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Empire: World History

320. Photos That Shook The World: Exposing Leopold in The Congo

Empire: World History

Goalhanger

History

4.64.1K Ratings

🗓️ 30 December 2025

⏱️ 43 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

How did one woman take on the brutal colonial King Leopold II in Congo with her camera? Who was Alice Seely Harris and why should we remember her name? How did she smuggle her photographs of the horrors going on in the Congo out of the country? Anita and William discuss the life of Alice Seely Harris, the mouse who stood up to a lion using the power of her Kodak Camera… Join the Empire Club: Unlock the full Empire experience – with bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to miniseries and live show tickets, exclusive book discounts, a members-only newsletter, and access to our private Discord chatroom. Sign up directly at empirepoduk.com  For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com. Email: [email protected] Instagram: @empirepoduk Blue Sky: @empirepoduk X: @empirepoduk Producer: Anouska Lewis Assistant Producer: Alfie Rowe Executive Producer: Dom Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

If you want access to bonus episodes reading lists for every series of Empire, a chat community,

0:06.7

discounts for all the books mentioned in the week's podcast, add free listening and a weekly newsletter,

0:12.4

sign up to Empire Club at www.mpowerpoduk.com.

0:19.1

Hello, Empire Podcast listeners, Anita here.

0:22.3

Look, this episode is going to be one perhaps if you're of a delicate disposition

0:27.6

or you've got small children or even slightly bigger children who don't like

0:31.5

gory story.

0:33.5

You may not want to listen to it with them.

0:35.8

Anyway, just a friendly warning.

0:37.9

On with the show.

0:48.8

Hello and welcome to Empire with me, Anita Arnain.

0:52.7

And me, William Duremple.

0:55.0

And we have got the most Anitaish story ever in this episode.

1:00.6

Yes.

1:01.3

And I don't apologise for a second about that.

1:03.9

It really is, actually.

1:05.1

This one tickled every nerve ending in my body.

1:09.0

And not always in a good way, can I tell you?

1:11.9

Because in this third of our series on photographers who changed the world, we are looking at a woman. Shock horror,

1:17.8

that's why I'm so excitable. You almost certainly have never heard of her, but this is a woman

1:23.9

who took on a European king and she won. And her name was Alice Seeley Harris. And I bet you've never heard of her, have you, Willie? I've never heard of it. No. I know, funny enough, the photograph she took, as is often the case in the photographers of this series, just like half the pictures that Cash took. Absolutely iconic photographs. But I had no idea he took them. And ditto the

1:44.4

horrific pictures which Alice Seeley Harris took. It's just so often the case. And this is the

...

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