The world’s most popular history podcast, with Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook.
Join The Rest Is History Club (www.therestishistory.com) for ad-free listenin...
534. Emperors of Rome: Sex Secrets of the Caesars (Part 1)
The Roman historian Suetonius’ The Lives of the Caesars, written during the early imperial period of the Roman Empire, is a seminal biography covering the biographies of the early emperors of Rome, during two spectacular centuries of Roman history. Delving deep into the personal lives of the caesars and sparing no detail, no matter how prurient, pungent, explicit or salacious, it vividly captures Rome at the peak of her power, and those colourful individuals at the heart of everything. It is an unsettling yet fascinating portrait of the alien and the intimate, that sees some of history’s most famous characters revealed as almost modern men, plotting a delicate line between private and public, respectability and suspicion. From the showmanship of Augustus, the first Caesar, and his convoluted family melodramas, to Tiberius, a monster in the historical record famed for his sexual misdeeds, to Caligula, who delighted in voyeuristic moral degeneracy, and the looming shadow of Nero; all will be revealed…
Join Tom and Dominic as they launch into Suetonius and the lives of Rome’s most infamous emperors, illuminating a world of sex and violence that both venerates, deifies and condemns absolute power. When the curtain is lifted, what deprivation lurks behind the majesty of Rome? And who was the real Suetonius, the man laying it all bare?
Pre-order Tom Holland's new translation of 'The Lives of the Caesars' here.
_______
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
--------
55:41
Russian Spies, Pigeons, and The Rest Is Classified…
How did a Russian spy manage to infiltrate the upper echelons of London and New York society? Was Anna Chapman really an old fashioned Russian honeytrap or was she underestimated by the world's press? What was life like for wealthy Russians in "Londongrad" in the early 21st century?
The year is 2001 and the 18-year-old daughter of a Russian oligarch is partying in London. She meets a handsome young man at a warehouse rave and her passport to a new life in Western Europe glistens before her very eyes. What could possibly go wrong? Join David and Gordon as they take us back to the height of Londongrad and what happens when a Russian spy tries to infiltrate high society.
To hear the full episode, search The Rest Is Classified wherever you get your podcasts or click here to discover the episode on Spotify.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
--------
14:31
533. Wojtek: The Bear Who Beat the Nazis
The story of Wojtek - the bear who took on the Nazis - amidst the death and devastation of the Second World War, and more specifically Poland's heroic resistance, is a flicker of redemption amidst an otherwise deeply depressing period of history. His is a life that exemplifies not only Poland’s struggle in microcosm, but also the global nature of the war overall. Discovered by a young boy as a tiny cub, his mother dead, he was sold to Polish officers travelling to Palestine in the hills outside Tehran. The soldiers nursed and fed the young bear with milk from a vodka bottle, treating him like one of their own. Later, he was even purported to keep them warm at night, drink beer, delight in wrestling and showers, and both march and salute. When the Polish forces were finally deployed to Europe, ‘Wojtek’ as he had been named, went with them; a mascot and morale booster to the men. There he was given military rank, and actively participated in the Italian campaign, carrying ammunition and artillery crates. But with death and destruction on all sides, what would be his fate?
Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss Wojtek, one of history’s most extraordinary animals, and his life in the army - an emblem of hope and resilience in the face of the horrors of the Second World War.
_______
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett
Editor: Jack Meek
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
--------
1:01:15
532. Hitler's War on Poland: The Fall of Warsaw (Part 3)
The Nazi invasion of Poland is one of the most harrowing episodes of the Second World War, which saw terrible scenes of abuse take place. Though long threatened, Poland was in no way prepared to face Hitler’s war machine when it finally attacked. Replete with tanks and planes, his would be a new kind of warfare. So, on the 10th of September 1939, Warsaw became the first capital in Europe to face relentless bombing raids, with Hitler - delighted by war - a spectator to the whole thing. The breaking point came when Stalin, whose troops had been fighting in Japan, agreed to send in his Red Army into Poland to reinforce the Germans. Before long, and despite their heroic resistance, the Poles had been decimated by German machinery, and nine days later the Nazis entered Danzig in triumph. With Warsaw an apocalyptic wasteland, Nazi occupied Poland became a hell of random brutality, discrimination, and horrific violence, particularly for the Jewish members of the population.
Join Dominic and Tom for the tragic conclusion of their journey into the dark depths of the fall of Poland, including the invasion of the German war machine, Russian participation, and Poland's inspiring defence.
_______
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett
Editor: Jack Meek
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
--------
1:02:36
531. Hitler's War on Poland: The Pact with Stalin (Part 2)
By the 11th of April 1939, Adolf Hitler and his Nazis were in the process of drawing up a plan of attack for Poland, the Poles having resisted Germany’s attempts to make them hand over Danzig and turn themselves into a satellite state. Now, with a new military alliance between France, Britain and Poland established, the time has come for Hitler to throw the dice and cast Europe into the long predicted war. Yet, at this most crucial and long awaited moment of his career, Hitler found himself in a state of emotional distress. Uncertain of whether France and Britain would join the war upon his invasion of Poland, and aware of Germany’s economic turmoil, the stakes had never been higher. He therefore decided to make a deal with his greatest ideological enemy - Joseph Stalin - forming an alliance with Russia, with the intention of dividing up Poland between them. Then, on the 1st of September, Hitler gave a landmark, excoriating address at the Reichstag, declaring war on Poland and tearing up his naval pact with Britain. War, it seemed, had become truly inevitable.
Join Dominic and Tom as they discuss the build up to Hitler’s invasion of Poland, one of the darkest episodes of all time, and the moment that the Second World War truly began.
Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ nordvpn.com/restishistory It's risk-free with Nord's 30 day money back guarantee ✅
_______
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett
Editor: Jack Meek
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The world’s most popular history podcast, with Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook.
Join The Rest Is History Club (www.therestishistory.com) for ad-free listening to the full archive, weekly bonus episodes, live streamed shows and access to an exclusive chatroom community.
Here are some of our favourite episodes to get you started:
WATERGATE/NIXON apple.co/3JrVl5h
ALEXANDER THE GREAT apple.co/3Q4FaNk
HARDCORE HISTORY'S DAN CARLIN apple.co/3vqkGa3
PUTIN & RUSSIA apple.co/3zMtLfX
Ireland