The Rest Is History
The Rest Is History

The Rest Is History

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
515. Nelson: Attack the French!  (Part 2)
21 November 2024
515. Nelson: Attack the French! (Part 2)
It is 1793 and France has declared war on Britain, meaning that the British navy must serve as both sword and shield to Europe. Horatio Nelson is at this time a slim and sickly 34 year old captain who nevertheless burns with the zeal to serve his king and country, and has recently taken over command of the impressive Agamemnon. Meanwhile, the British navy has taken Toulon by the summer of 1793 through diplomatic means - its foothold in the Mediterranean - but is struggling to hold it. Upon arriving in the city Nelson is shocked to find it besieged by the French, under the leadership of one Napoleon Bonaparte - the first time that these two titanic rivals of history will brush shoulders, but not the last. At last the city falls to the French, and the British must go in search of another Mediterranean base. They settle upon Corsica - Bonaparte’s homeland. It is there, on the morning of the 12th of July that during the siege of Calvi that Nelson is struck in the face by a spray of stone and shrapnel, severely blinding his left eye forever more. Will this critical injury prematurely end his promising career? Just as a great armada of Spanish and French ships gathers on the horizon, heralding the coming one of history's bloodiest naval battles...

Join Dominic and Tom as they discuss the Siege of Toulon, Nelson’s heroic early forays into the Mediterranean, and the dramatic aftermath of his first near fatal injury.
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LIVE SHOWS
*The Rest Is History LIVE in the U.S.A.*
If you live in the States, we've got some great news: Tom and Dominic will be performing throughout America in November, with shows in San Francisco, L.A., Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Boston and New York.
Tickets on sale now at TheRestIsHistory.com
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Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
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514. Nelson: Hero of the Seas (Part 1)
18 November 2024
514. Nelson: Hero of the Seas (Part 1)
It’s 1758 and Britain’s greatest naval commander has just been born. The young Horatio Nelson has inherited his father’s love of god and his mother’s hatred of the French. At age 12, he leaves Norfolk for a life on the high seas. As a teen, Nelson narrowly avoided death on multiple occasions. He survives a nasty encounter with the Sultan of Mysore, the blistering cold on a failed expedition in the North Pole, a nasty bout of Malaria contracted in India, and far more besides. Propelled by his excellence and bravery, he rose quickly to become a captain.This brings us to 1788 where Nelson, now a married man in his thirties and back in his childhood home, learns that England is going to war with France. Without hesitation, he swaps the simple domestic life for the thrill of the high seas once more… 

Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss Nelson's early life and adventures, as he sets out along a path that would eventually enable British domination of the seas; and the world.

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LIVE SHOWS
*The Rest Is History LIVE in the U.S.A.*
If you live in the States, we've got some great news: Tom and Dominic will be performing throughout America in November, with shows in San Francisco, L.A., Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Boston and New York.
Tickets on sale now at 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
513. America in '68: Nixon's Great Comeback (Part 6)
14 November 2024
513. America in '68: Nixon's Great Comeback (Part 6)
“Nixon now! Nixon now! More than ever we need Nixon now!”
It's the 5th of November 1968, and Richard M. Nixon is on tenterhooks, alone in his dark hotel room. He watches as the final states are called in the presidential election. Will he fall at the same hurdle as he did in 1960? Off the back of losing to JFK eight years prior, Nixon is running as the Republican presidential candidate. This time not only does he face Democrat Hubert Humphrey, but the independent segregationist candidate George Wallace threatens to split Nixon’s votes. A west coast outsider who embraces modern media, Nixon aims to capture the hearts of Middle America. But will he succeed this time around?

