“Hitler had entered Röhm’s bedroom alone with a whip in his hand. Behind him had stood two detectives holding pistols, with the safety catch removed, at the ready…” The 30th of June 1934 saw a seismic moment unfold in the early years of the Third Reich. With the Führer and his party firmly in power, a bloody faction fight takes place within the Party. The Nazis have gained control of both the streets and the democratic institutions of Germany, with Hitler made Chancellor in 1933. But the SA, the largest Nazi military faction, led by the unmistakable Ernst Röhm, have shown signs of challenging Hitler, and rumours have reached the Führer that he is facing a coup… After a bloody night of murderous terror led by Hitler and his personal guard, the SS, they are left as the strongest military wing in the Party, with the SA facing extinction. Join Tom and Dominic in the first episode of our series on the Nazis in Power, as they delve into how Hitler solidified his and his party’s control of Germany, the different right wing groups at play, the signs of uprising against Hitler’s rule, and the eventual quelling of all opposition. Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Pope of great renown once reigned during chaotic years for the medieval Church: she was an extraordinary figure, from a time when women were forbidden from even becoming priests - indeed she is History’s only female Pope. But did this “Popess" really exist, and if so, who was this mysterious, awesome woman? What does her story reveal about the murky politics of the medieval Vatican? The original account described an English woman named Joan, who through her brilliance rose to become none other than Pope John VIII. Then, in a shocking turn of events, she fell pregnant and gave birth to a son during a procession, before meeting a sinister end…  Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss this most remarkable of legends and discover the truth behind the story of the pregnant Pope - a tale of teenage Popes, female persecution, blinding, castration, and Europe’s greatest revolution. Twitter:  @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“The Church was anxious to draw the attention of its members away from the old pagan feast days, and the December date did this very well, for it coincided with the birthday of the invincible son of Mithraism…” Is Christmas as we know it merely an invention, created by plagiarising from rival cults, such as the worship of Mithra, the Iranian sun god, during the days of the Roman Empire? Is Christmas in fact based on a pagan festival, that Christians have made their own? Or has Christmas always been an authentically Christian celebration, born of its tradition and rituals? Join Tom and Dominic as they delve into the roots of Christmas, the importance of the Roman festival of Saturnalia, the cult of Sol Invictus, and much more. 📱Protect your tech valuables with our exclusive 20% off discount at http://uk.mous.co/RestHistory🎒 Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the 8th of June 1948, the HMT Windrush sailed from Kingston with almost 500 migrants on board, destined for England. The ship docked at Tilbury on the 22nd of June, and history was made. Since that day the legend of Windrush has gradually come to characterise an increasingly broad and more diverse group of British citizens, and the event stands as a sacred moment in the history of British multiculturalism, race relations and immigration, laden though it is with moral and political baggage. In today’s episode Tom and Dominic are joined by acclaimed journalist and author Trevor Phillips, to discuss this seminal moment in the history of Black Britain. During the course of the episode they dismantle some of the myths that have since developed, explore the people who came over, and the emergence of the communities that settled in Britain in the wake of 1948. They also consider the complicated wider context of the Windrush story, and the long term significance of this foundational moment. 📱Protect your tech valuables with our exclusive 20% off discount at http://uk.mous.co/RestHistory🎒 Twitter:  @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1854, the twenty-five year old aristocrat Roger Tichborne, heir to an impressive fortune, died in a shipwreck ....Or did he? His mother, certain of her son’s survival, advertised extensively with a tantalising reward for her son’s return. Twenty years later a rough, corpulent butcher from Australia named Arthur Orton arrived in Europe and declared himself to be the long lost heir. The trial that ensued captivated the public imagination, becoming the greatest and most dramatic case of Victorian England and arguably, all of British history. Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss The Tichborne Case with best-selling author Zadie Smith, which forms the centrepiece of her new novel The Fraud. It is a darkly comic story of intrigue and mystery, that crosses continents and encompasses the issues of race, empire and class that smouldered at the very heart of 19th century British society. 📱Protect your tech valuables with our exclusive 20% off discount at http://uk.mous.co/RestHistory🎒 Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Battle for Italy in 1943 proved to be one of the bloodiest and most brutal episodes of the Second World War. Following hot on the heels of their recent victory in Sicily, the Allies crossed the Straits of Messina and entered Italy in September, to fight their way up the Italian peninsula, what Churchill termed “the soft underbelly of Europe”. Intended to draw Axis troops away from the Eastern Front, and with Churchill’s enthusiastic backing, the campaign was expected to be an easy one, with Allied troops in Rome by Christmas. But this wasn't to be the case. What unfolded was an attritional meat-grinder, in which every mile the Allies covered was a hard-fought struggle against fierce German resistance.   