Empire

Jason Yanowitz and Mike Ippolito (Blockworks founders) discuss the company's rebrand and evolution. The conversation covers crypto's persistent trust problem, how onchain capital markets could solve it, the role of disclosure frameworks in legitimizing the industry, and Blockworks' shift from media to infrastructure as institutional adoption accelerates.

Logan Jastremski shares his crypto thesis for 2026, arguing that Layer 1 blockchains like Ethereum are overvalued while Solana and Hyperliquid compete fiercely for onchain trading volume. The conversation covers which blockchain wins the trading wars, why Hyperliquid succeeded, and Logan's highest-conviction bets for the year ahead, including analysis of Bitcoin, Tesla, and whether Twitter can scale into a finance platform.

Dalrymple and Anand trace the arc of the Russian Empire from Peter the Great's reforms through Catherine's expansion to the revolution. Covers how imperial overreach, serfdom, and modernization failures led to collapse.

Dalrymple and Anand explore how the Ottoman Empire grew from a small Anatolian principality to a superpower spanning three continents, emphasizing the administrative innovations and military strategies that enabled expansion.

How WWI destroyed the Romanov dynasty and created the Soviet Union. Dalrymple examines the Russian Revolution as simultaneously the end of one empire and the beginning of another.

The Russian Empire under Peter the Great. Dalrymple examines how Peter forcibly modernized Russia — building a new capital, a new navy, and a new elite — through sheer will and horrifying brutality.

The long decline of the Ottoman Empire from the 17th through the early 20th century. Dalrymple examines how a once-dominant empire failed to adapt to industrialization, nationalism, and the changing balance of European power.

The Ottoman golden age under Suleiman the Magnificent. Dalrymple examines the longest and most successful reign in Ottoman history — 46 years of military conquest, legal reform, and cultural achievement that made the Ottomans the world's premier power.

How Napoleon's ambitions in Egypt were partly aimed at threatening British India. Dalrymple connects European and Asian imperial history, showing how the Napoleonic Wars reshaped the global colonial order.

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919, when General Dyer ordered troops to fire on a peaceful crowd in Amritsar, killing at least 379 people. Anand examines how this event transformed the independence movement and destroyed the moral legitimacy of British rule.

How Indian textile manufacturing was the world's dominant industry for centuries — and how the British deliberately destroyed it to protect Lancashire mills. Dalrymple follows the cotton thread from Mughal looms to the Industrial Revolution.

Bahadur Shah Zafar II — the last Mughal emperor, a poet and calligrapher who became the reluctant figurehead of the 1857 rebellion. Dalrymple tells the story of the siege of Delhi and the destruction of Mughal civilization.

The Mughal Empire at its zenith under Akbar, Shah Jahan, and Aurangzeb. Dalrymple presents the Mughals as one of history's greatest civilizations — wealthier than contemporary Europe, architecturally magnificent, and culturally sophisticated.

The partition of India in 1947 — the largest mass migration in history and one of the 20th century's great catastrophes. Anand brings personal family history to the story of 15 million displaced people and up to 2 million dead.

Mahatma Gandhi's transformation of Indian independence from elite petition to mass movement. Dalrymple and Anand, joined by historian Ram Guha, examine how Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolent resistance undermined the moral foundations of British rule.

After 1857, the British Crown took direct control of India from the East India Company. Dalrymple examines how the Raj created a racial hierarchy, built infrastructure for extraction, and imposed a system that Indians experienced as both modernizing and humiliating.

The Indian Rebellion of 1857 — called the Mutiny by the British and the First War of Independence by Indians. Dalrymple examines how a cartridge controversy ignited a widespread revolt against Company rule, leading to the end of both the Mughal Empire and the East India Company.

Robert Clive's victory at Plassey in 1757 — the battle that gave the East India Company control of Bengal, the richest province in India. Dalrymple reveals it was less a battle than a corporate transaction: Clive bribed most of the opposing army.

How a small Tudor trading company became the most powerful corporation in history. Dalrymple and Anand trace the East India Company from its founding in 1600 to its transformation from merchant enterprise to military conqueror.