Entirely Unofficial Rest is History Catalogue and Interrogator

Thematic / Biographical series

9 Episodes 2 Series 34 Books 27 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.

Timeline Subway

Episodes Series Figures Events Books Authors

Episodes by year

Showing 9 of 9

2026

3 episodes

Why The French Revolution Turned Violent with Simon Schama

The French Revolution - Season 4 (September 2026)

Dominic Sandbrook welcomes historian Simon Schama to discuss why the French Revolution descended into the Terror. Scham…

The Man Who Painted The Terror

The French Revolution - Season 4 (September 2026)

Tom Holland and art critic Laura Cumming explore Jacques-Louis David’s painting The Death of Marat and David’s role as …

The History of Satire, with Ian Hislop

Dominic Sandbrook interviews Private Eye editor Ian Hislop at the Rest Is History Festival at Hampton Court Palace abou…

2025

5 episodes

Jack The Ripper: The Killer Strikes Again (Part 3)

Jack the Ripper - The Whitechapel Murders · Part 3

Dominic and Tom delve into how Jack the Ripper managed to kill twice in one night without capture. They explore the pos…

Jack The Ripper: History's Darkest Mystery (Part 1)

Jack the Ripper - The Whitechapel Murders · Part 1

In the first part of a series on Jack the Ripper and the Whitechapel murders, Tom and Dominic explore the infamous case…

Jack The Ripper: Horror in Whitechapel (Part 2)

Jack the Ripper - The Whitechapel Murders · Part 2

In Part 2 of our journey into the horrors of Victorian London, Dominic and Tom delve into Jack the Ripper's second vict…

Jack The Ripper: The Killer Unmasked (Part 5)

Jack the Ripper - The Whitechapel Murders · Part 5

In this gripping fifth installment, Dominic and Tom delve into the prime suspects behind the infamous Jack the Ripper, …

Jack The Ripper: From Hell (Part 4)

Jack the Ripper - The Whitechapel Murders · Part 4

In this chilling episode, Tom and Dominic delve into the horrifying details of Jack the Ripper's final murder, dissecti…

2024

1 episode

Mozart: History's Greatest Prodigy LIVE at the Royal Albert Hall

This episode is a live, staged Rest Is History show recorded at the Royal Albert Hall focused on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozar…

Series in this era

2 series

Jack the Ripper - The Whitechapel Murders

5 episodes Aired: 2025-12-08

The French Revolution - Season 4 (September 2026)

2 episodes Aired: 2026-09-22 – 2026-09-29

Historical figures

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Historical events

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Books

34 tagged

The Five

Author: Hallie Rubenhold

4 episodes

Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution

Author: Stephen Knight

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 Sign of Four

Author: Arthur Conan Doyle

2 episodes

A Modest Proposal

Author: Jonathan Swift

1 episode

A Study in Scarlet

Author: Arthur Conan Doyle

1 episode

A Tale of Two Cities

Author: Charles Dickens

1 episode

Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution

Author: Simon Schama

1 episode

Authors

27 tagged

Hallie Rubenhold

4 episodes

Arthur Conan Doyle

3 episodes

Philip Sugden

3 episodes

Robert Louis Stevenson

2 episodes

Stephen Knight

2 episodes

Alan Moore

1 episode

Alan Moore & Eddie Campbell

1 episode

Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell

1 episode

Anita Brookner

1 episode

Bram Stoker

1 episode