Throughout history, civilisations have fallen and sometimes almost disappeared altogether. Paul Cooper tells their stories, but always in relation to our own time: how similar was the Bronze Age’s dependence on the eponymous metal to today’s dependence on oil? Could the Vikings’ refusal to adapt in Greenland be similar to today's inactivity? And how could the Sumerian’s change in diet be a role model for us today?

The disappearance of the indigenous people of Easter Island is particularly instructive: in contrast to the commonly told fable of a society responsible for its own downfall, Paul Cooper tells of their fate as the result of Western imperialism.

As well as being interesting, the podcast is excellently produced – often with multiple narrators and music from the time of the story. In this interview, Cooper talks about his “catalogue of the worst leaders”, which is also available as a book.