World War II

What is fascism and where did it come from? No one admits to being a fascist yet it continues to be a term of abuse hurled on a regular basis. Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook discuss the history of…

Has America taken over the world? Did the dollar and Hollywood enable the US to replace the British empire as the dominant international influencer? And is that power now waning? Tom Holland and Domi…

Counterfactuals are the great what ifs of history. Imagine the Nazis winning World War 2, or the Roman Empire never falling. Is this a valid form of historical enquiry? Or is it simply game-playing?…

Who is the greatest British Prime Minister of them all? The bookmakers have Winston Churchill favourite to lift the crown, but William Gladstone and Maggie Thatcher won’t give up the fight without a s…

History is littered with stories of espionage and its capacity to change the course of events. But does spying truly matter and has the human operative finally been replaced by the computer? Ben MacI…

It is arguably the most important year in modern history. With the British Expeditionary Force trapped at Dunkirk, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain replaced by the maverick Winston Churchill and Fra…

He was “the embodiment of modern political evil” according to historian Sir Ian Kershaw. In this first episode of a two-part investigation of the Nazi dictator, Sir Ian joins Dominic Sandbrook and Tom…

In the second part of our examination of Adolf Hitler, Sir Ian Kershaw joins Dominic Sandbrook to discuss the Nazi leader’s years leading up to and during the Second World War.

Statues: Parliament Square In the final part of their epic trilogy, Tom and Dominic arrive at Parliament Square to explore the statues of world leaders including Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela…

In 1896 the Olympic Games were reborn in Athens. Here we look at the forgotten tales and little known facts from the start of the modern Olympics through to the outbreak of the Second World War. T…

Writer and critic Tomiwa Owolade joins Dominic and Tom to discuss the pan-African movement and the varying ways in which African states became independent from their European colonisers during the 20t…

As Angela Merkel bows out of German politics, Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland explore the surprisingly colourful world of Germany’s Chancellors since the Second World War. It’s a story of rebels, ex…

From their origins in the 1930's running parallel to the rise of fascism in Europe, to the Adam West camp of the 1960's, to the gritty modern reboots - what has made Superheroes a cultural phenomenon…

Tom and Dominic are joined by Helen Thompson, Professor of Political Economy at the University of Cambridge, to talk about the incredible influence of oil over the last couple of centuries. Discus…

What military parallels does Putin's invasion of Ukraine have with Hitler's attempt to invade the Soviet Union? On today's pod Tom and Dominic are joined by historian - and brother of Tom - James…

In the wake of Anthony Albanese's victory in this weekend's Australian election, Tom and Dominic have recorded a three part Antipodean special on the history of Australian prime ministers. The fir…

Stalingrad: the bloodiest battle of the Second World War. Tom and Dominic are joined by Iain MacGregor to discuss the build up, context and outbreak of the Battle of Stalingrad. A second Stali…

Tom and Dominic are again joined by Iain MacGregor to discuss the climax of the Battle of Stalingrad, Pavlov's House, and the Red Army's counter offensive that ultimately defeated the Axis forces…

‘If it became necessary immediately to discard every line and method of communications used on the front, except one, and it were left to me to select that one method, I should unhesitatingly choose t…

Written in stages between 1937 and 1949, The Lord of the Rings is one of the best-selling books ever written, with over 150 million copies sold. Join Tom and Dominic in the second of two episodes…