Sign in
History
Goalhanger
The world’s most popular history podcast, with Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook.
Join The Rest Is History Club (www.therestishistory.com) for ad-free listening to the full archive, weekly bonus episodes, live streamed shows and access to an exclusive chatroom community.
Here are some of our favourite episodes to get you started:
WATERGATE/NIXON apple.co/3JrVl5h
ALEXANDER THE GREAT apple.co/3Q4FaNk
HARDCORE HISTORY'S DAN CARLIN apple.co/3vqkGa3
PUTIN & RUSSIA apple.co/3zMtLfX
417. Britain in 1974: State of Emergency (Part 1)
“Who governs Britain?”
Britain in the early 1970’s was a state in crisis, and by 1974, things had never seemed bleaker. Held hostage by the Trade Unions, British industry was flailing. England’s sporting record was atrocious, the economy was tanking and the prospect of a miners’ strike loomed large. Violence was surging in Northern Ireland, as the IRA escalated its bombing campaigns, and the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War would send oil prices soaring, with the miners on the verge on plunging Britain into darkness. By the end of the year, the British people had voted in two general elections, had a three-day week enforced on them, and the Conservative party were on the cusp of electing their first female leader…
Join Dominic and Tom for the first episode of their four-part epic on 1974, undoubtedly one of the darkest and most dramatic years in British political history…
*The Rest Is History LIVE in 2024*
Tom and Dominic are back onstage this summer, at Hampton Court Palace in London!
Buy your tickets here: therestishistory.com
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
59:4712/02/2024
416. The Canterbury Tales (Part 4)
Geoffrey Chaucer stands as a founding father of English literature, and ‘The Canterbury Tales’ is an enthralling account of his age, holding a mirror up to the traditional hierarchies of 14th century England. Chaucer’s own life was spent navigating the rapids of a particularly tumultuous period, from fighting in the Hundred Years’ War alongside Edward III, to working for the infamous John of Gaunt, becoming embroiled in London politics, and surviving the gruesome Black Death. Chaucer even lived through the explosive Peasants’ Revolt, during which his own life hung in the balance…
Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss the turbulent life and seminal work of Geoffrey Chaucer, a titan of English history and trailblazer of social change.
*The Rest Is History LIVE in 2024*
Tom and Dominic are back onstage this summer, at Hampton Court Palace in London!
Buy your tickets here: therestishistory.com
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
55:1508/02/2024
415. The Murder of Richard II (Part 3)
“For within the hollow crown that rounds the hollow temple of a king...”
Richard II, son of the dashing Black Prince and grandson of Edward III, became King of England at only ten years old. By the age of fifteen he had overcome one of the most terrifying threats to the English Crown up to that point: the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381. In the ensuing years, Richard’s rule became increasingly autocratic. This, coupled with the threat of foreign invasion and his dangerous proclivity for favourites, increasingly alienated Richard’s subjects, with rebel lords eventually taking up arms against the king. As the storm-clouds of civil war loomed large, King Richard II clung to his hollow crown….
Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss the events that resulted in Richard’s deposition and mysterious death, and what his reign tells us the English monarchy in the 15th century.
*The Rest Is History LIVE in 2024*
Tom and Dominic are back onstage this summer, at Hampton Court Palace in London!
Buy your tickets here: therestishistory.com
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
55:5705/02/2024
414. The Peasants’ Revolt: London’s Burning (Part 2)
On the 13th of June 1381, the rebel army of English peasants, led by Wat Tyler, entered London and brought chaos, death and destruction upon some of the city’s most important buildings and figures, among them the Archbishop of Canterbury and his home at Lambeth Palace. Within the Tower of London, the 14 year-old Richard II and his government still cowered, with the rebels demanding that Richard’s treacherous advisors be handed over. Desperate, the charismatic young King was convinced by his advisors to ride out and meet the rebels. A meeting ensued, upon which the whole course of English history depended, as the radicals demanded terms that would mean the abolition of serfdom, and the transformation of the English social order forever.
Join Tom and Dominic as they describe the gory and unprecedented events of the Peasants' Revolt, and discuss the stories of mob violence, murder and vandalism…
*The Rest Is History LIVE in 2024*
Tom and Dominic are back onstage this summer, at Hampton Court Palace in London!
Buy your tickets here: therestishistory.com
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
52:4201/02/2024
413. The Peasants' Revolt: England Erupts (Part 1)
By the late 14th century, England was in decline. Already weakened by the Hundred Years’ War, both Edward III and his son, the Black Prince, had died, leaving the country in a perilous state. Richard II, the new king, was only a child. With the poor facing increasingly harsh poll taxes, and distrust of the nobility growing among them, an uprising broke out in southern England in 1381. It was led for the first time by peasants, a class of person invisible on the historical stage up to this point. The Peasants’ Revolt would prove to be one of the most iconic events of English history, altering not only England’s society and the fate of her monarchy, but also generating a new kind of grassroots radicalism.
Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss the outbreak of this landmark moment in the history of English socialism, building up to the climactic moment when Richard II and his men find themselves besieged in London by the rebel army surrounding her walls, under the leadership of the elusive Wat Tyler…
*The Rest Is History LIVE in 2024*
Tom and Dominic are back onstage this summer, at Hampton Court Palace in London!
Buy your tickets here: therestishistory.com
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
54:2629/01/2024
412. Romans in Space: Star Wars, Dune and Beyond...
Extolling his love for democracy, the Senator took on autocratic powers, during a time of emergency, to save the Republic. The Republic was then abolished, and in its place rose an Empire… This is not the story of Julius Caesar or Augustus, but of ‘Star Wars’, the blockbuster movie series telling the story of a struggle between good and evil, a battle for the revival of the old Republic.