Join Dominic and Tom for the final instalment of our series on America in 1968, as they dive into the political campaign that would go on to become the prototype for all future campaigns, as traditionally blue states turn red…
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*The Rest Is History LIVE in the U.S.A.*
If you live in the States, we've got some great news: Tom and Dominic will be performing throughout America in November, with shows in San Francisco, L.A., Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Boston and New York.
Tickets on sale now at TheRestIsHistory.com
_______

Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook

Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
512. America in '68: The Chicago Riots (Part 5)
11 November 2024
512. America in '68: The Chicago Riots (Part 5)
The Democratic National Convention is in Chicago, and the incumbent president, Lyndon B. Johnson, has pulled out of the race. Anti-war protestors are flooding the streets of the city, and Johnson continues to press on with the war in Vietnam. Bobby Kennedy’s assassination has turned the Democratic candidacy contest into a two-horse race between Hubert Humphrey and Eugene McCarthy. And while they’re battling inside the convention for delegates, the real fight is taking place on the streets. Dope-smoking youth activists known as the “Yippies” have called for a protest against the Vietnam War, and their threats made in the name of the ‘politics of play’ have been taken seriously by Chicago police, who react with brutal force. Flowers and poems meet truncheons and guns. As DNC votes are being counted, images of these confrontations are broadcasted on newsreels across the nation.

Join Tom and Dominic to discuss a Democratic National Convention that saw Chicago descend into violence and chaos. Listen as they explore what led to one of the most anarchic political conventions, and how it impacted a divided America.

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*The Rest Is History LIVE in the U.S.A.*
If you live in the States, we've got some great news: Tom and Dominic will be performing throughout America in November, with shows in San Francisco, L.A., Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Boston and New York.

Tickets on sale now at TheRestIsHistory.com
_______

Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
511. America in '68: George Wallace, The First Donald Trump (Part 4)
07 November 2024
511. America in '68: George Wallace, The First Donald Trump (Part 4)
“Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever!”
George Wallace, Governor of Alabama, was one of the most successful third-party presidential candidates in American history. In 1968, he ran a populist campaign pitching himself against the Civil Rights movement. He pushed to uphold formal structures of white supremacy in the South, forever employing racist dog whistles at his rallies and in the media. He may not have won the presidency, but his approach paved the way for a new, incendiary brand of politics, which permeates American society to this day...

Join Dominic and Tom to discuss George Wallace’s 1968 campaign. They explore the legacy of his political career, how it shaped the modern Republican party, and why the Alabama Governor could be considered the precursor to Donald J. Trump.

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*The Rest Is History LIVE in the U.S.A.*
If you live in the States, we've got some great news: Tom and Dominic will be performing throughout America in November, with shows in San Francisco, L.A., Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Boston and New York.

Tickets on sale now at TheRestIsHistory.com
_______

Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor


_______

*The Rest Is History LIVE in the U.S.A.*
If you live in the States, we've got some great news: Tom and Dominic will be performing throughout America in November, with shows in San Francisco, L.A., Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Boston and New York.

Tickets on sale now at TheRestIsHistory.com
_______

Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis + Alice Horrell
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
510. America in '68: The Killing of Robert Kennedy (Part 3)
04 November 2024
510. America in '68: The Killing of Robert Kennedy (Part 3)
“What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love, and wisdom, and compassion toward one another”

As Attorney General during JFK’s presidency, Bobby had often played second fiddle to his older brother. But by 1968, Robert F. Kennedy had become a distinct political leader dedicated to social justice. In March he declared he would run in the primaries to become the Democratic presidential candidate. He galvanised support amongst marginalised communities, young people, and anti-war voters, and in the immediate aftermath of Martin Luther King’s assassination, he gave an emotional impromptu speech to a predominantly Black crowd, mentioning his own brother’s assassination for the first time in public. On the evening of June 4th, it was announced that Bobby had won the California primary. With bleeding palms from shaking so many hands along the campaign trail, he gave a victory speech to a crowded room of supporters in the Ambassador Hotel. But the joy was to come crashing down as tragedy struck the Kennedy family once more…

Listen as Dominic and Tom discuss another of 1968’s American assassinations, and the build up to the moment when Bobby Kennedy died in the arms of a seventeen-year-old kitchen busboy.

