Enlightenment & Age of Revolutions

RIHC - Nelson EXTRA: The Fate of Lady Hamilton

This Rest Is History Club bonus episode provides a coda to the hosts' Nelson series by tracing the fate of Emma Hamilto…

RIHC: Hitler’s Speeches, Monarchical U.S. Presidents, and Napoleon’s Rise to Power

This Rest Is History club bonus features hosts Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland in informal discussion with subscriber…

RIHC: WWI Counterfactuals, 1970s Britain, and Pivotal Historical Figures

This episode is a Rest Is History Club Q&A with Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook, framed around their new mini-series …

Nelson: Glory at Trafalgar (Part 6)

This episode of The Rest Is History narrates the climactic Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) and the death of Horat…

Nelson: Slaughter in Naples (Part 1)

What happened when the heroic Horatio Nelson, victor of the Battle of the Nile, sailed into the seething city of Naples…

Nelson: The Final Showdown (Part 5)

This episode chronicles Horatio Nelson's return to Britain in August–October 1805, his emotional farewell to Emma, Lady…

Nelson: The Gathering Storm (Part 2)

This episode of The Rest Is History (hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook) follows Admiral Horatio Nelson's return t…

Nelson: Bonaparte Prepares to Strike (Part 4)

This episode focuses on Horatio Nelson's life and service during the temporary peace and early resumption of the Napole…

Nelson: The Battle of Copenhagen (Part 3)

This episode recounts Admiral Horatio Nelson's campaign in the Baltic and the Battle of Copenhagen (spring 1801). Hosts…

Nelson’s Lover: The Scandalous Lady Hamilton

This episode focuses on the life and rise of Emma Hamilton (born Amy Lyon) up to her marriage to Sir William Hamilton a…

RIHC: Marie Antoinette: The First Fashion Icon

This bonus episode of The Rest Is History features host Tom Holland interviewing Sarah Grant, curator of the Victoria &…

RIHC: The Glorious Revolution, Whigs vs. Tories, and the Birth of Party Politics

This episode is an interview with George Hours about his book The Rage of Party, How Wig vs Tauri Made Modern Britain. …

The Great Northern War: Revenge of the Cossacks (Part 2)

This episode of The Rest Is History, hosted by Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook, continues their multi-episode account…

The Great Northern War: Slaughter on the Steppes (Part 3)

This episode (the fifth and concluding instalment of the mini-series) recounts the climactic Battle of Poltava (1709) a…

The Great Northern War: The Battle of the Baltic (Part 1)

This episode continues The Rest Is History's series on Peter the Great and the Great Northern War. Tom Holland and Domi…

The Great Northern War: Murder in Moscow (Part 4)

This episode is the concluding part of the hosts' Peter the Great series. Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook examine the…

The French Revolution: The September Massacres (Part 1)

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook place the September Massacres of 1792 in their political and military context: …

The French Revolution: The Monarchy Falls (Part 3)

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook examine the pivotal weeks of autumn 1792 when the National Convention abolishes…

The French Revolution: The Execution of the King (Part 4)

This episode of The Rest Is History (hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook) recounts the trial and execution of Louis…

The French Revolution: The First Feminist (Part 2)

This episode examines the symbolic emergence of Marianne alongside key political developments in 1792 France. The hosts…

Beethoven: Napoleon and the Music of War LIVE at the Royal Albert Hall

Ludwig Van Beethoven, like his precursor and possible acquaintance Mozart, is one of the most famous figures in Western…

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…

RIHC: Jane Austen, Smugglers, and the Napoleonic Wars

This bonus episode of The Rest Is History features a solo host conversation with biographer Jenny Ooglo about her book …

Nelson: Attack the French! (Part 2)

This episode of The Rest Is History (hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook) follows Horatio Nelson's early Mediterran…

Nelson: The Battle of the Nile (Part 5)

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook discuss the Battle of the Nile (1 August 1798) and Horatio Nelson’s audacious t…

Nelson: Hero of the Seas (Part 1)

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook introduce a multi-part series on Horatio Nelson, covering his Norfolk childhood…

Nelson: The Hunt for Napoleon (Part 4)

This episode (the end of part one) focuses on Admiral Horatio Nelson's elevation from a wounded, private man to a natio…

Nelson: God of War (Part 3)

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook recount Horatio Nelson's rise to national fame at the Battle of Cape St. Vincen…

