The Rest Is History

By: Goalhanger
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  • Summary

  • 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
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Episodes
  • 546. The French Revolution: The Monarchy Falls (Part 3)

    546. The French Revolution: The Monarchy Falls (Part 3)
    Mar 10 2025
    “From this place and from this day forth commences a new era in the world’s history, and you can all say you were present at its birth!” By September 1792, the Prussians, under the leadership of the formidable Duke of Brunswick, were closing in on revolutionary Paris. There, the streets roiled with the clanging of church bells, thousands of volunteers, patriotic songs and slogans, and of course; the dead bodies of all those killed during the September Massacres. It was against this feverish backdrop that on the 20th, the new National Convention - the most democratic of the assemblies yet, with unlimited powers to remake the nation - met at the famous Riding School. And though it was riven by internal rivalries under the contentious three headed triumvirate of Danton, Marat and Robespierre, remake the nation it did. Voting to abolish the monarchy once and for all, the Convention declared the institution of a new world and a new beginning for France, with all state documents from that day forth bearing the immortal words, ‘Year One’. But, with their Prussian enemies baying at the gates, would revolutionary France survive to see more than one year? A great military reckoning was approaching, which would decide the fate of the new Republic and perhaps, universal liberty. As the armies of France and Prussia met for what would prove to be one of the most ideologically significant battles of all time, political tensions were mounting in Paris… Join Dominic and Tom for this crucial, tremulous episode of the French Revolution. With Prussia closing in, bodies littering the streets, and the revolutionary leaders hungry for each other's blood, would the Revolution survive? EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/restishistory Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett + Aaliyah Akude Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 2 mins
  • 545. The French Revolution: The First Feminist (Part 2)

    545. The French Revolution: The First Feminist (Part 2)
    Mar 6 2025
    In the summer and Autumn of 1792 - with the Prussians bearing down on Paris, the streets thronged with the stirring swell of the Marseillaise, but also the rotting bodies of those brutally killed during the September Massacres - the French Revolution bore a new symbol of optimism and hope: Liberty. Embodied by a female figure, later known as Marianne, and famously enshrined in Eugène Delacroix’s iconic painting, she was an important reminder that the revolution was about more than just violence, but also the dream of a brighter future, in which all the people of France would have a steak. Marianne was the new Republic personified, and manifested all those virtues most desired by the new order; freedom, equality and reason. But, did this new symbol have any resonance for the actual women of the revolution? Certainly, they had played a major role in bringing the King and Queen back to Paris from Versailles in 1789, helping patriots who stormed Tuileries in 1792, and were keen spectators to the febrile politics of the revolution. For this, women were enshrined as ‘mothers of the nation’, a vital mass of humanity thought to be inspired by an animating emotional power. And yet, unlike their male counterparts, few women save Marie Antoinette, at whom sexualised misogyny was constantly hurled, have stood the test of time. So who were the women at the very heart of the French Revolution? And what did they do to change the course of history? Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss the evolving ideology of the French Revolution - one of the most decisive moments of world history - and some of the women at the centre of it all from the very start. Watch 'A Thousand Blows’, a new original series, now streaming on Disney+ globally and on Hulu in the US EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/restishistory Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett + Aaliyah Akude Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 2 mins
  • 544. The French Revolution: The September Massacres (Part 1)

    544. The French Revolution: The September Massacres (Part 1)
    Mar 3 2025
    ‘Still more traitors, still more treason…" It is 1792 and France has been at war since April; it is not going well. In Paris, the Tuileries Palace has been stormed, and the royal family imprisoned. Meanwhile, tensions are rising between the main political factions of the Revolution, the Girondins and the Montagnard, led by the icy Maximilien Robespierre. The streets of Paris teem with armed young men - the Federes and the Sans-Culottes - responsible for the brutal slaughtering of the Swiss Guard earlier that year. They have arrested and imprisoned thousands of people. It is into this progressively febrile atmosphere of paranoia and fear that terrible news arrives: the Prussians, hungry for vengeance, have taken the fortress of Verdin. Rumours swirl of treason and betrayal from deep within Paris itself, and a new, chilling idea is raised to wash the city of counter revolutionaries once and for all: cleanse the prisons. So it is that on the 2nd of September, a group of Prisoners being escorted from one prison to another is stopped, and methodically hacked to death. The survivors face an impromptu tribunal before receiving the same treatment. Over the next few days, all prisoners across Paris are likewise judged, and many similarly damned and mutilated. A tide of bloodshed is rising, which will soon flood the streets of Paris, taking thousands of lives with it. Who will survive the massacre? Join Dominic and Tom for the next series of the French Revolution, as they pick up this epic story - one of the most resounding and complex historical events of all time - with arguably the most horrific episode of the whole revolution: the September massacres… EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/restishistory Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett + Aaliyah Akude Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 2 mins

What listeners say about The Rest Is History

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Profile Image for Lancaster

So good.

I can’t stop listening to these. So interesting and I love the delightful British dry witty intellectual banter. I learn a lot. Highly recommend.

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as an American I loved the gentle criticism

well done fellas, I am well-chuffed by this brisk discussion of the American-made disaster that was Vietnam

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Profile Image for Jill A Archer

Murder of Archduke Ferdinand

The humor, banter, attention to detail, comprehension and ability to provide a perspective of what was happening at the times made for a truly brilliant and exciting experience!

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Profile Image for Diana Stephens

Podcast Perfection of the Historical Kind

I’m obsessed with Tom Holland, Dominic Sandbrook, and this podcast! These two historians are a perfect pairing - a mix of serious research with lighthearted presentation. Honestly, there’s something for everyone - Ancient Rome, American Witches, Oppenheimer, Cleopatra, Freemasons, Jesus, London Tours (so funny), even California. I haven’t listen to a book in ages (or any other podcast, really). Beware - Totally Addicting!

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Profile Image for S. Webster

Wonderful on all counts.

History told in an engaging way; which brings the personalities of figures and motivation of nations to life.

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Profile Image for hbhoss

My new favorite history podcast

I never leave reviews but I’m obsessed with this podcast. Tom and Dom are great. I feel like I’m hanging out with two guys - two lads - who love history as much as I do.

I haven’t joined the chat community yet but here I am leaving a review so who knows what I’ll do next.

Highly recommend- Harold Hoss

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This podcast is a delight

If you're a history nerd like me or if you're simply curious, this is the podcast for you. The chrmistry between Dominic and Tom is off the charts.

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Profile Image for D

Love the show

The combination of great historical fact, amazing analysis and laugh out loud humor make this the best podcast on my list. Thank you for making me think and laugh.

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Superb

My favorite podcast by far. Witty, entertaining, funny and informative. The chemistry between Dominic and Tom is brilliant and very British. This is the best podcast out there.

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Profile Image for Erik + Sarah

Ah the British

What a wonderful exercise in sloppy thinking and Old World privilege. The episode is devoid of any mention of the lack of representation that the colonists endured. There are plenty of apologies for the Britsih transgressions upon the colonists better nature's. If you want a dose of English bloviation I highly recommend this terrible take on the American revolution.

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