Join Tom, Dominic and renowned historian of war James Holland to discuss this dark and dramatic campaign, fought amidst the precarious ruins of a vanished Roman empire, as they describe in unflinching detail its horrors, hardships, and tragedies. Buy your copy of James' new book here: https://coles-books.co.uk/the-savage-storm-by-james-holland-hardback 📱Protect your tech valuables with our exclusive 20% off discount at http://uk.mous.co/RestHistory 🎒 Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this landmark edition of The Rest is History, Dominic and Tom reveal the astonishing solution to the mystery that has fascinated so many people for the last sixty years. In thrillingly definitive detail, they explain just who killed President Kennedy and why he did it.  Step by step, they trace his journey to the killing ground, and delve into the psychology of a murderer. They unmask his fellow conspirators, and explain just how his crime reflects the chilling political secrets of American life in the 1950s and 1960s. And they discuss how the conspiracy echoes through the pages of American history, and continues to influence American politics to this day. Join Dominic and Tom for this unforgettable journey into the dark heart of American history - an episode that will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about the Kennedy assassination. 📱Protect your tech valuables with our exclusive 20% off discount at http://uk.mous.co/RestHistory 🎒 Twitter:  @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“We can’t accept very comfortably that two nobodies, two nothings - Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby - were able to change the course of world history.” The murder of Lee Harvey Oswald, JFK’s apparent assassin, by the night club owner Jack Ruby on 24th November 1963 changed everything. Right from the start, rumours had circulated that Oswald had not been acting alone, building on the deep anxieties of American society in the 1950s and 1960s. Some blamed Communist states such as Cuba or the Soviet Union; others anti-Castro exiles, or the Ku Klux Klan. As the years passed, the CIA and FBI came under suspicion. Did Lyndon Johnson know more about the conspiracy than he pretended? Just what was Richard Nixon doing on that fateful day? And how did Frank Sinatra’s drummer fit in? Join Tom and Dominic as they explore the background to the Kennedy conspiracy theories, from umbrella men to grassy knolls, discussing the wider context and investigating every last clue in their tireless search for the truth. *Dominic’s book The Fall of the Aztecs is available now from bookshops across the UK - the perfect Christmas present!* Twitter:  @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“Jack, you son of a bitch, don’t do it!” Just hours after President Kennedy’s assassination, in the full glare of the world’s media, the Dallas police are confident they have solved the case. They have found the murder weapon, and are poised to charge their chief suspect, a strange loner called Lee Harvey Oswald. But as they prepare to move him to the county jail, one local businessman has other ideas. As they are leading Oswald into the station garage, an eccentric nightclub owner Jack Ruby steps forward. And as he aims his pistol at Oswald’s chest, the course of American history is about to take another dizzying turn … Join Dominic and Tom as they trace the footsteps of two erratic nobodies, Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby, in the days before Kennedy’s assassination, leading up to the critical moment on 24th November when the two men finally came face to face, changing both of their lives and the course of the investigation forever… *Dominic’s book The Fall of the Aztecs is available now from bookshops across the UK - the perfect Christmas present!* Twitter:  @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s 12:31pm on Friday 22nd November 1963, and in Dallas, Texas, President John F. Kennedy lies slumped against his screaming wife, half of his head cradled in her hands and his blood spattered across her elegant pink suit and the seats of their car.  Just moments earlier, three shots had rung out from the direction of the Texas Book Depository. Or had they? Who had fired the shots? A single gunman - or more? Just who was the oddly detached, vacant-looking man whom left the building minutes later? Why did he murder a Dallas policeman shortly after the shooting? Was he really Kennedy’s killer, or a red herring, planted by a wider conspiracy? And was he working for the Cubans, the Communists - or the CIA? Join Tom and Dominic as they plunge into the extraordinary drama of 22 November 1963, from the national shock after the president’s assassination to the thrilling hunt to track down his assassin. *Dominic’s book The Fall of the Aztecs is available now from bookshops across the UK - the perfect Christmas present!* Twitter:  @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“It wouldn't be very difficult to kill the president of the United States, you just have to be in a high building with a high powered rifle, telescopic sight and there's nothing anyone could do about it….” On the morning of Friday, 22nd November 1963, John F. Kennedy awoke with just hours to live. Ahead was a flight to Love Field, Dallas; then a motorcade into the heart of the city’s business district. But as the president and his glamorous wife, Jacqueline, settled back in their limousine for the journey towards destiny, they had no idea of the horror to come …   By 12:22pm the motorcade had reached Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, passing the nondescript Texas Book Depository and slowing for the unexpectedly large and enthusiastic crowds gathered to greet the President. At 12:25 bystanders spotted the figure of a man on the sixth floor of the Book Depository, staring strangely away from the motorcade. Then, at exactly 12.30 pm, the first shot rang out around the square…. Join Dominic and Tom as they break down the events of the day of the assassination of President Kennedy moment by moment, from the night before the murder to its traumatic aftermath, poring over the evidence in order to solve this supremely fascinating historical mystery.  *Dominic’s book The Fall of the Aztecs is available now from bookshops across the UK - the perfect Christmas present!* Twitter:  @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