RIHC: The Roman Conquest of Britain EXTRA

This bonus episode reunites Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook to answer a listener’s question about how people across t…

The French Revolution: Massacre at the Palace (Part 4)

This episode traces the critical summer of 1792 when military reverses, political panic and popular mobilisation transf…

The French Revolution: The Marseillaise, Song of War (Part 5)

This episode of The Rest Is History (season two of the French Revolution series) focuses on the origins and cultural im…

The French Revolution: The Shadow of the Guillotine (Part 3)

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook examine the guillotine as the defining symbol of the French Revolution, tracing its o…

The French Revolution: Bloodbath in Paris (Part 1)

This episode (season two, part one) continues The Rest Is History's detailed treatment of the French Revolution, pickin…

The French Revolution: War to the Death (Part 2)

This episode traces the move from constitutional experiment to war in late 1791–early 1792. Holland and Sandbrook intro…

RIHC: Roman Legions vs. Norman Invaders, The Killing Fields of Agincourt, and American Aristocracy

This is a Rest Is History bonus episode in which Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook catch up, outline forthcoming series…

RIHC: British Inventions, Ronald Reagan, and Roman Conquests

This bonus episode features Dominic Sandbrook hosting with producer Theo Young-Smith filling in for Tom Holland. They d…

RIHC: Alexander the Great, Napoleon, and Royal Correspondence

This episode is a conversational Q&A between hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook, recorded amid a marathon on the h…

RIHC: Nazi Assassination Attempts, Alchemy, and The Greatest Historical Novel

This bonus episode features Dominic Sandbrook joined by assistant producer Tabby Syrett (Tom Holland is absent). They o…

RIHC: The French Revolution EXTRA

This bonus episode is a retrospective discussion by hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook on their recent French Revo…

RIHC: Marie Antoinette EXTRA

With Dominic Sandbrook absent, Tom Holland hosts a bonus episode featuring art historian Izzy Muir to discuss Marie Ant…

The French Revolution: Marie Antoinette (Part 1)

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook open a multi-episode series on the French Revolution, using Marie Antoinette as…

The French Revolution: The Storming of the Bastille (Part 5)

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook examine the events of July 1789 and the storming of the Bastille. They set the …

The French Revolution: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity (Part 6)

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook discuss the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (approved 26 August 1…

The French Revolution: The Diamond Necklace Scandal (Part 2)

This episode examines the Affair of the Diamond Necklace and its cultural context in 1784–1785 France. Beginning with B…

The French Revolution: The Violence Begins (Part 3)

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook examine the buildup and causes of the French Revolution, arguing it was produced by t…

The French Revolution: Showdown in Versailles (Part 4)

This episode examines the immediate lead-up to the French Revolution in 1788–1789. Holland and Sandbrook discuss a sequ…

The French Revolution: The Royal Family Escapes (Part 8)

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook conclude an eight-part miniseries on the early French Revolution by narrating t…

The French Revolution: The Women's March on Versailles (Part 7)

This episode examines the October Days — the mass march on Versailles in early October 1789 — situating it within the i…

RIHC: The Death of Nelson, Ancient Egypt, and The Holy Roman Empire

In this episode Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook open by recounting a live Tudors-themed show at Hampton Court, then p…

RIHC: Historic Lovers, Liz Truss; and The Seven Years War

This bonus episode of The Rest Is History features Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook answering listener questions on a …

RIHC: Tudor Executions, The Hobbit and Sexuality Through The Ages

This bonus episode opens with Tom and Dominic reflecting on their recently concluded Byron series before answering list…

Lord Byron: Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know (Part 1)

This episode of The Rest Is History, hosted by Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook, is the first instalment of a multi-ep…

Lord Byron: Dangerous Liaisons (Part 3)

This episode examines Lord Byron's sudden celebrity after the publication of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage and the scandal…

Lord Byron: Scandal, Sex and Celebrity (Part 2)

This episode (the second in the hosts' multi-part study of Lord Byron) follows Byron's formative 1809–1811 travels and …

The Man in the Iron Mask

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook examine the long-running mystery of the Man in the Iron Mask. They review conte…

RIHC: Undiscovered History, Byron and the Walking Dead

In this New Year episode Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook answer listener questions and reflect on 2023 and plans for …

Young Napoleon: The Shadow of the Guillotine (Ep 2)

This episode follows Napoleon's transition from Corsican outsider to rising French military and political figure. After…

Young Napoleon: Teenage Revolutionary (Ep 1)