_______

*The Rest Is History LIVE in the U.S.A.*
If you live in the States, we've got some great news: Tom and Dominic will be performing throughout America in November, with shows in San Francisco, L.A., Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Boston and New York.

Tickets on sale now at TheRestIsHistory.com
_______

Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
509.  America in '68: The Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. (Part 2)
31 October 2024
509. America in '68: The Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. (Part 2)
The peaceful figurehead of the Civil Rights movement in the early 1960s, Dr Martin Luther King had inspired hundreds of thousands to demand equal rights for African Americans. But by 1968, the once uniting leader seemed to be losing popularity, both amongst activists and in the press. As he grappled with being hunted and threatened by the FBI, he was also contending with a new generation of more militant activists who felt that his nonviolent approach was not working. Downtrodden but not defeated, King plans a new Poor People’s Campaign to combat poverty in America. As part of this new focus, he visits Memphis to support striking sanitation workers. The day before his final moments at the Lorraine Motel, he preaches to a crowd, ‘I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land.’

Join Dominic and Tom as they discuss the tragic assassination of Martin Luther King, including the public outcry that ensued, and his more recent legacy as a secular saint in the USA with a dedicated national holiday.

_______

*The Rest Is History LIVE in the U.S.A.*
If you live in the States, we've got some great news: Tom and Dominic will be performing throughout America in November, with shows in San Francisco, L.A., Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Boston and New York.

Tickets on sale now at TheRestIsHistory.com
_______

Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
508. America in '68: Nightmare in Vietnam (Part 1)
28 October 2024
508. America in '68: Nightmare in Vietnam (Part 1)
"Tonight I want to speak to you of peace in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.”
On the night of Sunday, 31st of March 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson, after announcing an end to the bombing of North Vietnam, stunned the world by revealing he would not seek the democratic nomination for that year’s presidential election. The seemingly never-ending Vietnam War had already made LBJ hugely unpopular with his progressive base. But now, facing challenges from Eugene McCarthy, the ambiguously anti-war senator from Minnesota, and Robert “Bobby” Kennedy, heir to the Kennedy throne, Johnson had decided to bow out. And so, as the war slowed for a moment, the Democrats would have to decide on the best candidate to take on a certain Richard M. Nixon… 

Join Tom and Dominic in the first episode of our six part series on America in 1968, as they look at the stories of Lyndon B. Johnson, Eugene McCarthy, and how the Vietnam War would come to define them both.

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LIVE SHOWS
*The Rest Is History LIVE in the U.S.A.*
If you live in the States, we've got some great news: Tom and Dominic will be performing throughout America in November, with shows in San Francisco, L.A., Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Boston and New York.
Tickets on sale now at TheRestIsHistory.com
_______
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
506. The French Revolution: Massacre at the Palace (Part 4)
23 October 2024
506. The French Revolution: Massacre at the Palace (Part 4)
The war between revolutionary France and the allied powers of Prussia and Austria has reached fever pitch, and in early August 1792, the latter party threaten a terrible vengeance on Paris should harm be done to the French royal family. But far from calming tensions, this threat puts the King, Marie Antoinette and their children in terrible danger. They’ve been kept in the Tuileries Palace since their failed escape, and on the 10th of August, a frenzied crowd, led by National Guards and “fédérés” from Marseille, storm the palace, massacring the Swiss guards defending the Royal family, as they tear through the halls, in search of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette…

Join Tom and Dominic in the fourth instalment of season two of the Fetch Revolution, as they dive into the chaos and carnage of the storming of the Tuileries.

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Looking for all of our episodes on the French Revolution? Check out The Rest Is History’s French Revolution playlist
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DX6W9e1zgsgaG
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LIVE SHOWS
*The Rest Is History LIVE in the U.S.A.*
If you live in the States, we've got some great news: Tom and Dominic will be performing throughout America in November, with shows in San Francisco, L.A., Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Boston and New York.
Tickets on sale now at TheRestIsHistory.com
_______
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices