shahidul Alam. historyofthemajorityworld.com/episodes/00-introduction

3rd century BCE. Rome controls half of Italy with ~4 million people. Meanwhile, Ashoka rules the Mauryan Empire -- 15-30 million people, larger than Rome at its height. Chances are you've never heard of him. That's the gap this show is about. historyofthemajorityworld.com/episodes/00-introduction

New podcast: History of the Majority World. Most "world history" is really Western history with guest appearances. This show covers the other 85% -- the Mauryan Empire, Tang China, the Swahili coast, the Inka. Episode zero is out. historyofthemajorityworld.com/episodes/00-introduction