Podbit · Empire: World History
For decades, no one knew what happened to Pauline after she vanished following the will case. Historian Peter Bunce traced her through a distant relative's family tree to a French death certificate: she died of TB on 10 April 1941, at a sanatorium above the Pyrenees, buried by authorities alone, like her father before her.
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At 51:00 · chapter starts 46:40
On the morning of her death, Irene changed her will, cutting out Pauline and leaving everything to Dr. Barnardo's Homes for Poor and Unwanted Children [1] — Anita Anand "When Irene's will left everything to Dr. Barnardo's, Pauline contested it, claiming Irene was not of sound mind. Then Bamba intervened — hi…" 48:00 . Anita calls it the clearest possible message: I was unloved, I was unwanted too. Pauline contested the will on the grounds that Irene was not of sound mind. Then, out of nowhere, Bamba intervened — hiring Sir Ellis Hume-Williams, a feared King's Counsel, baronet, and Conservative MP, described by Anita as an absolute Rottweiler. For days in court, Hume-Williams dismantled Irene's reputation: 'Black blood ran in her veins, and she would scratch to get it out.' The self-harming, the skin conditions, the hair-pulling — all were laid bare publicly, to Anita's visible revulsion. Bamba lost. Not only did she receive nothing, she was ordered to pay all court costs. She and Pauline never spoke again. The only time Pauline and Sophia would meet again was at Ada's funeral in 1930.
When Irene's will left everything to Dr. Barnardo's, Pauline contested it, claiming Irene was not of sound mind. Then Bamba intervened — hiring feared KC Sir Ellis Hume-Williams, who tore Irene's reputation apart with racist slurs and revelations of self-harm. Bamba lost, paid all costs, and never spoke to Pauline again.
Princess Bamba Duleep Singh hired one of the most feared King's Counsel in England to contest Irene's will, had Irene's reputation torn apart in court, lost the case, and was ordered to pay all court costs.
Factories that replaced coal engines with electric ones in the early 1900s got only 6% efficiency gains. Those that redesigned their entire factory around electricity got a 3x productivity improvement. Swapping AI tools into your existing structure will give you 6%. Rebuilding around AI will give you 10x.
Lebanese terrorists backed by Iran were holding American hostages throughout the Reagan presidency. Reagan had loudly campaigned against negotiating with terrorists — putting him in an impossible position that his team quietly decided to ignore.
During the Iran-Iraq War, the US openly supplied Iraq with weapons, training, and intelligence. At the same time, Oliver North was secretly funneling missiles to Iran. The US was playing both sides of a shooting war.
Oliver North traveled to Iran under the alias 'William P. Goode' with a fake passport. CIA Director William Casey allegedly gave him cyanide pills so he could kill himself rather than be tortured if captured. He returned safely and the deal moved forward.
The Pentagon sold missiles to the CIA for $3,700 each. The CIA sold them to Richard Secord at cost. Secord sold them to Iranian middleman Ghorbanifar for $10,000 each. Ghorbanifar charged Iran even more. The profit — including $3 million in interest in one Swiss account — was diverted directly to fund the Nicaraguan Contras.
America secretly transferred 2,000 missiles and missile parts to Iran in 8 shipments over more than a year. Only 3 of 7 hostages were released. Three more were taken. The net result was zero freed hostages and a full-blown constitutional scandal.
On October 5, 1986, a CIA Contra supply plane flew a weapons drop at 2,500 feet in broad daylight. A Sandinista soldier shot it down. The only survivor, Eugene Hasenfuss, had borrowed a parachute from his skydiving brother. He was captured, paraded in front of cameras, and told the Sandinistas everything he knew.
The CIA supply operation used a front company called Southern Air Transport, widely known to be a CIA cover. Crew members of the downed plane carried their Southern Air Transport employee IDs in their wallets. One also had a business card directly linking him to Oliver North's office in Washington.
When the scandal broke, Oliver North and his secretary Fawn Hall conducted what became known as a 'shredding party,' destroying a day's worth of documents. The full truth of Iran-Contra may never be known because of what was fed through that shredder.
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