The Rest Is History

Like Merlin, who lived his life in reverse, we go backwards in time as we continue our two-part series on paganism. Renaissance philosophers; green men; a pagan city in the early caliphate; hooded gods on Hadrian’s Wall; Stonehenge; cannibals (or were they?) in Cheddar Gorge; and the oldest evidence ever found of pagan practice in Britain. *The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*: Tom and Dominic are...

In the first of a two part Hallowe’en special, Tom and Dominic are joined by Professor Ronald Hutton to explore the history of modern paganism: from Wicca to Druids, and from Himmler to the Glastonbury Festival. Do its roots reach back to a genuine pre-Christian past? *The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*: Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Austr...

The word ‘medieval’ is often used to mean backward, benighted, unscientific. But is this fair? Historian of science Seb Falk joins Tom and Dominic to explore how the Middle Ages shaped and influenced the development of science. *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: restishistor...

Oh, to be Dutch in the seventeenth century. Or Roman in 150 AD. Or British in the 1990's. Tom and Dominic debate the merits of various "Golden Ages" in history, and ask whether we might have seen the last. *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:  @Th...

Curator and art historian Aparna Andhare gives Tom and Dominic her selection of the ten buildings that best illustrate India’s past 4,500 years. Ranging from Mohenjo-daro to Narendra Modi, all the Subcontinent’s history is here. A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production Produced by Joey McCarthy Exec Producer Tony Pastor *The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*: Tom and Dominic are back on to...

How did the existence of dinosaurs come to be discovered, & what role have they played in the popular imagination over the past 200 years? And what can humanity learn from the extinction of dinosaurs - if indeed they ARE extinct? Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook explore the constantly evolving after-life of dinosaurs. A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production Produced by Joey McCarth...

Did the industrial revolution really improve people’s lives? And why was Britain first to industrialise? Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook are joined by Emma Griffin, professor of modern history and author of Liberty's Dawn: A People's History of the Industrial Revolution. *The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*: Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and...

Despite his overwhelming lead in the polls, President Richard Nixon’s paranoia leads to the criminal actions of the Watergate scandal. In this second part of our mini-series, Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland explore the unravelling of the conspiracy and its consequences for US politics. A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production Produced by Harry Lineker Exec Producer Tony Pastor *The Res...

What led Richard Nixon into the greatest political scandal in American history? Dominic Sandbrook, acclaimed historian of the period, leads Tom Holland on an extraordinary journey from Nixon’s humble beginnings through his political rise and to the precipice of his downfall. The first in a two part mini-series. A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production Produced by Harry Lineker Exec Produ...

The world’s most famous classicist, Professor Mary Beard, joins Tom and Dominic to discuss how the legacy of classical Greece and Rome has been interpreted and re-interpreted over the past millennium and a half. They range from Dante’s Satan snacking on Julius Caesar’s assassins in Hell to recent demands in the United States that Classics itself should be cancelled. *The Rest Is History Live Tour...

WARNING: THIS PODCAST INCLUDES SPOILERS ABOUT THE NEW JAMES BOND MOVIE. DO NOT LISTEN UNTIL YOU’VE SEEN THE FILM. What does the new Bond movie tell us about modern masculinity? And where does the franchise go from here? Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland share notes on No Time to Die. A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production Produced by Harry Lineker Exec Producer Tony Pastor Twitter: @Th...

Something wicked this way comes. Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook take a deep dive into the real history of Scotland’s most notorious king. Was he really the murderous man of Shakespeare’s writing? Plus the boys examine the play for its insight into the politics of the time in which it was written. And we discover Dominic’s missed vocation. A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production Produ...

In today’s episode, Tom and Dominic are joined by Dr Eleanor Barraclough as they sail across the Atlantic in a dragon-ship, bound for the epic world of the Norse sagas. What society did the Vikings set up in Iceland? How did they get to America? Why were they always so violent? *The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*: Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand,...

As Angela Merkel bows out of German politics, Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland explore the surprisingly colourful world of Germany’s Chancellors since the Second World War. It’s a story of rebels, exiles, Nazis, chain-smokers, the colossal bulk of Helmut Kohl and the East German youth of the future Frau Merkel. And to Tom’s relief, there’s lots of Christianity. *The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023...

The fictional British agent James Bond returns to our cinema screens this week, but what do the history and evolution of Ian Fleming’s iconic character tell us about our changing society? Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland explore 007 in both book and cinematic form.  A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production Produced by Vasco Andrade Exec Producer Tony Pastor *The Rest Is History Live Tou...

Writer and critic Tomiwa Owolade joins Dominic and Tom to discuss the pan-African movement and the varying ways in which African states became independent from their European colonisers during the 20th century. *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:...

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook continue their celebration of the 2,500th anniversary of the Persian invasion of Greece. Today, they look at two battles which have echoed down the millennia: Thermopylae, the very archetype of a heroic defeat, and Salamis, the great naval clash which saved Greece from Persian conquest. *The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*: Tom and Dominic are back on tour this au...

In 480 BC, 300 Spartans made a famous stand at Thermopylae, as hordes of Persian soldiers, led by Xerxes, seemed set to succeed in their aim of conquering Greece. However, although Leonidas and his men were defeated, only a short while later the Greek navy, against superior Persian forces, routed them in the Straits of Salamis, a turning point in the war as the Persians were steadily swept out of...

Tom Holland is joined by Ali Ansari to discuss the most influential mistresses in history. The definition of success is to impact history, despite often humble beginnings. Recorded live at the London Podcast Festival. A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production Produced by Vasco Andrade Exec Producer Tony Pastor *The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*: Tom and Dominic are back on tour this aut...

There are estimated to be around 16 thousand churches in England alone. But which are the finest in the UK? Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook are joined by the director of Friends of Friendless Churches, Rachel Morley, to decide a top ten. They also discuss some of the listeners’ favourites. Just remember: cathedrals not allowed! *The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*: Tom and Dominic are back on to...

On the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, four commercial airliners were hijacked above the US by the militant Islamist terrorist group al-Qaeda. What followed was the deadliest terrorist attack in history. Twenty years on, Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland look back at the events and discuss their impact. A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production Produced by Jack Davenport Exec Prod...

The rise of social media is the central subject of our second instalment with tech pioneer Marc Andreessen. Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook ask whether social media is the principal force behind an increase in populist politics. The ‘Americanisation’ of culture plus Marc’s theory on why software is the closest thing to real life magic also feature. A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media product...

Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland are joined by tech pioneer Marc Andreessen. Has the internet been the most important force in modern history? In part one of this two part series they look at how the internet developed out of military technology, whether early developers knew they were changing the world, and why business initially built a ‘wall of scepticism’ around the possibilities of the Worl...

The year is 1983, and on November the 8th the world is the closest it’s ever been to nuclear destruction, yet nobody at the time realises. Dominic and Tom are joined by author and historian Taylor Downing to discuss how Armageddon was just avoided and why Tom, living near Salisbury, was in more danger than most. A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production Produced by Jack Davenport & Ha...

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook are live at the Chalke Valley History Festival to discuss the cultural impact of the Fab Four. What were the social conditions that led to their phenomenal success, and will their legacy endure in another hundred years? Plus, why Tom was turned away from John Lennon’s house.   A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production Produced by Jack Davenport Exec Produ...