By the late 1950s, John F. Kennedy was a rich and handsome Democratic senator with a beautiful wife and young family, heading for the White House despite his Catholicism, his affairs and his secret illnesses. In January 1961 he became the youngest ever President of the United States, during a period of heightened political and social tensions at home and abroad, with the Cold War raging, communism on the rise and the Civil Rights Movement dominating the headlines. What role, then, did Kennedy’s domestic and foreign policies play in these monumental moments of world history? And does the backlash against him offer us the crucial clues to the motives behind his assassination, and the identity of his killer?  Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss Kennedy’s early political career, the successes and failings of his presidency, and world-shaking events such as the Bay of Pigs disaster, the Cuban missile crisis, the Space Race and the Vietnam War. All the while, Kennedy’s days are numbered as that fateful day in Dallas comes ever closer… *Dominic’s book The Fall of the Aztecs is available now from bookshops across the UK - the perfect Christmas present!* Twitter:  @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“There were a lot of people who wanted Kennedy dead, a lot of powerful people. There are secrets still being held and I never bought for a minute that Oswald operated alone.” The assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas on 22nd November 1963 is one of history’s most iconic stories, a moment of terrible innocence lost and a foundational myth for modern America. The tragedy of the murder, coupled with the mystery surrounding it and the glamour of Kennedy himself, have only heightened the enduring fascination with the event. But what really happened in the days before, during and after the assassination? Did Lee Harvey Oswald really act alone? Or was he just a tool for darker forces at play in American politics - or for an international conspiracy at the terrifying height of the Cold War? Join Dominic and Tom as they launch their epic investigation into the life and death of JFK, beginning with the controversial Kennedy clan, the young ‘Jack’s’ upbringing and the personality of the victim himself. Along the way they discuss his battle with crippling illness, his sexual escapades and his romance with the woman who became his wife, Jacqueline Bouvier. *Dominic’s book The Fall of the Aztecs is available now from bookshops across the UK - the perfect Christmas present!* Twitter:  @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tenochtitlan, once the glittering jewel at the heart of the mighty Aztec Empire, has fallen. Hernán Cortés stands triumphant, the master of this New Spain. Or so it seems. For the last Aztec emperor, Cuauhtemoc, is still alive and well. And in the jungles of Mexico and Honduras, a dark and bloody story is only just beginning … In the final episode of this astonishing journey, Dominic and Tom discuss the aftermath of the fall of Tenochtitlan, the fates of Cuauhtemoc, Cortés and Malinche, the experiences of the local population and the story of Mexico in the decades after the Spanish conquest. As this mighty epic draws to a close, they also explore the Black Legend of Spanish imperialism, and discuss the long-term repercussions of the conquest and its status in the context of world history and politics today. *Dominic’s book The Fall of the Aztecs is available now from bookshops across the UK - the perfect Christmas present!* *The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*: Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in New Zealand and Australia! Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com Twitter:  @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"Conquer or die indeed, Cortes thought… The hour of decision was at hand…" It is the spring of 1521 and the fate of Mexico hangs by a thread. Smallpox has ripped through the local population, while the ruthless Spanish commander, Hernán Cortés, has cut off the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, from its surrounding provinces.  So begins one of the bloodiest and most dramatic struggles in all history - an extraordinary clash between the Old World and the New, as the Spanish tighten their grip on the island city of the Mexica. But can the new Aztec emperor, Cuauhtemoc, save his people? For he has a secret weapon - the terrifying Quetzal-Owl … In today’s episode, Dominic and Tom tell the story of the Siege of Tenochtitlan - the last stand of the Aztec warriors, as the Spanish and their allies close in for the kill. *Dominic’s book The Fall of the Aztecs is available now from bookshops across the UK - the perfect Christmas present!* *The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*: Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in New Zealand and Australia! Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com Twitter:  @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Things have never looked bleaker for Hernán Cortés and his band of Spaniards. They are trapped, starving and terrified in the heart of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, surrounded by an enraged people bent on revenge. And with their imperial hostage Montezuma dead, they only have one option left - a desperate escape in the dead of night.  Can they make it across the lake with their gold? Or will the Aztecs intercept them before it’s too late? In today’s episode of this epic series, Tom and Dominic tell the story of one of the most dramatic moments in all history - the night of 30th June 1520, La Noche Triste, when the Spanish tried to break out of Tenochtitlan. They also explore the aftermath of this hellish episode, and the arrival of another, even greater threat to the survival of the Aztecs - disease … *Dominic’s book The Fall of the Aztecs is available now from bookshops across the UK - the perfect Christmas present!* *The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*: Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in New Zealand and Australia! Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com Twitter:  @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“The blood flowed like water…” It is 1520 and word has reached Hernán Cortés in Tenochtitlan that another group of Spaniards led by the ferocious Pánfilo de Narváez, have landed on the coast to hunt him down. Taking drastic action, he decides to leave the city with his wily mistress Malinche to pursue the newcomers, but not before taking the Emperor of the Aztecs, Montezuma, as his hostage.  But can Cortés really overcome a much larger force commanded by such a formidable rival? And can his lieutenant, the dashing, violent and reckless Pedro de Alvarado, keep his cool in the heart of the capital? For one of the most hallowed Aztec festivals is fast approaching. The tension is mounting, and the Spaniards’ swords are thirsty for blood … In today’s episode in this unmissable series, Dominic and Tom lead us deeper into the heart of darkness, as the story of the Fall of the Aztecs takes a shocking and nightmarish turn … *Dominic’s book The Fall of the Aztecs is available now from bookshops across the UK - the perfect Christmas present!* *The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*: Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in New Zealand and Australia! Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com Twitter:  @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The year is 1519. Hernán Cortés and his Spanish comrades have arrived in Tenochtitlan, the capital city of the Aztecs, and have been welcomed by their Emperor Montezuma. But what is Montezuma planning? Are the Spaniards his guests - or his prisoners? Has he really acknowledged them as his overlords? Or are they destined for a rather darker fate, as the latest inmates in his mysterious zoo? In today’s episode, Tom and Dominic follow the Spaniards as they explore the magnificent city of Tenochtitlan, from the crowds in the markets to the blood-drenched shrines atop the temple pyramids.   The days pass, the smiles fade and the tension rises. And then Cortés hears news from the coast that changes everything, and must roll the dice one more time in the greatest gamble of all … *Dominic’s book The Fall of the Aztecs is available now from bookshops across the UK - the perfect Christmas present!* *The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*: Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in New Zealand and Australia! Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com Twitter:  @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“Conquer or die! Conquer or die! Conquer or die!” Making a decision that will change the course of history, Hernán Cortés chooses to disobey his orders and head inland in search of the gold-rich empire of the mysterious Montezuma. Ahead lie the mountain passes that will lead him down into the Valley of Mexico, a vast lake shimmering at its heart.  In the middle of the lake lies the island city of Tenochtitlan, a vision of bustling marketplaces and soaring pyramids. But are the Spaniards advancing as conquerors - or are they walking into a trap? And just what is Montezuma planning?  Join Dominic and Tom to explore perhaps the most astonishing encounter in all human history - not just the meeting of two extraordinary characters, but a collision of cultures that will have dark and bloody consequences … *Dominic’s book The Fall of the Aztecs is available now from bookshops across the UK - the perfect Christmas present!* *The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*: Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in New Zealand and Australia! Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com Twitter:  @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hernán Cortés has set sail from Cuba, eager to find the truth behind the rumours of gold on the coast of Mexico. Ahead lies a world he can barely imagine - a land of pyramid temples, terrifying gods and unknown peoples - the empire of the Aztecs. But Cortés has a secret weapon: a woman whose very name has become a byword for treachery … In today’s episode, Dominic and Tom explore the extraordinary story of Malinche, the slave-girl given by the Mayans to the Spanish, who becomes Cortés’s translator, guide, lover and adviser. As the expedition moves north along the Mexican coast, is she really doing the Spaniards’ bidding? Or has she secretly taken control, leading them ever closer to a tumultuous and bloody showdown? For all the time, Montezuma is waiting … Don’t miss the second episode in this thrilling account of the Fall of the Aztecs! *Dominic’s book The Fall of the Aztecs is available now from bookshops across the UK - the perfect Christmas present!* *The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*: Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in New Zealand and Australia! Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com Twitter:  @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices