Cecil Rhodes and his Secret Plan for World Domination

·25 min·2 clips

Rhodes' private company waged a brutal war, blasting away the Ndebele army with Maxim guns to claim their land.

This episode explores the shocking life and legacy of Cecil Rhodes, the diamond magnate and colonizer whose ruthless business practices, imperial ambitions, and bizarre plan for a secret society to rule the world ultimately led to the creation of the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship. Host Mark Fennell and Rhodes Scholar Dr. Johnny Steinberg trace how a teenager's arrival in South Africa spiraled into a story of monopoly, violence, and a contested historical memory that literally ends with feces being thrown at his statue.

As heard by us

A sharp, strange history story about empire, ego, and the long shadow of one loaded name.

The episode frames Cecil Rhodes as more than a statue or a scholarship name, starting in Cape Town with a protest that makes his legacy feel unsettled and very much alive.

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Why you'd press play

Follow the statue, the scholarship, and the secret plan behind both.

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