Entirely Unofficial Rest is History Catalogue and Interrogator

Thematic / Biographical series

40 Episodes 14 Series 4 Figures 2 Events 124 Books 105 Authors

This thematic/biographical era spans prehistory to modern political history, grouping episodes by topic or life to illuminate specific events, movements, and leadership. Series include "12 (or 13) Days of Christmas" (significant events from Dec 25–Jan 4, from early Christian history to African modernization), "America in 1968" (Vietnam, political upheaval, social change), "American Crusades" (Christianity’s influence on US foreign policy and warfare), "Amsterdam" (city’s rise from a 13th‑century fishing village to a financial hub), and "Australian Prime Ministers" (federal politics from 1901 onward). Sample episodes cover Britain’s greatest prime ministers, Viking history and popular culture, church architecture, French history in film, Rome’s worst emperor and Jacobite uprisings. Figures and topics discussed include Jeffrey Parker, Amani Reynos, Eva Perón’s secret burial (1955), poll taxes, Doggerland submergence, the Younger Dryas, Neanderthal extinction, and the Cretaceous–Paleogene event. Recommended books cited include The Geometry of Love, Face of Battle, History of the English‑Speaking Peoples, and A History of the World.

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Episodes Series Figures Events Books Authors

Episodes by year

Showing 12 of 40

2026

12 episodes

The Odyssey: Hero of the Trojan Horse (Part 1)

The Odyssey · Part 1

In this episode Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook explore Homer's epic The Odyssey, using a dramatic reading by Russell…

The Junta's Tournament: A 1978 Nightmare in Argentina - History of the World Cup

In the third and final episode of their bonus World Cup series, Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook, joined by National T…

Hamilton: Duel to the Death (Part 3)

Founding Fathers · Part 3

In this episode Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook open with a dramatized reading of Alexander Hamilton’s farewell lette…

Jefferson: The Betrayal of Liberty (Part 4)

Founding Fathers · Part 4

In this episode of The Rest Is History, hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook examine the life and legacy of Thomas J…

The First World War: Slaughter at Gallipoli (Part 5)

First World War (May 2026) · Part 5

In this episode Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook examine the disastrous Gallipoli Campaign of 1915, a bold but ill‑fat…

The First World War: The Spy Who Took on the Germans (Part 4)

First World War (May 2026) · Part 4

In this episode of The Rest Is History Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook recount the extraordinary life and death of Br…

Dawn of the Samurai: Bloodbath at the Bridge (Part 2)

Dawn of the Samurai · Part 2

In this episode of The Rest Is History, Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook continue their multi‑part series on the rise …

RIHC: The Hitler Interviews

In this episode of The Rest Is History, hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook welcome historian and author Richard Ev…

The Ku Klux Klan: Birth of a Nation (Part 3)

The Ku Klux Klan

In this episode Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook examine the rise of the second Ku Klux Klan in the United States, a m…

London’s Golden Age: Sex and Scandal in Georgian Britain (Part 2)

London's Golden Age · Part 2

In this episode Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook trace James Boswell’s whirlwind early career in 18th‑century London, …

London’s Golden Age: The Shadow of the Madhouse (Part 4)

London's Golden Age · Part 4

In this episode Tom Holland explores the complex relationship between Samuel Johnson and the Thrale family, focusing on…

RIHC: Resisting the Nazis, Evading Hitler, and Traitorous Informers

Dominic Sandbrook interviews Jonathan Friedland about his book The Traitor's Circle, which recounts a group of mostly u…

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Series in this era

14 series

Jack the Ripper - The Whitechapel Murders

5 episodes Aired: 2025-12-08

First World War (May 2026)

2 episodes Aired: 2026-05-17

Founding Fathers

2 episodes Aired: 2026-06-28

London's Golden Age

2 episodes Aired: 2026-03-09

Dawn of the Samurai

1 episode Aired: 2026-04-05

Great Paintings from History

1 episode Aired: 2026-02-25

Great World Cup Saga

1 episode Aired: 2022-11-25

London Week

1 episode Aired: 2022-07-18

Oil

1 episode Aired: 2022-03-24

Royal Albert Hall Orchestral Shows

1 episode Aired: 2025-01-01

Historical figures

4 tagged

Armand D'Angor

1 episode

Jeffrey Parker

1 episode

John Klee

1 episode

Mike Macbeth

1 episode

Historical events

2 tagged

Quaternary Ice Age (ongoing)

1 episode

Younger Dryas

1 episode

Books

124 tagged

The Five

Author: Hallie Rubenhold

4 episodes

Dracula

Author: Bram Stoker

2 episodes

Flashman (series )

Author: George MacDonald Fraser

2 episodes

Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution

Author: Stephen Knight

2 episodes

Martin Chuzzlewit

Author: Charles Dickens

2 episodes

Sherlock Holmes

Author: Arthur Conan Doyle

2 episodes

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Author: Robert Louis Stevenson

2 episodes

The Complete History of Jack the Ripper

Author: Philip Sugden

2 episodes

The Great Gatsby

Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald

2 episodes

The Sign of Four

Author: Arthur Conan Doyle

2 episodes

Authors

105 tagged

Hallie Rubenhold

4 episodes

Arthur Conan Doyle

3 episodes

Charles Dickens

3 episodes

Philip Sugden

3 episodes

Unknown

3 episodes

Alexandre Dumas

2 episodes

Bram Stoker

2 episodes

F. Scott Fitzgerald

2 episodes

George MacDonald Fraser

2 episodes

Robert Harris

2 episodes