The father of sadism and a prophet of totalitarianism, the Marquis de Sade was a French aristocrat and writer, an uncompromising and unashamed libertine with the eerie ability to corrupt those around him. Arrested first by the French monarchy and then by the revolutionaries, he spent much of his life in jail, narrowly avoiding the death penalty thanks to Robespierre’s deposition on the day of his proposed execution. Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss the Marquis, his turbulent life, his time in prison, and his unsettling legacy… *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 Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In a swirling world dominated by miniskirts, feather boas, posh photographers, youth culture, Jimi Hendrix and the Beatles, London has been transformed, and avant-garde “boutiques” have taken over areas left empty in the wake of the demise of local manufacturing. Join Tom and Dominic in the second part of our series on Sixties Fashion, as they explore the birth of the miniskirt, Sergeant Pepper’s, hippies, the legacy of the 60s, and much more - all you need is love! *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 Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Sixties is one of the only moments in history when Britain could claim to be the epicentre of world fashion, and in this episode Tom and Dominic delve into this cultural boom, from the boxy, militaristic styles of the 1940s, when fabrics, designs and even the Queen’s wedding dress were limited by post-war restrictions, to the greasy-haired Edwardian Teddy Boys of the early 1950’s, and the warring Mods and Rockers that followed. Then came the 60’s, full of child-like designs, colour supplements, rockstar photographers, and their “groovy” models. Join Tom and Dominic as they explore why the trends of the Sixties were so androgynous, who really invented the mini-skirt, and why Jean Shrimpton was paid £4,000 to go to Australia… *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 Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“The mutual affection and harmony between the two had reached a degree never seen between a husband and wife…” The Taj Mahal, built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his wife Mumtaz Mahal, tells the story of the imperial power and strength of the Mughal Empire, and remains to this day a symbol of perfection, refinement and romance. Tom and Dominic are joined by art historian Dr Mehreen Chida-Razvi, as they delve into the origins of the Taj Mahal, the empire behind it, and its cultural and political significance throughout the centuries. *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 Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One of the greatest institutions of the ancient world, the Library of Alexandria was the embodiment of ultimate learning, and a “repository of everything”. Built within the same complex as the tomb of Alexander the Great, it stood as a beacon of knowledge, boasting an unparalleled collection of scrolls and manuscripts from across the world. Join Tom and Dominic as they explore the story of the Library, its role in the ancient world, and who eventually destroyed it… *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 Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“A cloud of black, acrid smoke hung over the area. It was a scene from a warzone, a battlefield - it was a scene from the end of the world…” New York in the 1970s was a city decimated by economic stagnation, unemployment and ever-rising crime rates, haemorrhaging its population to the suburbs and to the more business-friendly South. Join Tom and Dominic as they look at the 1977 power blackout, the looting of New York, and life in the real Gotham City. *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 Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope.” Arguably the most celebrated speech of the 20th century, Martin Luther King Jr.’s address in front of the Lincoln Memorial in August 1963 was a defining moment in the American Civil Rights movement, and to this day remains a symbol of hope, equality, and social change. Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss Martin Luther King Jr., how he became involved in the Civil Rights movement, and the unfolding of the March on Washington. *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 Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Warning! This one isn’t for the faint-hearted... A naked, torch-carrying man, who would walk backwards around a funeral pyre, with his fingers covering his anus. The armed woman who worked a loom made from human body parts. 6-legged reindeers. Slaves buried alive with their owners, tapestries woven of human flesh, and rituals with horse penises. Tom and Dominic, in one of the most eagerly-awaited The Rest Is History episodes of all time, are joined by archaeologist Neil Price, as they delve into the strange and gruesome world of Viking Sorcery. *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 Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“There’s a lot of severed heads at this villa!” The great TV sensation of the summer returns on The Rest Is History, as Tom and Dominic are once again joined by Tom’s daughter Katy, to navigate an incredibly competitive field of islanders, and crown the successors to last year’s winners, Empress Theodora and Stanley Baldwin. Can Catherine Howard remain more loyal to Sir William Hamilton than she was to Henry VIII? Will Charles II and another byzantine Empress, Zoe, win it all? Or can the frightful, bloodthirsty duo of Peter the Great and Poppaea Sabina claim the throne for themselves? Will Admiral Horatio Nelson or Labour grandee Tony Benn make it to the final? Listen and find out now! *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 Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A woman of immense influence on medieval Christendom, Catherine of Siena was one of the first female Doctors of the Church, who married Christ in her own bedroom. Living through a time of great anxiety due to the onset of the Black Death, she healed the sick, convinced the Pope to return from exile in France, appeased riotous crowds, and even brought her own mother back from the dead. Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss Catherine of Siena, her life, her impact on the Middle Ages, and her relationship with Christ.  *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 Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mount Vesuvius' eruption in the autumn of AD79 remains one of the deadliest and best-known in history. The plume of super-heated volcanic gases spewed skyward formed a cloud 21 miles high, with the volcano ultimately releasing 100,000 times the thermal energy of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Join Tom and Dominic as they piece together the disaster, destruction and death caused by the Vesuvius’s eruption. *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 Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Charles de Gaulle was a war hero in the First World War, and, having refused to accept his government’s armistice with Nazi Germany, became the voice of the French Resistance during the Second World War. But how did France’s largest uprising since the Paris Commune come to happen during his presidency? Join Tom and Dominic in the second part of our tour of Paris, as they look at de Gaulle’s role in the events of May 1968, and how he eventually overcame the protests. Read more about Tom and Dominic's trip to Paris, in partnership with Wise: https://wise.com/campaign/restishistory *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 Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

May 1968 saw underlying tensions reach a climax in France, resulting in a period of civil unrest coloured by rioting, general strikes, and the occupation of universities and factories. Join Tom and Dominic in the first part of our tour through the streets of Paris, as they tell the story of how France’s economy came to a halt at the hands of cobblestone-wielding students. Read more about Tom and Dominic's trip to Paris, in partnership with Wise: https://wise.com/campaign/restishistory *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 Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A city which played a fundamental role in the Dutch Golden Age and in the birth of the Dutch monarchy, Amsterdam has also stood in the avant-garde of European liberalism since the Second World War. Join Tom and Dominic on the second part of our walking tour through Amsterdam, as they look at the importance of its canals, the changing role of the Amsterdam Royal Palace, the Portuguese Synagogue and its relationship with the city’s jewish population, and more. Read more about Tom and Dominic's trip to Amsterdam, in partnership with Wise: https://wise.com/campaign/restishistory *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 Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A city built on water, Amsterdam has often set the tone of European modernity. It first gained prominence as a miraculous centre for pilgrimage, and then stood out for its relationship with the Reformation, and for its role in the birth of modern capitalism. Join Tom and Dominic on part one of our tour of Amsterdam, as they take you on a journey through Dam Square, the birthplace of the Dutch East India Company, the Begijnhof, and the Amsterdam Dungeon… Read more about Tom and Dominic's trip to Amsterdam, in partnership with Wise: https://wise.com/campaign/restishistory *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 Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With the French and Spanish siding with George Washington’s revolutionaries, the game is up for the British, and it seems time for them to cut their losses. Following the surrender of General Cornwallis at Yorktown, the war is effectively over, but what are the short and long term consequences of this? In our final episode on the American revolution, Tom, Dominic and Professor Adam Smith look at the end of the war, the subsequent Treaty of Paris, and the broader question of how the revolution shaped the United States and the future of its people. The Rest Is History Club members can listen to the full series now. Join The Rest Is History Club on Apple podcasts or at www.restishistorypod.com for ad-free listening to the full archive, weekly bonus episodes, live streamed shows, and access to an exclusive chatroom community. *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 Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“O ye that love mankind! Ye that dare oppose, not only the tyranny, but the tyrant, stand forth!” The U.S. Congress votes for independence on the 2nd of July 1776, and George Washington reads the Declaration of Independence to his troops a few days later, after which they pull down the statue of George III in New York, melting it down to make bullets. The king is now the target of the revolutionaries’ grievances, it is no longer the British Parliament. In Episode 3 of our series on the American Revolution, Tom, Dominic and Professor Adam Smith explore the importance and impact of the Declaration of Independence, the role of King George III, and the effect of France’s involvement. The Rest Is History Club members can listen to the full series now. Join The Rest Is History Club on Apple podcasts or at www.restishistorypod.com for ad-free listening to the full archive, weekly bonus episodes, live streamed shows, and access to an exclusive chatroom community. *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 Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“Last night three cargos of tea were emptied into the sea. This morning a man of war sails. This is the most magnificent movement of all. There is a dignity, a majesty, a sublimity, in this last effort of the patriots, that I greatly admire.” The Boston Tea Party occurs amid the growing disagreements between the British parliament and the people of colonial America, as New Englanders, and Bostonians in particular, fight British attempts to regulate imperial trade. In the second episode of this series, Tom, Dominic and Professor Adam Smith examine the Tea Act and how it accelerated the American Revolution. They also chart George Washington’s rise to commander-in-chief of the American patriot forces, and ask to what extent slavery was an issue in the war. The Rest Is History Club members can listen to the full series now. Join The Rest Is History Club on Apple podcasts or at www.restishistorypod.com for ad-free listening to the full archive, weekly bonus episodes, live streamed shows, and access to an exclusive chatroom community. *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 Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“America, late the strength, now the foe to Britain, dismembered, torn, I fear forever lost to England, whence she sprung.” The American Revolution came about due to growing tensions between the American colonies and Great Britain, primarily over issues of taxation and representation. It led to the birth of the United States of America, established upon Enlightenment principles of liberal democracy and constitutionalism. In the first episode of our four part series, Tom and Dominic are joined by Professor Adam Smith for a detailed look at the beginnings of the American Revolution, as they examine the background to the war, and how both religious fervour and the implementation of colonial taxes fuelled the conflict.  The Rest Is History Club members can listen to the full series now. Join The Rest Is History Club on Apple podcasts or at www.restishistorypod.com for ad-free listening to the full archive, weekly bonus episodes, live streamed shows, and access to an exclusive chatroom community. *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 Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“Who drinks the water I shall give him, will have a spring inside him welling up for eternal life.” A deeply mysterious object which doesn’t appear in the Bible, was the Holy Grail really the chalice used by Jesus during the Last Supper, and the very cup that caught his blood at the crucifixion? Or is it merely a symbol representing Christ’s bloodline? Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss the Holy Grail, the origin of the tradition, and the role it played within medieval Christendom.  *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 Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices