The Rest Is History

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....

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 But does spying truly matter and has the human operative finally been replaced by the computer?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 podcastchoic...

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.c...

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...

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/adch...

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...

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 the...

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