Latest Episodes
Most Recent
The Rest Is History Club
Join The Rest Is History Club for ad-free listening, weekly bonus episodes, and more!
More Episodes
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 s...
· 44 min 26 sec
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...
· 33 min 31 sec
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 Sa...
· 53 min 1 sec
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?Domi...
· 48 min 0 sec
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 d...
· 54 min 41 sec
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 signi...
· 32 min 8 sec
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 Domini...
· 49 min 6 sec
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 lau...
· 58 min 54 sec
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 relativ...
· 50 min 56 sec
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? Le...
· 51 min 38 sec
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 bette...
· 55 min 45 sec
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...
· 49 min 58 sec
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 choice...
· 49 min 24 sec
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 choi...
· 48 min 17 sec
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...
· 44 min 40 sec
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 stil...
· 1 hr 52 sec
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...
· 53 min 31 sec
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 Englis...
· 57 min 7 sec
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...
· 51 min 28 sec
PompeiiWhy 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 Italia...
· 53 min 29 sec