The Rest Is History

He remains one of the great characters in all history. But was he depraved, corrupt and evil? Or an artist much maligned by elitist historians? Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland discuss Nero. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It promises to be the biggest event of the summer - The Rest is History World Cup of Gods. Sixteen competitors, but there can be only one winner. Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook preview all the runners and riders. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Did Oliver Cromwell save Britain from tyranny or was he a killjoy and military dictator? Paul Lay, author of Providence Lost: the Rise and Fall of Cromwell's Protectorate joins Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook to discuss the short-lived British Republic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What, if anything, can we learn about medieval history from Game of Thrones? Or is George R R Martin’s hugely popular series of books, and the blockbuster TV series based on them, in danger of supplanting true history in the popular imagination? Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook, both huge fans of the series, discuss books, films and history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook talk to award-winning writer Camilla Townsend, author of the revelatory Fifth Sun. Professor Townsend used Nahuatl language sources to write an engaging history offering a new interpretation of events in Mexico centuries ago. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“They’re wasting their money and having sex with each other.” Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland explore the modern phenomenon of the teenager. Why do teenagers scare older generations and will Tom cope with his daughter’s veganism? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook tuck into the history of British food with author Pen Vogler. They debate the origins of curry and debate our obsession with beef. Plus, they discuss a curious historical obsession with cooking pigs and chickens, stitched together. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With France facing economic struggles and rising unemployment revolution was in the air. But who was in charge of the uprising and what did it achieve? Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland storm their own podcasting Bastille. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook are joined by historian and broadcaster Dan Snow to discuss the biggest event of the 18th century - The Seven Years' War. @dcsandbrook Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The battle lines are drawn as Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook get involved in this most timely of subjects. They discuss the historical significance of culture wars from Ancient Rome to the US Civil Rights movement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook cross their legs and rank the best Eunuchs in history. From religious fanatics to operatic singers, they discuss the grisly glory these young men ‘enjoyed’. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It is perhaps the best known year in English history. But why has it endured in the national consciousness? Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook talk the Battle of Hastings, the end of the Anglo-Saxons and wonder if King Harold really was killed by an arrow in the eye. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It is arguably the most important year in modern history. With the British Expeditionary Force trapped at Dunkirk, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain replaced by the maverick Winston Churchill and France collapsing under the force of invasion, the world watched and waited to see which way the axis of power would tilt. James Holland, leading historian of the period, joins his brother Tom and Dominic Sandbrook to discuss the events of 1940. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Podcasting’s answer to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - that’s Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook of course - explore the Wild West in both fact and fiction. Does the romantic representation in both fiction and film bear any resemblance to the historical truth? And why are we still so intrigued by the myth of the American western frontier? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It is one of the truly great civilisations in world history and yet the story of Persia has faded from view in the west. Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook are joined by Professor Ali Ansari to discuss Persia's extraordinary influence on the modern world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From re-enactment to reinforcing capitalism through the board game Monopoly. Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland examine the history of games and the portrayal of history in games. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

She famously claimed to have the heart and stomach of a king and remains one of Britain’s most talked about monarchs, despite having reigned more than 400 years ago. Tracy Borman, author of the acclaimed Elizabeth’s Women, joins Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook to discuss Elizabeth I. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It was one of the great political ideologies of the 20th century, vying with capitalism for supremacy. Now communism has retreated from the political mainstream having failed to create the utopia of a classless society. Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland discuss the origins of communism as a theory and the frequently repressive attempts to govern by its principles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

History is littered with stories of espionage and its capacity to change the course of events. But does spying truly matter and has the human operative finally been replaced by the computer? Ben MacIntyre, author of books including Agent Zigzag and The Spy and the Traitor, joins Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook to discuss the history of spying. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In our last episode we debated the merits of British Prime Ministers through the centuries. But who was voted the best of all by the public and why? Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland discuss the men who made it through to the final stages of our Prime Ministers’ World Cup and analyse the public voting patterns which led to the final outcome. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Who is the greatest British Prime Minister of them all? The bookmakers have Winston Churchill favourite to lift the crown, but William Gladstone and Maggie Thatcher won’t give up the fight without a struggle. And who’s this coming up quietly on the left-hand rail? Why, it’s Clement Attlee, who looks a real threat to the horses on his right. Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland debate the runners and riders in our inaugural Rest is History World Cup. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