This episode of The Rest Is History, hosted by Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook, examines the origins and youth of Nap…

Captain Cook: History's Greatest Explorer (Ep1)

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook introduce a multi-episode focus on Captain James Cook’s first Pacific voyage. They tr…

Captain Cook: To the Ends of the Earth (Ep2)

This episode of The Rest Is History continues the hosts' narrative of Captain James Cook's first voyage. After observin…

RIHC: Schoolboy Stories Special (Livestream)

This episode is a live-stream conversation between hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook. They open with viewer greet…

Le Marquis de Sade: Sex and Violence

This episode examines the life, works and long shadow of the Marquis de Sade. Holland and Sandbrook narrate Sade’s biog…

RIHC: The Industrial Revolution, Anti-Catholicism, and Archaeology

This bonus Rest Is History Club episode is a listener Q&A in which Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook answer members' qu…

RIHC: French Intellectuals, Matricide, and Newtonian Physics

This bonus episode of The Rest Is History features hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook answering listener questions…

RIHC: Blackshirts, Relics, and the Myth of Viking Sorcery

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook record a conversational mailbag/bonus-style episode covering listener questions and a…

RIHC: Founding Fathers, Sporting Rivalries, and Hedonism

This bonus episode features Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook discussing recent and upcoming Rest Is History recordings…

The Boston Tea Party (Part 2)

This episode (the second in The Rest Is History's series on the American War of Independence) explores the escalation f…

The Birth of the United States (Part 3)

This episode — the third in The Rest Is History's American Revolution series — features hosts Tom Holland and Dominic S…

The Triumph of George Washington (Part 4)

This is the fourth and final episode of a four-part Rest Is History mini-series on the American Revolution. Hosts Tom H…

The American Revolution (Part 1)

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook welcome Professor Adam Smith (Edward Osborne Professor of History, Oxford) for …

Ireland: Celts, Conquest and Cromwell (Ep 1)

Recorded at the GPO in Dublin with guest Professor Paul Rouse, Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook trace roughly 800 year…

The Freemasons: History's Greatest Conspiracy Theory

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook host John Dickey to discuss his book The Craft: How the Freemasons Made the Modern Wo…

The First Abolitionist

This episode examines the life and activism of Benjamin Lay (1681–1759), an eccentric Quaker activist whose experiences…

RIHC: The American Revolution, Dutch history, and excessive tweeting

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook open with light conversation about Tom's trip to the Netherlands to see the Vermeer e…

Drink

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook record from Berry Brothers with guest Henry Jeffries to discuss the history of …

England: Beef and Liberty

This episode examines the cultural and political history of roast beef as an English national emblem. Tom Holland and D…

Cameroon: The Slave General of Peter the Great

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook present a Rest Is History World Cup special episode about Avram Petrovich Ganni…

RIHC: Treason, Trafalgar and Teaching (livestream)

This live bonus episode is an informal, wide‑ranging conversation between hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook recor…

Treason in Modern Britain (Ep 2)

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook visit the National Archives exhibition "Treason: People, Power and Plot" with N…

RIHC: Trafalgar, Julia Gillard, and Producer Jack

This members-only bonus episode is hosted by Tom Holland with Jack Davenport filling in for Dominic Sandbrook. It opens…

Trafalgar: A World at War (Ep 1)

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook open a multi-episode series on the Battle of Trafalgar, placing the 1805 engage…

Trafalgar: Countdown to Annihilation (Ep 2)

This episode is the second instalment in the podcast's multi-part account of Trafalgar. Holland and Sandbrook profile t…

Trafalgar: Victory (Ep 3)

This episode concludes the hosts' multi-part Trafalgar epic, narrating the approach, tactics and carnage of the Battle …

The Regency Revolution

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook are joined by fashion historian Hilary Davidson to discuss Regency-era dress an…

Germans Behaving Badly

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook interview historian Andrea Wolff about her book Magnificent Rebels, which trace…

Portugal: Gold, Earthquakes, and Brazil (Ep 3)

This episode — the third in the hosts' multi-part history of Portugal — traces Portuguese fortunes from the late 16th c…

Introducing Empire with William Dalrymple

This Rest Is History episode features hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook interviewing William Dalrymple about his …

Holidays: Byron's Grand Tour (Ep 1)

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook discuss the history of holidays, tracing the practice from early pilgrimages and the …

London: People (Ep 3)

This London Week episode has Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook each selecting a London figure. Sandbrook profiles Henry…

American Civil War: The Causes (Ep 1)

This episode is the first of a series on the American Civil War and examines the causes of the conflict. Hosts Tom Holl…

Smuggling

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook host novelist Alex Preston to examine the history and myths of smuggling in Britain. …

27 Dec: Port wine and Darwin sets sail

In this episode Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook continue their seasonal "12 (or 13) Days of Christmas" run (27 Decemb…

RIHC: History's greatest clubs

This bonus episode — the inaugural Rest Is History Club instalment for paying members — explores the history and cultur…

Napoleon in Egypt

This episode examines Napoleon's Egyptian expedition of the late 1790s — its military drama, cultural consequences and …

The Echo of a Coffee House

This episode examines whether modern social media is genuinely novel by tracing historical precedents for rapid, divisi…

The Industrial Revolution

In this episode Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook interview Emma Griffin (professor of modern British history and presi…

The Enlightenment

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook discuss the Enlightenment: its dates, key figures, geographic variations and cu…

The East India Company

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook interview historian William Dalrymple about the rise, power and eventual fall of the …

The French Revolution

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook discuss the causes, course and legacy of the French Revolution. They outline th…

The Seven Years' War

This episode of The Rest Is History features hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook interviewing Dan Snow about the Se…

Sex in the City

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook interview historian and author Halle Rubenhold about sex, sexuality and sex wor…

Pompeii

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook are joined by archaeologist Sophie Hay to discuss Pompeii and Herculaneum. They…

Australia Before Cook

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook host David Hunt to survey Australian history from its deep prehistory to early Europe…

The French Revolution - Season 2 (July 2024)

9 episodes Aired: 2024-07-28 – 2024-08-14

Nelson (S2)

8 episodes Aired: 2025-10-08 – 2025-11-05

Nelson (S1)

5 episodes Aired: 2024-11-18

The French Revolution - Season 3 (October 2024)

5 episodes Aired: 2024-10-13 – 2024-10-14

American Revolution

4 episodes Aired: 2023-07-03

The French Revolution - Season 1 (March 2024)

4 episodes Aired: 2025-03-03

The Great Northern War

4 episodes Aired: 2025-05-11

Battle of Trafalgar

3 episodes Aired: 2022-10-17

Lord Byron

3 episodes Aired: 2024-04-14

Captain Cook

2 episodes Aired: 2023-10-22

Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleon I of the French)

41 episodes

Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson

32 episodes

Marie Antoinette (born Maria Antonia of Austria)

27 episodes

Louis XVI of France

25 episodes

Maximilien Robespierre

20 episodes

Emma (Lady) Hamilton

18 episodes

George Gordon Byron (Lord Byron)

18 episodes

William Pitt (The Younger)

18 episodes

Benjamin Franklin

13 episodes

Edmund Burke

13 episodes

French Revolution (1789–1799)

35 episodes

Seven Years' War

22 episodes

Napoleonic era (c. 1799–1815)

21 episodes

Battle of Trafalgar (1805)

19 episodes

Storming of the Bastille (14 July 1789)

19 episodes

American Revolutionary War (American War of Independence, 1775–1783)

17 episodes

Battle of the Nile (1798)

16 episodes

Flight to Varennes (1791, Varennes)

13 episodes

Reign of Terror (1793–1794, France)

13 episodes

Industrial Revolution

10 episodes

Adventures in Time: Nelson, a Hero of the Seas

Author: Dominic Sandbrook

9 episodes

Dominion

Author: Tom Holland

7 episodes

Citizens

Author: Simon Sharma

6 episodes

A Tale of Two Cities

Author: Charles Dickens

4 episodes

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

Author: National Constituent Assembly (France)

4 episodes

Pride and Prejudice

Author: Jane Austen

4 episodes

Reflections on the Revolution in France

Author: Edmund Burke

4 episodes

Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic

Author: Tom Holland

4 episodes

The Revolutionary Temper

Author: Robert Danton

4 episodes

A Place of Greater Safety

Author: Hilary Mantel

3 episodes

Dominic Sandbrook

12 episodes

Tom Holland

10 episodes

Simon Sharma

8 episodes

Charles Dickens

5 episodes

Jane Austen

5 episodes

Thomas Paine

5 episodes

Edmund Burke

4 episodes

Hilary Mantel

4 episodes

National Constituent Assembly (France)

4 episodes

Robert Danton

4 episodes