But is the world of ‘Star Wars’ really inspired by Roman history? How does ‘Dune’ reflect the birth and growth of Islam? Why does ‘The Hunger Games’ use Roman iconography and names? Does Isaac Asimov’s ‘Foundation’ reflect the fall of the Roman Empire?
Join Tom and Dominic in today’s episode, as they look at how the Roman myth has seeped into popular culture, inspiring quests, stories and entire worlds, from ‘Star Wars’ to ‘Dune’, ‘Star Trek’, ‘The Hunger Games’, and many more sci-fi bestsellers.
*The Rest Is History LIVE in 2024*
Tom and Dominic are back onstage this summer, at Hampton Court Palace in London!
Buy your tickets here: therestishistory.com
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
55:2025/01/2024
411. The Man in the Iron Mask
In the late 17th century, during the glorious reign of Louis XIV, the Sun King, France was at its apogee, with royal absolutism at its zenith. But, beneath the gold and glamour of Louis’ reign, there lay a terrifying darkness: a prison system into which people could be disappeared without a trace. And at the very heart of this darkness there lurked an excruciating secret…a prisoner, his terrible crime unknown, moved from prison to prison, forbidden to speak, and whose face was encased at all times in a mask of steel. Who was he, if he even existed at all? An English spy? Louis’ long-lost father, driven into obscurity? Or, even more threateningly, his twin brother?
Join Tom and Dominic as they explore one of the greatest mysteries of all time: the Man in the Iron Mask. Following in the footsteps of Voltaire and Alexandre Dumas, they definitively solve the case and reveal, once and for all, the identity of this enigmatic figure…
*The Rest Is History LIVE in 2024*
Tom and Dominic are back onstage this summer, at Hampton Court Palace in London!
Buy your tickets here: therestishistory.com
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
50:2522/01/2024
410. The Nazis in Power: The Night of Broken Glass (Part 7)
By November 1938 the scene in Germany was at its darkest yet, as the full scale of Hitler’s intentions for the Jewish population of the German Reich was becoming evermore apparent. As the threat of another world war increased, so the Nazi anti-semitism machine went up a gear. Synagogues were destroyed, Jewish businessmen, bureaucrats, lawyers and doctors disbarred, plans were made for a mass expulsion of Jews from Europe. But the worst was yet to come, as the assassination of a German official in Paris in late 1938 instigated the most savage wave of Jewish persecution in Germany so far…
Join Dominic and Tom as they discuss the build up to Krystallnacht - the Night of Broken Glass - and the diabolical destruction, brutality and violence that ensued. By the end of 1938, Hitler’s two dearest ambitions, an apocalyptic victory over the Jewish people and the conquest of Europe itself, seemed terrifyingly within reach.
*The Rest Is History LIVE in 2024*
Tom and Dominic are back onstage this summer, at Hampton Court Palace in London!
Buy your tickets here: therestishistory.com
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
46:4418/01/2024
409. The Nazis in Power: Hitler's War on the Jews (Part 6)
As Hitler ramps up the German war machine, he remains obsessed with one idea: uprooting Jews from the Reich. The Nazis embark on a campaign of totalitarian oppression against them, persecuting Jewish people in every aspect of life. They are excluded from most professions, forbidden from intermarrying, Jewish children are bullied and excluded from schools, all Jews have a “J” stamped in their passport, to name but a few measures. Worst of all, the brainwashing of the German people has become apparent, and many are willing participants in the various forms of persecution; plenty of German towns have put up signs by this point saying “Jews not wanted here”. Hitler may tone down the oppression to whitewash the 1936 Berlin Olympics, but this does not last. One terrifying truth is clear: he is fully set on the destruction of European Jewry.
Join Tom and Dominic in the fifth part of our series on the Nazis in power, as they look at how the persecution of Jewish people in the Reich increased in the lead-up to the Second World War.
*The Rest Is History LIVE in 2024*
Tom and Dominic are back onstage this summer, at Hampton Court Palace in London!
Buy your tickets here: therestishistory.com
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
53:4816/01/2024
408. The Nazis in Power: Hitler's Dream (Part 5)
“We must have a healthy people to dominate in the world”.
In July 1933, Hitler’s Nazi party passed a new law for the compulsory sterilisation of anyone with a physical disability, or “congenital feeble-mindedness”. They claimed this was scientifically sound, and for the moral and biological good of the Aryan race. The measure darkly foreshadowed the tragedies to come, as Nazi Germany ratcheted up its horrific program of racial sterilisation, euthanasia and extermination. But why did the Nazis see their horrific crimes as beneficial to the fatherland, and consider themselves on the right side of History? What motivated Hitler, the figurehead behind these terrifying ideologies, to act on them? And how many of these ideas, propagated by Hitler and his generals, were shared and accepted by the German people?
Join Tom and Dominic as they delve into the roots of the Nazis’ pseudo-science: from the glorification of ancient Greece, Rome, and the “Nordic” race, to the intellectual ideals of the 19th century, in which Darwinism and the survival of the fittest flourished. They attempt to unravel one of the darkest ideologies in all world history, and their uniquely hideous brand of anti-semitism.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
55:0815/01/2024
407. The Nazis in Power: The Conquest of Austria (Part 4)
By 1937, Hitler’s ever-growing ambitions were driving Europe to the brink of war. Ever restless, he knew that Germany must conquer the world, or be destroyed. His first target was Austria, his homeland, whose annexation to Germany would unite German blood under one indomitable Reich. However, in an effort to avoid Nazi rule, the Austrian Chancellor, Kurt Schuschnigg, called a referendum on annexation, to show the Austrian people’s will against it. Hitler’s reaction was one of rage, and on the morning of Friday, the 11th of March, 1938, he sent an ultimatum to Vienna. At 5.30am the next day, the German army crossed into Austria. It was met by great cheering crowds, and Hitler’s arrival in Vienna was one of true apotheosis… Yet the darkness at the heart of Hitler’s European dream was also emerging, as the Nazis began to detain and repress Austrian minorities, particularly the Jewish population, on an unprecedented scale.
Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss the annexation of Austria, and the post-war myth of Austria’s victimisation at the hands of Hitler and the Nazis. They also look at the Nazis’ first acts of violence, discrimination and deportation against Vienna’s Jewish population, prefiguring the horrors to follow.
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
57:2511/01/2024
406. The Nazis in Power: Hitler’s Road to War (Part 3)
“No one can doubt that this world will one day be the scene of dreadful struggles for existence on the part of mankind. In the end, the instinct of self-preservation alone will triumph.”
Hitler has been planning for war since 1928. However, the Treaty of Versailles has placed immense limitations on his ability to rearm Germany, and he must first overcome internal enemies, whether the SA or the communists. He will then need to build-up the Nazi war machine, to allow him to expand the Third Reich and gain his much-desired lebensraum, “living space”. But with Germany facing economic decline, will Hitler’s push for rearmament provide a solution to the economy’s manifold problems? Or will the Führer simply use foreign policy coups as a smokescreen, to hide the dire straits facing the German people? Hitler can be certain of one thing - Britain and France do not want another war…
Join Tom and Dominic in the third part of our series on the Nazis in Power, as they look at how Hitler, both materially and ideologically, prepared the country for war, and, as a brilliant opportunist, preyed on the Allies’ weaknesses in order to complete his rearmament of Germany.
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
01:01:1508/01/2024
405. The Nazis in Power: The Nuremberg Rallies (Part 2)
“We did not lose the war because our artillery gave out, but because the weapons of our mind didn’t fire”
In September 1934, the Nazis held their sixth annual party conference in the Bavarian city of Nuremberg. The location held a symbolic resonance for the party, being not only the embodiment of an uncorrupted medieval Germany, and the centre of the First Reich, but also a bedrock of anti-Semitism. It was therefore here that Hitler would lay out his terrifying vision for the mighty new empire’s future, promulging the superiority and purity of the Aryan bloodline. The rally was a pageant of ritualised fanaticism, recalling the majesty of Germany’s mythic past and all the heroism of classical antiquity. It was the first of many such extravagant displays, replete with parades of marching workers, bonfires, and swastikas, as the Nazi propaganda machine, under the leadership of the grotesque Joseph Goebbels, tightened its stranglehold over Germany. Through the popularisation of the radio, Nazi youth organisations, cinema, and even the Olympic Games, German minds were being steadily remoulded…
Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss the Nazis' gradual indoctrination of the German people in the build up to the Second World War, and the beginnings of Hitler’s plans for not only the Third Reich, but the entire world.
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
55:0504/01/2024
404. The Nazis in Power: The Night of the Long Knives (Part 1)
“Hitler had entered Röhm’s bedroom alone with a whip in his hand. Behind him had stood two detectives holding pistols, with the safety catch removed, at the ready…”
The 30th of June 1934 saw a seismic moment unfold in the early years of the Third Reich. With the Führer and his party firmly in power, a bloody faction fight takes place within the Party. The Nazis have gained control of both the streets and the democratic institutions of Germany, with Hitler made Chancellor in 1933. But the SA, the largest Nazi military faction, led by the unmistakable Ernst Röhm, have shown signs of challenging Hitler, and rumours have reached the Führer that he is facing a coup… After a bloody night of murderous terror led by Hitler and his personal guard, the SS, they are left as the strongest military wing in the Party, with the SA facing extinction.
Join Tom and Dominic in the first episode of our series on the Nazis in Power, as they delve into how Hitler solidified his and his party’s control of Germany, the different right wing groups at play, the signs of uprising against Hitler’s rule, and the eventual quelling of all opposition.
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
57:0801/01/2024
403. The Mystery of the Pregnant Pope
A Pope of great renown once reigned during chaotic years for the medieval Church: she was an extraordinary figure, from a time when women were forbidden from even becoming priests - indeed she is History’s only female Pope. But did this “Popess" really exist, and if so, who was this mysterious, awesome woman? What does her story reveal about the murky politics of the medieval Vatican? The original account described an English woman named Joan, who through her brilliance rose to become none other than Pope John VIII. Then, in a shocking turn of events, she fell pregnant and gave birth to a son during a procession, before meeting a sinister end…
Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss this most remarkable of legends and discover the truth behind the story of the pregnant Pope - a tale of teenage Popes, female persecution, blinding, castration, and Europe’s greatest revolution.
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
49:3328/12/2023
402. Christmas: Pagan or Christian?
“The Church was anxious to draw the attention of its members away from the old pagan feast days, and the December date did this very well, for it coincided with the birthday of the invincible son of Mithraism…”
Is Christmas as we know it merely an invention, created by plagiarising from rival cults, such as the worship of Mithra, the Iranian sun god, during the days of the Roman Empire? Is Christmas in fact based on a pagan festival, that Christians have made their own? Or has Christmas always been an authentically Christian celebration, born of its tradition and rituals? Join Tom and Dominic as they delve into the roots of Christmas, the importance of the Roman festival of Saturnalia, the cult of Sol Invictus, and much more.
📱Protect your tech valuables with our exclusive 20% off discount at http://uk.mous.co/RestHistory🎒
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
01:00:5125/12/2023
401. Windrush: The Story of Black Britain
On the 8th of June 1948, the HMT Windrush sailed from Kingston with almost 500 migrants on board, destined for England. The ship docked at Tilbury on the 22nd of June, and history was made. Since that day the legend of Windrush has gradually come to characterise an increasingly broad and more diverse group of British citizens, and the event stands as a sacred moment in the history of British multiculturalism, race relations and immigration, laden though it is with moral and political baggage.
In today’s episode Tom and Dominic are joined by acclaimed journalist and author Trevor Phillips, to discuss this seminal moment in the history of Black Britain. During the course of the episode they dismantle some of the myths that have since developed, explore the people who came over, and the emergence of the communities that settled in Britain in the wake of 1948. They also consider the complicated wider context of the Windrush story, and the long term significance of this foundational moment.
📱Protect your tech valuables with our exclusive 20% off discount at http://uk.mous.co/RestHistory🎒
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
52:0021/12/2023
400. Victorian Britain's Maddest Mystery
In 1854, the twenty-five year old aristocrat Roger Tichborne, heir to an impressive fortune, died in a shipwreck ....Or did he? His mother, certain of her son’s survival, advertised extensively with a tantalising reward for her son’s return. Twenty years later a rough, corpulent butcher from Australia named Arthur Orton arrived in Europe and declared himself to be the long lost heir. The trial that ensued captivated the public imagination, becoming the greatest and most dramatic case of Victorian England and arguably, all of British history.
Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss The Tichborne Case with best-selling author Zadie Smith, which forms the centrepiece of her new novel The Fraud. It is a darkly comic story of intrigue and mystery, that crosses continents and encompasses the issues of race, empire and class that smouldered at the very heart of 19th century British society.
📱Protect your tech valuables with our exclusive 20% off discount at http://uk.mous.co/RestHistory🎒
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
47:3518/12/2023
399. The Savage Storm: World War II and The Battle for Italy
The Battle for Italy in 1943 proved to be one of the bloodiest and most brutal episodes of the Second World War. Following hot on the heels of their recent victory in Sicily, the Allies crossed the Straits of Messina and entered Italy in September, to fight their way up the Italian peninsula, what Churchill termed “the soft underbelly of Europe”. Intended to draw Axis troops away from the Eastern Front, and with Churchill’s enthusiastic backing, the campaign was expected to be an easy one, with Allied troops in Rome by Christmas. But this wasn't to be the case. What unfolded was an attritional meat-grinder, in which every mile the Allies covered was a hard-fought struggle against fierce German resistance.
Join Tom, Dominic and renowned historian of war James Holland to discuss this dark and dramatic campaign, fought amidst the precarious ruins of a vanished Roman empire, as they describe in unflinching detail its horrors, hardships, and tragedies. Buy your copy of James' new book here: https://coles-books.co.uk/the-savage-storm-by-james-holland-hardback
📱Protect your tech valuables with our exclusive 20% off discount at http://uk.mous.co/RestHistory 🎒
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
51:1514/12/2023
398. JFK: The Mystery is Solved (Part 7)
In this landmark edition of The Rest is History, Dominic and Tom reveal the astonishing solution to the mystery that has fascinated so many people for the last sixty years. In thrillingly definitive detail, they explain just who killed President Kennedy and why he did it.
Step by step, they trace his journey to the killing ground, and delve into the psychology of a murderer. They unmask his fellow conspirators, and explain just how his crime reflects the chilling political secrets of American life in the 1950s and 1960s. And they discuss how the conspiracy echoes through the pages of American history, and continues to influence American politics to this day.
Join Dominic and Tom for this unforgettable journey into the dark heart of American history - an episode that will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about the Kennedy assassination.
📱Protect your tech valuables with our exclusive 20% off discount at http://uk.mous.co/RestHistory 🎒
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
53:2111/12/2023
397. JFK: A Conspiracy Unmasked (Part 6)
“We can’t accept very comfortably that two nobodies, two nothings - Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby - were able to change the course of world history.”
The murder of Lee Harvey Oswald, JFK’s apparent assassin, by the night club owner Jack Ruby on 24th November 1963 changed everything. Right from the start, rumours had circulated that Oswald had not been acting alone, building on the deep anxieties of American society in the 1950s and 1960s. Some blamed Communist states such as Cuba or the Soviet Union; others anti-Castro exiles, or the Ku Klux Klan. As the years passed, the CIA and FBI came under suspicion. Did Lyndon Johnson know more about the conspiracy than he pretended? Just what was Richard Nixon doing on that fateful day? And how did Frank Sinatra’s drummer fit in?
Join Tom and Dominic as they explore the background to the Kennedy conspiracy theories, from umbrella men to grassy knolls, discussing the wider context and investigating every last clue in their tireless search for the truth.
*Dominic’s book The Fall of the Aztecs is available now from bookshops across the UK - the perfect Christmas present!*
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
01:00:1007/12/2023
396. JFK: The Second Assassin Strikes (Part 5)
“Jack, you son of a bitch, don’t do it!”
Just hours after President Kennedy’s assassination, in the full glare of the world’s media, the Dallas police are confident they have solved the case. They have found the murder weapon, and are poised to charge their chief suspect, a strange loner called Lee Harvey Oswald. But as they prepare to move him to the county jail, one local businessman has other ideas. As they are leading Oswald into the station garage, an eccentric nightclub owner Jack Ruby steps forward. And as he aims his pistol at Oswald’s chest, the course of American history is about to take another dizzying turn …
Join Dominic and Tom as they trace the footsteps of two erratic nobodies, Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby, in the days before Kennedy’s assassination, leading up to the critical moment on 24th November when the two men finally came face to face, changing both of their lives and the course of the investigation forever…
*Dominic’s book The Fall of the Aztecs is available now from bookshops across the UK - the perfect Christmas present!*
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
42:1705/12/2023
395. JFK: Hunt for a Killer (Part 4)
It’s 12:31pm on Friday 22nd November 1963, and in Dallas, Texas, President John F. Kennedy lies slumped against his screaming wife, half of his head cradled in her hands and his blood spattered across her elegant pink suit and the seats of their car.
Just moments earlier, three shots had rung out from the direction of the Texas Book Depository. Or had they? Who had fired the shots? A single gunman - or more? Just who was the oddly detached, vacant-looking man whom left the building minutes later? Why did he murder a Dallas policeman shortly after the shooting? Was he really Kennedy’s killer, or a red herring, planted by a wider conspiracy? And was he working for the Cubans, the Communists - or the CIA?
Join Tom and Dominic as they plunge into the extraordinary drama of 22 November 1963, from the national shock after the president’s assassination to the thrilling hunt to track down his assassin.
*Dominic’s book The Fall of the Aztecs is available now from bookshops across the UK - the perfect Christmas present!*
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
47:0504/12/2023
394. JFK: Death in Dallas (Part 3)
“It wouldn't be very difficult to kill the president of the United States, you just have to be in a high building with a high powered rifle, telescopic sight and there's nothing anyone could do about it….”
On the morning of Friday, 22nd November 1963, John F. Kennedy awoke with just hours to live. Ahead was a flight to Love Field, Dallas; then a motorcade into the heart of the city’s business district. But as the president and his glamorous wife, Jacqueline, settled back in their limousine for the journey towards destiny, they had no idea of the horror to come …
By 12:22pm the motorcade had reached Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, passing the nondescript Texas Book Depository and slowing for the unexpectedly large and enthusiastic crowds gathered to greet the President. At 12:25 bystanders spotted the figure of a man on the sixth floor of the Book Depository, staring strangely away from the motorcade. Then, at exactly 12.30 pm, the first shot rang out around the square….
Join Dominic and Tom as they break down the events of the day of the assassination of President Kennedy moment by moment, from the night before the murder to its traumatic aftermath, poring over the evidence in order to solve this supremely fascinating historical mystery.
*Dominic’s book The Fall of the Aztecs is available now from bookshops across the UK - the perfect Christmas present!*
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
45:1930/11/2023
393. JFK: Cuba, Camelot and the Cold War (Part 2)
By the late 1950s, John F. Kennedy was a rich and handsome Democratic senator with a beautiful wife and young family, heading for the White House despite his Catholicism, his affairs and his secret illnesses. In January 1961 he became the youngest ever President of the United States, during a period of heightened political and social tensions at home and abroad, with the Cold War raging, communism on the rise and the Civil Rights Movement dominating the headlines. What role, then, did Kennedy’s domestic and foreign policies play in these monumental moments of world history? And does the backlash against him offer us the crucial clues to the motives behind his assassination, and the identity of his killer?
Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss Kennedy’s early political career, the successes and failings of his presidency, and world-shaking events such as the Bay of Pigs disaster, the Cuban missile crisis, the Space Race and the Vietnam War. All the while, Kennedy’s days are numbered as that fateful day in Dallas comes ever closer…
*Dominic’s book The Fall of the Aztecs is available now from bookshops across the UK - the perfect Christmas present!*
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
56:0228/11/2023
392. JFK: The Road to the White House (Part 1)
“There were a lot of people who wanted Kennedy dead, a lot of powerful people. There are secrets still being held and I never bought for a minute that Oswald operated alone.”
The assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas on 22nd November 1963 is one of history’s most iconic stories, a moment of terrible innocence lost and a foundational myth for modern America. The tragedy of the murder, coupled with the mystery surrounding it and the glamour of Kennedy himself, have only heightened the enduring fascination with the event. But what really happened in the days before, during and after the assassination? Did Lee Harvey Oswald really act alone? Or was he just a tool for darker forces at play in American politics - or for an international conspiracy at the terrifying height of the Cold War?
Join Dominic and Tom as they launch their epic investigation into the life and death of JFK, beginning with the controversial Kennedy clan, the young ‘Jack’s’ upbringing and the personality of the victim himself. Along the way they discuss his battle with crippling illness, his sexual escapades and his romance with the woman who became his wife, Jacqueline Bouvier.
*Dominic’s book The Fall of the Aztecs is available now from bookshops across the UK - the perfect Christmas present!*
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
49:5427/11/2023
391. The Fall of the Aztecs: The Last Emperor (Part 8)
Tenochtitlan, once the glittering jewel at the heart of the mighty Aztec Empire, has fallen. Hernán Cortés stands triumphant, the master of this New Spain. Or so it seems. For the last Aztec emperor, Cuauhtemoc, is still alive and well. And in the jungles of Mexico and Honduras, a dark and bloody story is only just beginning …
In the final episode of this astonishing journey, Dominic and Tom discuss the aftermath of the fall of Tenochtitlan, the fates of Cuauhtemoc, Cortés and Malinche, the experiences of the local population and the story of Mexico in the decades after the Spanish conquest. As this mighty epic draws to a close, they also explore the Black Legend of Spanish imperialism, and discuss the long-term repercussions of the conquest and its status in the context of world history and politics today.
*Dominic’s book The Fall of the Aztecs is available now from bookshops across the UK - the perfect Christmas present!*
*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:
Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in New Zealand and Australia!
Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
58:3523/11/2023
390. The Fall of the Aztecs: War to the Death (Part 7)
"Conquer or die indeed, Cortes thought… The hour of decision was at hand…"
It is the spring of 1521 and the fate of Mexico hangs by a thread. Smallpox has ripped through the local population, while the ruthless Spanish commander, Hernán Cortés, has cut off the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, from its surrounding provinces.
So begins one of the bloodiest and most dramatic struggles in all history - an extraordinary clash between the Old World and the New, as the Spanish tighten their grip on the island city of the Mexica. But can the new Aztec emperor, Cuauhtemoc, save his people? For he has a secret weapon - the terrifying Quetzal-Owl …
In today’s episode, Dominic and Tom tell the story of the Siege of Tenochtitlan - the last stand of the Aztec warriors, as the Spanish and their allies close in for the kill.
*Dominic’s book The Fall of the Aztecs is available now from bookshops across the UK - the perfect Christmas present!*
*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:
Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in New Zealand and Australia!
Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
40:0420/11/2023
389. The Fall of the Aztecs: The Night of Tears (Part 6)
Things have never looked bleaker for Hernán Cortés and his band of Spaniards. They are trapped, starving and terrified in the heart of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, surrounded by an enraged people bent on revenge. And with their imperial hostage Montezuma dead, they only have one option left - a desperate escape in the dead of night.
Can they make it across the lake with their gold? Or will the Aztecs intercept them before it’s too late?
In today’s episode of this epic series, Tom and Dominic tell the story of one of the most dramatic moments in all history - the night of 30th June 1520, La Noche Triste, when the Spanish tried to break out of Tenochtitlan. They also explore the aftermath of this hellish episode, and the arrival of another, even greater threat to the survival of the Aztecs - disease …
*Dominic’s book The Fall of the Aztecs is available now from bookshops across the UK - the perfect Christmas present!*
*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:
Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in New Zealand and Australia!
Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
46:4016/11/2023
388. The Fall of the Aztecs: The Festival of Blood (Part 5)
“The blood flowed like water…”
It is 1520 and word has reached Hernán Cortés in Tenochtitlan that another group of Spaniards led by the ferocious Pánfilo de Narváez, have landed on the coast to hunt him down. Taking drastic action, he decides to leave the city with his wily mistress Malinche to pursue the newcomers, but not before taking the Emperor of the Aztecs, Montezuma, as his hostage.
But can Cortés really overcome a much larger force commanded by such a formidable rival? And can his lieutenant, the dashing, violent and reckless Pedro de Alvarado, keep his cool in the heart of the capital? For one of the most hallowed Aztec festivals is fast approaching. The tension is mounting, and the Spaniards’ swords are thirsty for blood …
In today’s episode in this unmissable series, Dominic and Tom lead us deeper into the heart of darkness, as the story of the Fall of the Aztecs takes a shocking and nightmarish turn …
*Dominic’s book The Fall of the Aztecs is available now from bookshops across the UK - the perfect Christmas present!*
*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:
Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in New Zealand and Australia!
Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
51:3814/11/2023
387. The Fall of the Aztecs: Prisoners of Montezuma (Part 4)
The year is 1519. Hernán Cortés and his Spanish comrades have arrived in Tenochtitlan, the capital city of the Aztecs, and have been welcomed by their Emperor Montezuma. But what is Montezuma planning? Are the Spaniards his guests - or his prisoners? Has he really acknowledged them as his overlords? Or are they destined for a rather darker fate, as the latest inmates in his mysterious zoo?
In today’s episode, Tom and Dominic follow the Spaniards as they explore the magnificent city of Tenochtitlan, from the crowds in the markets to the blood-drenched shrines atop the temple pyramids.
The days pass, the smiles fade and the tension rises. And then Cortés hears news from the coast that changes everything, and must roll the dice one more time in the greatest gamble of all …
*Dominic’s book The Fall of the Aztecs is available now from bookshops across the UK - the perfect Christmas present!*
*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:
Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in New Zealand and Australia!
Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
46:2413/11/2023
386. The Fall of the Aztecs: The City of Gold (Part 3)
“Conquer or die! Conquer or die! Conquer or die!”
Making a decision that will change the course of history, Hernán Cortés chooses to disobey his orders and head inland in search of the gold-rich empire of the mysterious Montezuma. Ahead lie the mountain passes that will lead him down into the Valley of Mexico, a vast lake shimmering at its heart.
In the middle of the lake lies the island city of Tenochtitlan, a vision of bustling marketplaces and soaring pyramids. But are the Spaniards advancing as conquerors - or are they walking into a trap? And just what is Montezuma planning?
Join Dominic and Tom to explore perhaps the most astonishing encounter in all human history - not just the meeting of two extraordinary characters, but a collision of cultures that will have dark and bloody consequences …
*Dominic’s book The Fall of the Aztecs is available now from bookshops across the UK - the perfect Christmas present!*
*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:
Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in New Zealand and Australia!
Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
50:5009/11/2023
385. The Fall of the Aztecs: The Woman Who Changed The World (Part 2)
Hernán Cortés has set sail from Cuba, eager to find the truth behind the rumours of gold on the coast of Mexico. Ahead lies a world he can barely imagine - a land of pyramid temples, terrifying gods and unknown peoples - the empire of the Aztecs. But Cortés has a secret weapon: a woman whose very name has become a byword for treachery …
In today’s episode, Dominic and Tom explore the extraordinary story of Malinche, the slave-girl given by the Mayans to the Spanish, who becomes Cortés’s translator, guide, lover and adviser. As the expedition moves north along the Mexican coast, is she really doing the Spaniards’ bidding? Or has she secretly taken control, leading them ever closer to a tumultuous and bloody showdown? For all the time, Montezuma is waiting …
Don’t miss the second episode in this thrilling account of the Fall of the Aztecs!
*Dominic’s book The Fall of the Aztecs is available now from bookshops across the UK - the perfect Christmas present!*
*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:
Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in New Zealand and Australia!
Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
54:5207/11/2023
384. The Fall of the Aztecs: The Adventure Begins (Part 1)
The meeting of the controversial Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés and the formidable Emperor Montezuma in 1519 was one of the great hinge moments of world history, and the beginning of the end for the mightiest of the New World empires: the realm of the Aztecs.
The build-up to this extraordinary encounter is at once a thrilling adventure story and a tragic tale of violence, brutality and loss. It’s a story of temples and sacrifices, exploration and imperialism, with cataclysmic consequences for human history.
Join Tom and Dominic in the first episode of this sensational saga, as they follow the young Cortés across the Atlantic to the Caribbean islands of Hispaniola and Cuba, where the search for gold comes at a terrible price …
*Dominic’s book The Fall of the Aztecs is available now from bookshops across the UK - the perfect Christmas present!*
*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:
Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in New Zealand and Australia!
Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
53:3406/11/2023
383. Young Napoleon: The Shadow of the Guillotine (Part 2)
Within the turmoil of the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte stands out to his military superiors, first by defeating the British at Toulon, then by putting down a royalist mob in Paris when outnumbered four to one, with a “whiff of grapeshot”. Having finally shaken off the humiliation of the failed invasion of Sardinia which began his career, he is made Commander of the Interior, and rewarded with command of the Army of Italy. Has the Corsican rebel finally given up on his roots, and embraced French ideals of brotherhood? Join Tom and Dominic in the second part of our deep dive on young Napoleon, as they delve into his rise within the French military, his disillusionment with Corsican politics, his precocious strategic savoir-faire, and the story of how he met the future Empress of the French, Josephine de Beauharnais…
*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:
Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!
Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
53:5202/11/2023
382. Young Napoleon: Teenage Revolutionary (Part 1)
“I would plunge the avenging dagger, up to the hilt, in the breast of the tyrant!”
Born in Corsica a year after the island was given to France by the Genoese, Napoleon Bonaparte grew up in a world of political and civil unrest. His father had close ties with the leader of the Corsican resistance movement, Pasquale Paoli, who would leave a lasting impression on young Napoleon. However, sent to study at a military academy in France, the future Emperor would begin to shed his Corsican roots, and start to embrace more revolutionary, universalist ideals... Join Tom and Dominic in the first part of our series on Young Napoleon, as they discuss the tumultuous island he grew up on, his enthusiasm for the French Revolution, the effect on him of his military schooling, and his complicated relationship with France.
*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:
Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!
Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
48:2030/10/2023
381. Captain Cook: To the Ends of the Earth (Part 2)
Cook has been sent by the Royal Navy to the Pacific to track the transit of Venus from Tahiti, but also with a second, secret mission: once he’s reached Tahiti, he will go on to search for the great southern continent, Terra Australis. Encountering Tahitians, Maori and Aboriginal Australians, Cook and his crew develop relations with them which will often turn sour. Join Tom and Dominic in the second part of our series on Captain Cook, as they delve into his exploring of the Pacific, his relationships with indigenous peoples, the behaviour of Joseph Banks and the Endeavour’s crew, stories of goats and kangaroos, and much more.
*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:
Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!
Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
55:4525/10/2023
380. Captain Cook: History’s Greatest Explorer (Part 1)
The greatest sea explorer of all time, James Cook was born to a humble Yorkshire family, and first stood out for his talents as a cartographer for the Royal Navy in Newfoundland. He would go on to lead three epic voyages to the Pacific during the 18th century, as part of history’s first ever scientific research team, accompanied by Joseph Banks, two cats, a dog and a goat. First sent to track the transit of Venus, he would go on to encounter a new continent, Terra Australis… Join Tom and Dominic in the first part of our series on Captain Cook, as they explore the life of a man who embodied the tensions and complexity of the Enlightenment, and its relationship with the wider world.
*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:
Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!
Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
52:1122/10/2023
379. Baghdad: The Arabian Nights (Part 4)
The setting for so many of the Arabian Nights, like the stories of Sinbad the Sailor, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, or Aladdin, Baghdad during the Islamic Golden Age had a shimmering image, a dimension of mystery and wonder… Join Tom and Dominic in the final part of our series on the history of Baghdad, as they explore the tales of One Thousand and One Nights, and the city of Caliphs, Hadiths, thieves, and of course, pigeon racing!
*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:
Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!
Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
51:0618/10/2023
378. Baghdad: The Golden Age (Part 3)
Baghdad was a place of fabulous sophistication and teeming multitudes, where terrible things could happen, but great wonders could also be found… During the Islamic Golden Age, it was the most global city the world had ever seen, a truly diverse cosmopolis, with silks and porcelains from China, spices from India, slaves from the frozen shores of the distant “North”, and ships coming and going from Vietnam, Indonesia, and the southern-most reaches of Africa. Arabic was the universal language, with Islam providing a framework for trade. In the third part of our series on Baghdad, Tom and Dominic take a deep dive into the life of the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, and the golden age of Baghdad: exemplary viziers, succession battles, pigeon racing, canals, exotic cuisine, gentrification, polo pitches and much more!
*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:
Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!
Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
53:1315/10/2023
377. Baghdad: Crossroads of the Universe (Part 2)
“No city in the world will ever rival it for prosperity...“ Baghdad, originally a Christian village in Iraq, was chosen by the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mansur as the site for the new capital of his empire, and it would become a cosmopolis to rival Rome or Babylon. Its foundations were built in a perfect circle, with walls 90 feet tall, and at its heart, the monumental Palace of the Golden Gate. Rejecting the Umayyad Caliphate's desire to conquer Constantinople, Al-Mansur founded his own “centre of the universe”. In the second part of our series on Baghdad, Tom and Dominic look at how the Abbasids solidified their rule after overthrowing the Umayyads, and the beginnings of Baghdad as their new capital.
*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:
Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!
Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
47:0411/10/2023
376. Baghdad: The Forging of Islam (Part 1)
A story of great myth and of huge historical significance, the foundation of Baghdad is a fundamental episode in the development of Islam. The Umayyad Caliphate, the first great Islamic empire, stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the borders of China; no dynasty had ever presided over a greater array of conquests. But amongst growing sectarian and internal divisions, discontent on the fringes of the caliphate, and the emergence of influential religious scholars, the Umayyads are challenged by a new power, which pretends to restore Muhammad’s bloodline to rule over Islam. In the first part of our series on the history of Baghdad, Tom and Dominic tell the story of the founders of the city, the Abbasids, and delve into the roots of the revolution that saw them overthrow the Umayyad Caliphate…
*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:
Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!
Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
53:0308/10/2023
375. Hitler and the Mitford Sisters
The Mitfords were the most glamorous aristocrats on the London scene in the 1920s, with at their head Diana, the most beautiful woman in London, who would eventually marry Oswald Mosley. However, her younger sister Unity would strike up a relationship with her own fascist leader: Adolf Hitler. Having first moved to Berlin in 1934, Unity would eventually become part of the Führer’s inner-circle: having described them both as “perfect example of aryan womanhood”, her and Diana were his guests at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, sat next to Eva Braun. Unity would introduce her parents to Hitler, and he even visited her when she was in hospital during the opening weeks of WWII. Join Tom and Dominic in the final episode of our series on British fascism, as they delve into the life of Unity Mitford, her family, and her relationship with Hitler. Was she trying to seduce Hitler and form an Anglo-German dynasty? Did the violence of the SS not unsettle her? And was she carrying Hitler’s child upon her return to Britain? Listen to find out…
*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:
Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!
Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
55:2204/10/2023
374. The Battle of Cable Street: Fascism Defeated
“You will never catch Sir Oswald admitting to anti-semitism - all he does is embody it!”
Following the violent scenes at Kensington Olympia, the British fascist movement is in decline. Britain is swirling with unemployment, having just come out of a decade of general strikes, and as the country suffers, changes and becomes more urbanised, the fascists seek a scapegoat to pin Britain’s downfall on. On the 6th of October 1936, Mosley gathers with 3000 of his blackshirts to march through Cable Street, in London’s East End, an area with a large Jewish population; they are met by 100,000 anti-fascist demonstrators blocking the streets… Join Tom and Dominic in the third episode of our series on British fascism, as they look at the Battle of Cable Street, fascism in the pre-war years, Oswald’s role in the anti-war movement, his eventual arrest and detainment, and much more.
*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:
Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!
Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
47:0301/10/2023
373. Oswald Mosley: Fascist Leader
The fascists in Britain have found a leader known across the country: the sinister yet complex Oswald Mosley. Following stints as an MP for both the Tories and Labour, Mosley, a veteran of the First World War, forms the British Union of Fascists in 1932, making a big effort to appeal to women and the working class. Although his rhetoric is surprisingly anti-militarist, the violence that occurs at his fascist meeting in Kensington Olympia in 1934, the same month as the Night of the Long Knives, will have irreversible effects on the development of his new party. Join Tom and Dominic in the second episode of our series on British Fascism, as they look at Oswald Mosley, his influences, his role within British society, and the rise of the British Union of Fascists…
*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:
Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!
Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
56:3127/09/2023
372. The Birth of British Fascism
The cultural roots of fascism swirled around Britain at the turn of the 20th century, as medieval nostalgia, an obsession with hygiene, anti-semitism, and concern for the environment grew in the wake of modern development. In the 1920s, Britain faced similarly tough conditions to the European countries where fascism did take hold; major economic difficulties, unpopular governments, and intense fears of Bolshevism. But did fascism ever really find an audience in Britain? Listen to the first episode of our series on British fascism, as Tom and Dominic discuss fascism in Britain before the emergence of Oswald Mosley…
*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:
Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!
Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
56:2024/09/2023
371. The 1973 Chilean Coup: General Pinochet Seizes Power (Part 2)
The U.S. have given up on ousting the socialist President Allende through democratic means, and shift to a more militaristic approach, in the form of General Pinochet. Once known as the ‘dull dog’, a man who had a reputation for procuring Jeeps for his fellow troops, the son of a customs official, he would overthrow Allende and become a bloodthirsty tyrant, killing thousands and torturing far, far more. In our second episode on the 1973 Chilean coup, Tom and Dominic look at how the coup itself unfolded, Salvador Allende’s ensuing fate, and what life was like in Chile under the ruthless Pinochet.
*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:
Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!
Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
52:3421/09/2023
370. The 1973 Chilean Coup: Allende, Nixon and the CIA (Part 1)
In the midst of the Cold War, the 1973 coup against the socialist Chilean president Salvador Allende, led by General Pinochet with the support of Richard Nixon, remains a seismic episode in Latin American history. A story imbued in American Imperialism, Allende sees off waves of attempts by the U.S. to oust and undermine him, until they exhaust all legal and parliamentary means, and seek new ways to derail Chilean socialism. In today’s episode, Tom and Dominic delve into Salvador Allende’s rise to power, his radical new vision for Chile, and why and how the U.S. sought to undermine him…
*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:
Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!
Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
46:2920/09/2023
PAX: War and Peace in Rome’s Golden Age (Extract)
In anticipation of the U.S. release of PAX, here’s the book’s introduction for you to enjoy, read by its author, our very own Tom Holland…
Available in the United States and Canada from 26th September; PAX is already in bookstores across the UK.
*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:
Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!
Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
41:5018/09/2023
369. The Colosseum: Rome's Arena of Death
“Are you not entertained?!”
The emblem of Rome, the Colosseum was the unsettling but glamorous home of Roman violence, used for gladiatorial bouts, naval reenactments, and by the emperors to re-stage popular myths. Built by the Flavian dynasty in the first century AD, it is both an awe-inspiring monument to the grandeur of antiquity, and a blood-spattered arena of death. But why was it built? What was the deeper meaning of the cruelty it celebrated? In today’s episode Tom and Dominic delve into the gory roots of the Colosseum, and the stories of the gladiators who fought and died there.
*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:
Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!
Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
55:5317/09/2023