The Rest is History is a podcast from hosts and historians Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook. Tom Holland studied history while in college but started his career writing fiction. After publishing several novels, he returned to history with Rubicon. It's a book about the last days of the Roman Empire.
When he published his first book, podcast cohost Dominic Sandbrook was a history professor at Oxford University. That book was a history of US presidential candidate Eugene McCarthy. Since then, he has written several more popular history books. They all focus on particular eras in British history. Sandbrook is a regular contributor to several newspapers and radio and television programs.
Every week, Sandbrook and Holland select a historical event or theme for their podcast. Their selections for The Rest is History tend to reflect current events. They spend three episodes on coronations in time for King Charles' own coronation. They retell the story of the fall of Saigon to mark its anniversary.
The hosts like to provide a historical perspective on current events in the podcast. They explain East Germany's role in linking the labels "socialism" and "authoritarianism." They examine the cracks in Putin's version of Russian history. For more pop-culture oriented listeners, they talk about the African Amazons. The Woman King movie was based on them. American listeners might appreciate the episodes on Reagan and the Watergate scandal.
Some episodes of the history podcast are thematic. Sandbrook and Holland talk about the greatest dogs in history. They look at historical fears of a climate apocalypse. They canvass what people like to drink for celebrations all over the world.
In earlier episodes, the hosts explore one event or personality from a given country. In Ecuador, they revisit Darwin's trip to the Galapagos. In Cameroon, they introduce listeners to Major-General Abram Petrovich Gannibal. He served in Alexander the Great's army and was an ancestor of the poet Pushkin.
Lovers of history might enjoy listening to The Rest is History podcast. The hosts have a gift for storytelling and keep their listeners entertained. New episodes debut several times a week.
Episodes