March 20th marks the annual Feast day of the Northumbrian Saint Cuthbert. But why should we care about this largely forgotten figure from the 7th century? Tom Holland persuades Dominic Sandbrook that the story of Cuthbert, whose body lay perfectly preserved long after his death, is well worth re-examining. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It has been described as the most universal cultural mode there has ever been, but is football a worthwhile object of study for historians? Sports journalist and author Jonathan Wilson joins Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland to look at the history of the game and how it became Britain’s most successful export. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Counterfactuals are the great what ifs of history. Imagine the Nazis winning World War 2, or the Roman Empire never falling. Is this a valid form of historical enquiry? Or is it simply game-playing? Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland discuss what might have been. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It emerged from the Prussian victory over France in 1870 and was destroyed by the First World War less than fifty years later. German historian Katja Hoyer joins Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook to discuss the short but explosive life of the German Second Reich. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With the British monarchy under intense scrutiny following an interview with Harry and Meghan conducted by Oprah Winfrey, Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook use the lens of history to analyse the significance of this event. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Has America taken over the world? Did the dollar and Hollywood enable the US to replace the British empire as the dominant international influencer? And is that power now waning? Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook discuss Americanisation on the Rest is History. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Comedian Al Murray joins Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook to discuss the history of comedy as well as the funny side of history. Has comedy changed through time? When and why are we not allowed to laugh at events? Al Murray has made a living out of making people laugh, while also frequently placing history at the heart of his humour. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook ask why Tutankhamun remains the best known of the Egyptian pharaohs. They examine the discovery of the tomb by Howard Carter in 1922 and discuss Tutankhamun’s relatives, in particular his father Akhenaten. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Suzannah Lipscomb joins Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook to discuss the history of witches and witchcraft. Why did society see witches as a threat and what is the modern equivalent of a witch hunt? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is the age of empires over? And are they always a bad thing? Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland explore empires through history, examining the modern assumption that nation statehood is always the better way. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Everything you wanted to know about sex in the 18th and 19th Century but were afraid to ask. Hallie Rubenhold, author of The Covent Garden Ladies and the multi-award winning The Five joins Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook to discuss this fascinating subject. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ecstasy, emails and economic stability. Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland discuss the 1990s, a decade which brought us Oasis, Tony Blair, Monica Lewinsky and Mr Blobby. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Rest is History brings you the top ten strangest conflicts of all time. Obscure, little-known, downright strange. Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland choose five each. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What is history’s take on the future? Oracles, prophecies, apocalypse, scientific projection. Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook discuss them all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Broadcaster and historian Michael Wood joins Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook to discuss the world’s oldest civilisation. What were the great moments in Chinese history and why do the Opium Wars still feature so prominently in the modern Chinese school syllabus? The birth of the Chinese Communist Party and the complicated legacy of Chairman Mao all feature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It remains the most romantic historical story of all time, but is the legend of King Arthur a myth? Was he even English? And will he rise again when the country needs him most? Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook take their places at the round table. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

England has long been divided by an invisible line somewhere north of Watford and south of the Mersey. But do northerners really have more in common with Scots and Welsh people than their fellow Englishmen in London? Dan Jackson, author of The Northumbrians and a former advisor to Cheryl Cole, joins southerner Tom Holland and midlander Dominic Sandbrook to try and decide if we should eat lunch then dinner, or dinner then tea. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What is fascism and where did it come from? No one admits to being a fascist yet it continues to be a term of abuse hurled on a regular basis. Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook discuss the history of this most unacceptable of political models. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pompeii Why does Pompeii continue to hold such a fascination for so many people? And which secrets are still to be uncovered from beneath the ashes? Dr Sophie Hay, a leading expert on the ruined Italian city, joins Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook to answer lots of listener questions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From the Great Wall of China to the Berlin Wall, history is littered with the building of barriers aimed at keeping people out, and sometimes in. Do they work? Are they ever a good thing? Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook climb walls and explore borders as they investigate the history of separation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is the author’s responsibility to the quality of the novel or the truth of history? What makes a great historical novel and which authors have contributed to our understanding of history. Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook range across literature in search of the best of historical fiction. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stephen Fry is our guest on The Rest is History as he tells Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook about his enduring fascination with the Greek myths. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

History is littered with conspiracy theories, from Popish plots to JFK’s assassination. But what makes people believe in them and how do they gain currency? As strange stories continue to swirl around the coronavirus vaccine, Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook examine conspiracy theories through the ages. Oh and Dominic finally solves the question of who did kill JFK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As Britain leaves the EU, Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook look at the best & worst comparisons from history that have been made to Brexit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is Christmas an ancient ritual or was it invented by Dickens? Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland discuss the transformation of Christmas from public to private event and decide when it became a commercial rather than spiritual celebration. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Whose fault was it? Does the question even make sense? Are wars always somebody's "fault"? Was it really the first global war? And should Britain have fought, or stayed out? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Social media has colonised the world but is it really a new phenomenon? Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook debate the effects of technical innovations from the printing press to Twitter. Do they really make a difference? Or was Swift right when he said: “It is the folly of too many, to mistake the echo of a London coffee-house for the voice of the kingdom.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Can we truly learn from history? And if we can - do we? It’s one of the big questions this week as Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook roam through the centuries in search of certainty. Never get involved in a land war in Asia. That’s our starter for ten. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s been described as the most legendary story ever told. But did the Trojan War actually happen? And was it really fought over a beautiful woman? Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook discuss an enduring tale that still resonates to this day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices