Can we truly learn from history? And if we can - do we?

It’s one of the big questions this week as Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook roam through the centuries in search of certainty.

Never get involved in a land war in Asia. That’s our starter for ten.

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It’s been described as the most legendary story ever told. But did the Trojan War actually happen? And was it really fought over a beautiful woman? Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook discuss an enduring tale that still resonates to this day.

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As a new series of The Crown arrives on Netflix, returning viewers to the 1980s, we look back at the year many Britons consider the worst in living memory.

Rocketing unemployment, riots in major cities and a country governed by the most divisive prime minister in post-war British history made 1981 a year to forget.

Amidst the gloom was the wedding of Prince Charles to Lady Diana and the greatest Ashes fightback England cricket fans had ever seen.

So what can we learn from a closer analysis of 1981?

Twitter: 

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

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Plague, pestilence and statue smashing are back in business. Has 2020 turned out to be the 17th Century in disguise? And if so, has Boris Johnson become the new Oliver Cromwell, determined to crack down on the excesses of Christmas? Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland suggest things now are not as bad as we thought.

Twitter: 

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

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Recorded hours after Joe Biden was named President of the United States, we ask if Donald Trump is a modern day Caesar, willing to do anything to stay in power? Or is Trump the natural successor to the disgraced Richard Nixon? Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook draw parallels between the modern White House, the 1970s and ancient Rome.

Twitter: 

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

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What are the conditions needed for a civil war to start? Could we see a modern industrial nation turn upon itself again? Historians Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook explore examples from ancient history though to Spain in the 1930s and Yugoslavia in the 1990s to work out what it takes for neighbour to murder neighbour.

Produced by Jack Davenport

Exec Producer Tony Pastor

*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:

Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!

Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com

Twitter: 

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

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How did certain people come to be called ‘the Great’? Is the notion of great men and women outmoded? Can anyone today be reckoned ‘great’? Historians Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook take a wide ranging stroll through the annals of time, from Nero to Nixon, with a bit of Trump thrown in for good measure.

Produced by Jack Davenport

Exec Producer Tony Pastor

*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:

Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!

Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com

Twitter: 

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Historians Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook are interrogating the past, attempting to de-tangle the present for their new podcast "The Rest Is History"

They question the nature of Greatness, why the West no longer has civil wars and whether Richard Nixon was more like Caligula or Claudius.  

They're distilling the entirety of human history, or, as much as they can fit into about thirty minutes.

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