Tom Holland
English actor cast as Telemachus
Tom Holland (English actor cast as Telemachus) hosts The Rest Is History. Topics they speak about most include Samurai, Odyssey, Slavery in the United States.
In their words
Positions and remarks grouped by topic, each with the exact quote and where it was said.
Samurai6 of 9
Holland identifies the fusion of obsession with honour and with material reward as the nearest thing to an authentic samurai code.
“it's this kind of fusion of obsessional interest in their own honor and an obsessional interest in getting on in life If you want a samurai code, that is the samurai code”
The Rest Is History: 658. Dawn of the Samurai: The Shadow of the Sword (Part 1) (Apr 5, 2026) · Listen from 41:25
Holland explains that Chinese-style peasant conscription failed in Japan because of fewer peasants, fiscal crisis and poor soldiering.
“And also, peasants just make terrible soldiers. They're hopeless. They're always running away and stuff”
The Rest Is History: 658. Dawn of the Samurai: The Shadow of the Sword (Part 1) (Apr 5, 2026) · Listen from 38:08
Holland notes that the word samurai originally meant vassal or servant rather than warrior, and carried low-status connotations.
“literally, a samurai does not mean a warrior. It means a vassal, a subordinate, a person who is in service to a great lord”
The Rest Is History: 658. Dawn of the Samurai: The Shadow of the Sword (Part 1) (Apr 5, 2026) · Listen from 27:59
Holland argues the samurai's enduring glamour stems from their mastery of self-mythologising, which was urgent because they began as despised provincial outsiders.
“right from the very beginning, the samurai were masterly at the art of creating their own myths. This was a very urgent task for them”
The Rest Is History: 658. Dawn of the Samurai: The Shadow of the Sword (Part 1) (Apr 5, 2026) · Listen from 28:16
Holland contends there was no single enduring samurai code, but the samurai did follow demanding ideals of shame and honour.
“There isn't a code of the samurai which is kind of followed for centuries and centuries and centuries, but they do have moral codes”
The Rest Is History: 658. Dawn of the Samurai: The Shadow of the Sword (Part 1) (Apr 5, 2026) · Listen from 28:00
Holland explains that impoverished ex-samurai sold off their armour, spreading samurai imagery across Western museums and fuelling japonisme.
“these are sold by ex-samurai because every samurai had to have a suit of armor. They don't need them anymore. They're a bit short of money”
The Rest Is History: 658. Dawn of the Samurai: The Shadow of the Sword (Part 1) (Apr 5, 2026) · Listen from 21:05
Odyssey6 of 7
Holland says that as a child he loved the Odyssey's violence and Odysseus's murderousness as well as his cunning.
“I loved the violence of it and the murderous quality of Odysseus, as well as the cunning aspect of him”
The Rest Is History: 688. The Odyssey: Return of the King (Part 2) (Jul 15, 2026) · Listen from 1:01:55
Holland notes that Odysseus's claim to be a Cretan is a joke signalling a lie, since Cretans were proverbial liars in antiquity.
“in antiquity, the Cretans were always viewed as notorious liars. So Odysseus is kind of signaling that it's a lie”
The Rest Is History: 688. The Odyssey: Return of the King (Part 2) (Jul 15, 2026) · Listen from 36:05
Holland argues that the Odyssey's ideal of marriage is not Christian but one where households, not individuals, are united.
“this is very much not a Christian ideal of marriage. This is, um, an ideal of marriage in a world in which it is households rather than individuals who are being joined”
The Rest Is History: 688. The Odyssey: Return of the King (Part 2) (Jul 15, 2026) · Listen from 21:41
Holland says the Odyssey is unusual in the emphasis it places on its minor characters, whose deaths the reader feels.
“it is unusual for the emphasis that it places on the minor characters. You kind of come to know them”
The Rest Is History: 687. The Odyssey: Hero of the Trojan Horse (Part 1) (Jul 12, 2026) · Listen from 1:04:53
Holland argues there is a kind of love affair between Odysseus and the goddess Athena.
“there is a kind of love affair there between the mortal and the goddess”
The Rest Is History: 687. The Odyssey: Hero of the Trojan Horse (Part 1) (Jul 12, 2026) · Listen from 9:08
Holland notes theories that the Sinbad stories of the Arabian Nights derive from the Odyssey.
“there are theories that perhaps the Sinbad cycle, the story of Sinbad the sailor in the Arabian Nights, that perhaps that derived from the Odyssey”
The Rest Is History: 687. The Odyssey: Hero of the Trojan Horse (Part 1) (Jul 12, 2026) · Listen from 2:12
Slavery in the United States6 of 7
Holland believes that if Jefferson were alive today he would side with his critics in judging that he did wrong.
“if he were alive now, he would accept the force of the arguments made by his critics”
The Rest Is History: 686. Jefferson: The Betrayal of Liberty (Part 4) (Jul 8, 2026) · Listen from 1:16:57
Holland contends that Jefferson, having articulated American principles most boldly, betrayed them most grievously.
“he is also the United States president who came to betray them the most grievously”
The Rest Is History: 686. Jefferson: The Betrayal of Liberty (Part 4) (Jul 8, 2026) · Listen from 1:13:37
Holland rejects the view that Jefferson's idea of liberty was limited to white men, calling him a committed abolitionist at the cutting edge of his time.
“Jefferson is much more committed to an ideal of liberty such as I think we would understand it today”
The Rest Is History: 686. Jefferson: The Betrayal of Liberty (Part 4) (Jul 8, 2026) · Listen from 1:06:29
Holland describes Franklin's late anti-slavery petition and satire as an act of repentance for having owned slaves.
“it is an act of repentance. Franklin had owned slaves, he came to repent of it”
The Rest Is History: 684. Franklin: Revenge of the American Genius (Part 2) (Jul 1, 2026) · Listen from 1:09:14
Holland judges Franklin's anonymous 1770 defence of slavery to be the low point of his career.
“it didn't stop him in 1770 from writing an anonymous defense of slavery that I think is probably the lowest point in his career”
The Rest Is History: 684. Franklin: Revenge of the American Genius (Part 2) (Jul 1, 2026) · Listen from 37:21
Holland suggests Key may have held conflicting views on slavery and liberty that he never resolved, making the lyric ambiguous.
“Often, particularly in America, those shades of meaning are in direct conflict with each other. So perhaps he couldn't resolve those ambiguities”
The Rest Is History: 677. USA: The Star-Spangled Banner (Part 1) (Jun 7, 2026) · Listen from 48:39
Fall of Maximilien Robespierre
Holland argues that Robespierre's single, principle-driven strategy became predictable and so could be outmanoeuvred.
“Everyone knows what his strategy is going to be. And so it becomes actually possible to outsmart him”
The Rest Is History: 712. The Terror: The Fall of Robespierre (Part 6) (Oct 7, 2026) · Listen from 1:27:41
Holland argues that Robespierre's principles ultimately drove him mad and led to his catastrophic errors.
“his own sense of virtue leads him to make catastrophic errors as you say”
The Rest Is History: 712. The Terror: The Fall of Robespierre (Part 6) (Oct 7, 2026) · Listen from 1:26:38
Holland expresses admiration for Robespierre's efforts to preserve his dignity despite his injuries.
“I think this is admirable on his part that he does try to keep his dignity”
The Rest Is History: 712. The Terror: The Fall of Robespierre (Part 6) (Oct 7, 2026) · Listen from 1:22:02
Holland compares the Commune's collapse to Lafayette's failure at Versailles, arguing that passion drives decisive action.
“If you've got passion on your side, your instinct will tell you what to do”
The Rest Is History: 712. The Terror: The Fall of Robespierre (Part 6) (Oct 7, 2026) · Listen from 1:17:17
Other remarks
Holland suggests an overlooked reason for Louis XVI's distraction in 1789 was grief over the death of his elder son.
“one of the reasons that Louis XVI is distracted in the buildup to the fall of the Bastille is that he is a bereaved parent”
The Rest Is History: 709. The Terror: The Execution of Marie Antoinette (Part 3) (Sep 27, 2026) · Listen from 12:01
Holland says historians of fashion see Marie Antoinette as a forerunner of modern ideas of constantly changing fashion, not just a symbol of the Ancien Régime.
“she is viewed by historians of fashion as not just a representative figure of the Ancien Régime”
The Rest Is History: 709. The Terror: The Execution of Marie Antoinette (Part 3) (Sep 27, 2026) · Listen from 2:11
Holland rates William Cecil as perhaps the ablest minister in British history.
“I would say perhaps the ablest minister in the whole of British history”
The Rest Is History: 691. Elizabeth I vs The Catholics: The Queen’s Spymaster (Part 1) (Jul 26, 2026) · Listen from 10:30
Holland regards Jefferson as the most remarkable and talented founding father but also the most morally compromised.
“The man who I think is the most remarkable, the most talented of all the founding fathers, but also the most morally compromised, I guess”
The Rest Is History: 685. Hamilton: Duel to the Death (Part 3) (Jul 5, 2026) · Listen from 1:11:54
Habsburg monarchy
Holland contrasts modern Windsors, who can publicly discuss mental health, with Rudolf, for whom an emotional inner life was forbidden.
“the idea of any of these people really having a kind of interior emotional life is verboten”
The Rest Is History: 690. A Murderous Affair: Death at Mayerling (Part 2) (Jul 22, 2026) · Listen from 1:08:44
Holland argues the episode reveals something genuine: that being born into the Habsburg dynasty meant feeling trapped.
“to be born into the Habsburg dynasty is to feel trapped. It's to feel a prisoner”
The Rest Is History: 690. A Murderous Affair: Death at Mayerling (Part 2) (Jul 22, 2026) · Listen from 1:07:53
Holland suggests Rudolf's death must have symbolized for contemporaries an anxiety that storm clouds were gathering over the empire, as there was no direct male heir.
“it must have symbolized for people at the time in the empire an anxiety that indeed the storm clouds are gathering”
The Rest Is History: 690. A Murderous Affair: Death at Mayerling (Part 2) (Jul 22, 2026) · Listen from 1:03:09
Holland speculates that, murder-suicide aside, Rudolf might have made a reasonably good emperor.
“So aside from the whole killing his mistress and shooting himself angle, he might actually have made quite a good fist of being an emperor”
The Rest Is History: 689. A Murderous Affair: The Habsburgs’ Greatest Scandal (Part 1) (Jul 19, 2026) · Listen from 54:51
Jefferson–Hemings controversy
Holland proposes that Hemings was the third and most enduring great passion of Jefferson's life.
“the likeliest explanation for his relationship with Sally is that she is the third and the most enduring of the three great passions of his life”
The Rest Is History: 686. Jefferson: The Betrayal of Liberty (Part 4) (Jul 8, 2026) · Listen from 1:03:08
Holland stresses that the relationship was fundamentally coercive because Jefferson legally owned Hemings.
“No, it is obviously massively coercive. I mean, Jefferson owns Sally as property”
The Rest Is History: 686. Jefferson: The Betrayal of Liberty (Part 4) (Jul 8, 2026) · Listen from 57:38
Holland states that, after DNA, archival and archaeological evidence, the overwhelming historical consensus is that Jefferson fathered Sally Hemings's children.
“I would say the overwhelming consensus now of historians is that Jefferson had kept Sally Hemings as his mistress”
The Rest Is History: 686. Jefferson: The Betrayal of Liberty (Part 4) (Jul 8, 2026) · Listen from 56:51
Holland argues Callender's article was not a fabrication but publicized rumours long circulating among insiders.
“calendar in that article was simply making public rumors that had been circulating among those in the know for several years”
The Rest Is History: 686. Jefferson: The Betrayal of Liberty (Part 4) (Jul 8, 2026) · Listen from 38:07
Apartheid
Holland describes Mandela's post-prison approach as meeting his oppressors with forgiveness in the hope of repentance.
“He's determined to meet them with forgiveness, and he is trusting that they will answer this forgiveness with a mood of repentance”
The Rest Is History: 682. South Africa: Mandela and the Death of Apartheid (Part 6) (Jun 24, 2026) · Listen from 17:49
Holland argues that the regime might have clung on to apartheid had there not been a black leader, Mandela, with whom it could negotiate.
“they might still have tried to maintain apartheid had it not been for the fact that there existed a black leader with whom the leaders”
The Rest Is History: 682. South Africa: Mandela and the Death of Apartheid (Part 6) (Jun 24, 2026) · Listen from 16:25
Holland contends that theological doubts among devout Afrikaner leaders played a crucial role in undermining the apartheid regime's confidence.
“Theological anxieties about whether apartheid was part of God's plan actually played a crucial role in deflating the self-confidence of the apartheid regime”
The Rest Is History: 682. South Africa: Mandela and the Death of Apartheid (Part 6) (Jun 24, 2026) · Listen from 15:40
Holland argues that economic sanctions gradually crippled the South African economy rather than having an immediate effect.
“the economic sanctions kind of cripple the South African economy, not immediately, but it's a kind of slowly deflating puncture”
The Rest Is History: 682. South Africa: Mandela and the Death of Apartheid (Part 6) (Jun 24, 2026) · Listen from 12:28
Mona Lisa
Holland concludes that the painting supports an almost infinite range of interpretations.
“it is kind of infinite in the ways that it can be interpreted and seen”
The Rest Is History: 667. The Mystery of the Mona Lisa (May 6, 2026) · Listen from 1:08:16
Holland says Raphael saw the painting in progress and was strongly influenced by it.
“He comes and sees it and he's blown away by it. And it's a patently a massive influence on Raphael's painting”
The Rest Is History: 667. The Mystery of the Mona Lisa (May 6, 2026) · Listen from 47:48
Holland explains that in the Victorian era the paintings that became famous were those easily copied, which initially held back the Mona Lisa.
“the paintings that had cut through in the Victorian period were those that were very easily copied”
The Rest Is History: 667. The Mystery of the Mona Lisa (May 6, 2026) · Listen from 4:53
Holland argues that the Mona Lisa is unquestionably the most recognizable painting in history.
“It is the most recognizable painting that has ever been in the whole of history”
The Rest Is History: 667. The Mystery of the Mona Lisa (May 6, 2026) · Listen from 5:00
Greek colonisation
Holland reads the Laestrygonian episode as reflecting colonists' fear that ideal sites for settlements would already be occupied by hostile natives.
“with your ships, you see a perfect spot for a colony. I mean, it might be a perfect spot, but that might make it all the more dangerous”
The Rest Is History: 687. The Odyssey: Hero of the Trojan Horse (Part 1) (Jul 12, 2026) · Listen from 44:12
Holland compares the Odyssey to Star Trek, whose fantastical episodes reflected the anxieties of 1960s America.
“so many of those episodes are plainly about anxieties and complex that are manifest in 1960s America”
The Rest Is History: 687. The Odyssey: Hero of the Trojan Horse (Part 1) (Jul 12, 2026) · Listen from 37:03
Holland argues Polyphemus embodies Greek colonists' fear of barbarians who lacked the markers of Greek civilisation, such as agriculture and watered wine.
“I think that Polyphemus is a kind of nightmarish vision of a barbarian who does not live by the rules of life that the Greeks associate with civilization”
The Rest Is History: 687. The Odyssey: Hero of the Trojan Horse (Part 1) (Jul 12, 2026) · Listen from 37:22
First Party System
Holland judges that Hamilton, not Jefferson, was right about America's capitalist and industrial future.
“Hamilton is right. America's future is capitalist. It is industrial”
The Rest Is History: 686. Jefferson: The Betrayal of Liberty (Part 4) (Jul 8, 2026) · Listen from 26:02
Holland contends that, measured by winning and keeping power, Jefferson was the greatest political genius among the founders.
“if aptitude for politics is to be measured by success in the winning and the keeping of power, then Jefferson is the great political genius among the founding fathers”
The Rest Is History: 686. Jefferson: The Betrayal of Liberty (Part 4) (Jul 8, 2026) · Listen from 23:18
Holland credits John Adams with keeping America out of the Anglo-French war as his great achievement.
“Well, he keeps America out of the war, doesn't he, between Britain and France, which is his great achievement”
The Rest Is History: 685. Hamilton: Duel to the Death (Part 3) (Jul 5, 2026) · Listen from 15:53
American Revolution
Holland argues that by 1770 Franklin had been in London so long he had lost touch with growing American radicalism.
“he's kind of lost touch with the growing mood of radicalism on the other side of the Atlantic”
The Rest Is History: 684. Franklin: Revenge of the American Genius (Part 2) (Jul 1, 2026) · Listen from 36:30
Holland states that Franklin was the only man to sign all four foundational documents of the United States.
“he is the only man who signs all four of the kind of the foundational documents of the infant United States”
The Rest Is History: 684. Franklin: Revenge of the American Genius (Part 2) (Jul 1, 2026) · Listen from 3:47
Holland interprets Franklin's parable as casting Britain as the mastiff and America as the lion cub that would grow to overpower it.
“The mastiff, the kind of pedigree dog, is Britain and the lion cub is America”
The Rest Is History: 684. Franklin: Revenge of the American Genius (Part 2) (Jul 1, 2026) · Listen from 3:52
Gallipoli campaign
Holland argues that Mustafa Kemal's Gallipoli reputation gave him the credibility later needed to cut Turkey's losses.
“People accept this is a guy who defended the homeland and threw the great imperial power back into the sea”
The Rest Is History: 676. The First World War: Churchill’s Calamity (Part 6) (Jun 3, 2026) · Listen from 1:06:15
Holland argues that the campaign was strategically pointless, since even pushing the Turks off Gallipoli would achieve little.
“But it seems to me madness. Because even if you push the Turks, the Turk, sorry, off Gallipoli, so what?”
The Rest Is History: 676. The First World War: Churchill’s Calamity (Part 6) (Jun 3, 2026) · Listen from 24:26
Holland concedes that Churchill was right that breaking the stalemate might require unconventional thinking.
“if you're going to break the stalemate, perhaps you do need some left field thinking, some blue sky thinking”
The Rest Is History: 675. The First World War: Slaughter at Gallipoli (Part 5) (May 31, 2026) · Listen from 10:02
Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Holland calls Zendaya fearless and the best actor working today.
“I think she's the best actor going. I really think she has like something special”
Good Hang with Amy Poehler: Tom Holland (Jun 2, 2026) · Listen from 57:26
Holland says the film's message about the importance of socializing in a digital age is what he is proudest of.
“In this digital age, it's so easy to sit at home of an evening and just scroll through your phone and just turn your mind to mush”
Good Hang with Amy Poehler: Tom Holland (Jun 2, 2026) · Listen from 38:22
Holland says he questioned whether to make a fourth Spider-Man film until director Destin Daniel Cretton joined, which made it feel new and more mature.
“when Destin came into the fold and started the director, it all of a sudden felt like, oh, this is exactly what we've been missing”
Good Hang with Amy Poehler: Tom Holland (Jun 2, 2026) · Listen from 37:04
Zoroastrianism
Holland argues that Darius's ideology contained the seeds of later ideas that conquest in a god's name can be a moral duty.
“that conquest in the name of a god or of a kind of moral truth or order can be cast as a moral duty”
The Rest Is History: 668. Greece vs Persia: The Rise of the First Superpower (Part 1) (May 10, 2026) · Listen from 21:25
Holland contends that Darius was the first to promise soldiers divine blessings in life and after death for fighting enemies of his god.
“He tells his army, and no one had ever done this before in history, that if they go to war against the Elamites, they can expect, and I quote, divine blessings”
The Rest Is History: 668. Greece vs Persia: The Rise of the First Superpower (Part 1) (May 10, 2026) · Listen from 20:11
Holland argues that Darius's suppression of the Elamite rebellion was one of the most innovative episodes in world history.
“I mean, it's an incredibly obscure period of history, the Elamite rebellion. But I would argue that it's actually one of the most innovative episodes in world history”
The Rest Is History: 668. Greece vs Persia: The Rise of the First Superpower (Part 1) (May 10, 2026) · Listen from 20:21
Predictions
1 pending
- Prediction · due Dec 2031
Holland reports that the Mona Lisa is to be moved to a dedicated underground gallery scheduled to open in 2031.
“There will be no other work of art inside it. And that is scheduled to open in 2031”
The Rest Is History: 667. The Mystery of the Mona Lisa (May 6, 2026) · Listen from 1:05:32 · Louvre New Renaissance project
Podcasts hosted
- The Rest Is History · 24 episodes in TMT
Appearances
712. The Terror: The Fall of Robespierre (Part 6)The Rest Is History · Oct 7, 2026 · 1 h 37 min
Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland recount the summer of 1794, the coup of 9 Thermidor and the execution of Robespierre, concluding their French Revolution series.
- 709. The Terror: The Execution of Marie Antoinette (Part 3)
The Rest Is History · Sep 27, 2026 · 1 h 12 min
Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook recount Marie Antoinette's imprisonment, trial and execution in 1793, Jacques Hébert's campaign against her, and her son Louis Charles's fate.
- 691. Elizabeth I vs The Catholics: The Queen’s Spymaster (Part 1)
The Rest Is History · Jul 26, 2026 · 1 h 12 min
Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook open a series on Elizabeth I's Catholic enemies, focusing on William Cecil, Mary Queen of Scots, the Ridolfi plot and the papal excommunication.
- 690. A Murderous Affair: Death at Mayerling (Part 2)
The Rest Is History · Jul 22, 2026 · 1 h 19 min
Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland recount the affair of Crown Prince Rudolf and Mary Vetsera, the Mayerling murder-suicide of 1889, its cover-up and aftermath.
- 689. A Murderous Affair: The Habsburgs’ Greatest Scandal (Part 1)
The Rest Is History · Jul 19, 2026 · 1 h 13 min
Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook set the scene for the 1889 Mayerling incident, tracing Crown Prince Rudolf's troubled family, 1880s Vienna, and his first meetings with Mary Vetsera.
- 688. The Odyssey: Return of the King (Part 2)
The Rest Is History · Jul 15, 2026 · 1 h 6 min
Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook retell the second half of Homer's Odyssey, from Telemachus's journey and Calypso's island to the slaughter of the suitors and reunion with Penelope.
- 687. The Odyssey: Hero of the Trojan Horse (Part 1)
The Rest Is History · Jul 12, 2026 · 1 h 12 min
Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook retell the first half of Homer's Odyssey, from Troy's fall to Calypso's island, and probe its roots in Greek colonisation.
- 686. Jefferson: The Betrayal of Liberty (Part 4)
The Rest Is History · Jul 8, 2026 · 1 h 22 min
Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook conclude their Founding Fathers series with Thomas Jefferson's political career, his relationship with Sally Hemings, and his betrayal of liberty through slavery.
- 685. Hamilton: Duel to the Death (Part 3)
The Rest Is History · Jul 5, 2026 · 1 h 16 min
Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook recount Alexander Hamilton's rise, his feud with Aaron Burr, and the disputed 1804 Weehawken duel that killed him.
- 684. Franklin: Revenge of the American Genius (Part 2)
The Rest Is History · Jul 1, 2026 · 1 h 13 min
Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook trace Benjamin Franklin's life from Puritan Boston boyhood and Enlightenment fame to revolutionary diplomat, Constitution signatory and late abolitionist.
- 683. Washington: Hero of the Revolution (Part 1)
The Rest Is History · Jun 28, 2026 · 1 h 16 min
Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland trace George Washington's origins and character and examine the winter at Valley Forge in 1777–78 that made his reputation.
- 682. South Africa: Mandela and the Death of Apartheid (Part 6)
The Rest Is History · Jun 24, 2026 · 1 h 11 min
Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook trace South Africa's anthem Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika, the fall of apartheid, and Nelson Mandela's use of the 1995 Rugby World Cup final.
681. Brazil: The Emperor’s Anthem (Part 5)The Rest Is History · Jun 21, 2026 · 1 h 10 min
Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook trace Brazil's national anthem from Dom Pedro I's independence hymn through decades without lyrics to its 1922 text and protest uses.
- 679. Germany: The Song Hitler Stole (Part 3)
The Rest Is History · Jun 14, 2026 · 1 h 13 min
Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook trace the history of Germany's national anthems, from Haydn's Austrian hymn through Nazi, West and East German anthems to reunification.
- 677. USA: The Star-Spangled Banner (Part 1)
The Rest Is History · Jun 7, 2026 · 1 h 11 min
Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland trace the Star-Spangled Banner from the 1814 bombardment of Fort McHenry to its adoption as anthem and the controversy over slavery.
676. The First World War: Churchill’s Calamity (Part 6)The Rest Is History · Jun 3, 2026 · 1 h 17 min
Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook conclude the Gallipoli campaign, covering Churchill's fall, the failed August Offensive, the evacuation, and the birth of the Anzac legend.
Tom HollandGood Hang with Amy Poehler · Jun 2, 2026 · 1 h 15 min
Amy Poehler talks with Tom Holland about dancing, Billy Elliot, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, The Odyssey, dyslexia, sobriety, and accents, after a chat with Jacob Batalon.
675. The First World War: Slaughter at Gallipoli (Part 5)The Rest Is History · May 31, 2026 · 1 h 17 min
Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook recount the origins of the Gallipoli campaign, Churchill's Dardanelles scheme, and the bloody Allied landings of 25 April 1915.
674. The First World War: The Spy Who Took on the Germans (Part 4)The Rest Is History · May 27, 2026 · 1 h 8 min
Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland recount the life, resistance work, trial and 1915 execution of British nurse Edith Cavell in German-occupied Belgium, and her posthumous legend.
- 673. The First World War: The Submarine Strikes (Part 3)
The Rest Is History · May 24, 2026 · 1 h 17 min
Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook recount the 1915 sinking of the RMS Lusitania by U-20, its conspiracy theories, propaganda aftermath and effect on American opinion.
- 668. Greece vs Persia: The Rise of the First Superpower (Part 1)
The Rest Is History · May 10, 2026 · 1 h 13 min
Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook trace Darius I's rise, the Ionian Revolt and Athens' role in burning Sardis, leading up to the Persian landing at Marathon in 490 BC.
- 667. The Mystery of the Mona Lisa
The Rest Is History · May 6, 2026 · 1 h 10 min
Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook trace the Mona Lisa's origins, the debate over its sitter, and how it became the world's most famous painting.
- 666. Wine and the Birth of Civilisation
The Rest Is History · May 3, 2026 · 1 h 16 min
Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook trace the history of wine through seven key moments, from Neolithic Georgia and Rome to Islam, English bottles, French terroir and the 1976 Judgement of Paris.
- 658. Dawn of the Samurai: The Shadow of the Sword (Part 1)
The Rest Is History · Apr 5, 2026 · 1 h 3 min
Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook trace the origins of Japan's samurai, from the Tokugawa shogunate and the Bushido myth back to the 10th-century warlord Taira no Masakado.
- 656. The Ku Klux Klan: Birth of a Nation (Part 3)
The Rest Is History · Mar 29, 2026 · 1 h 15 min
Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook trace the 1915 rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan as a mass fraternal, marketing-driven, anti-Catholic movement.
Discussed in
- Andrew Garfield
Good Hang with Amy Poehler · Sep 29, 2026 · 1 h 11 min
Amy Poehler talks with Andrew Garfield about work ethic, grief, method acting, directors he admires, his film The Uprising and playing Roy Horn, with a pre-interview from Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Messi Takes England Out of the World Cup, Plus Preparing for Christopher Nolan’s 'The Odyssey' With Ian Wright, Anthony Dabbundo, and Sean FennesseyThe Bill Simmons Podcast · Jul 16, 2026 · 1 h 51 min
Guest host Chris Ryan discusses England's World Cup semifinal loss to Argentina with Ian Wright, previews the Spain–Argentina final with Anthony Dabbundo, and talks Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' with Sean Fennessey.
What’s Epic About the ‘Odyssey’? Everything.The Daily · Jul 12, 2026 · 51 min
Natalie Kitroeff talks with translator Emily Wilson and novelist Madeline Miller about the Odyssey ahead of Christopher Nolan's film adaptation.
The World Cup, Trad Wives, and the Wedding of the CenturyWait Wait... Don't Tell Me! · Jun 20, 2026 · 47 min
Peter Sagal and panelists Karen Chee, Peter Grosz and Shane O'Neill joke about World Cup visitors and Taylor Swift's wedding, and quiz Yesteryear author Caro Claire Burke.
Often appears with
- Dominic Sandbrook · 24 shared episodes
- Paul Rouse · 1 shared episode
- Amy Poehler · 1 shared episode
- Jacob Batalon · 1 shared episode