This is History

•

Channel • 2 Shows

History

History

Weekly Series
History

History

Updated May 12

Season 10, Episode 17

Paul Greengrass: Turning Andrew Garfield Into a Medieval Rebel

The story of disgruntled citizens feeling the need to rise up against a rigged system and distant elites is one that defines our moment. But we’re not unique in that feeling. Mistrust of the elite goes back a long way — like when England’s peasants almost toppled the ancien regime of King Richard II in 1381. And that’s the focus of Oscar-nominated director Paul Greengrass’s latest film, The Uprising. Starring Andrew Garfield as a disgruntled ploughman, Cosmo Jarvis as Wat Tyler — and with our very own Dan Jones serving as historical consultant — the film takes us into the tumult of 14th-Century London to help explain why ordinary people brought the reign of King Richard II to the brink. In this very special In Conversation episode, Dan and Paul explore how they told the story of the Peasants Revolt on the silver screen, while Paul peels back the curtain about how historic films actually get made — and why ‘accuracy’ is the wrong question. Plus, they reflect on why the lessons of the Peasants Revolt have incredible relevance to the fractious politics of today. Catch The Uprising in cinemas from: September 11, US and Canada (and select US theatres from September 10) October 9, UK October 30, Latvia – Remember to stick around for Paul’s bonus episode with Dan, where Paul gives Dan’s his top five favourite historical films. That’s all for you to discover on our royal court on Patreon: patreon.com/thisishistory – A Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices – Presented by Dan Jones Producer - Alan Weedon Senior Producer - Dominic Tyerman Junior Producer - Dulcie Whadcock Executive Producer - Louisa Field Executive Producer - Dan Jones Production Manager - Jen Mistri Production Coordinator - Eric Ryan Head of Content - Chris Skinner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Season 10, Episode 12

S10 E12 | To Bosworth

Richard III’s son and heir, Edward of Middleham, dies unexpectedly. Then tragedy strikes twice: his wife Queen Anne dies, too. Richard, who ruthlessly diverted the line of succession away from his nephews, now has to contend with a dynastic line reset to zero. His solution? Incest. His niece, Elizabeth of York — daughter of late King Edward IV — is being pitched as England’s new Queen. But thrusting incest onto an increasingly agitated kingdom isn’t exactly what the people want. It’s fertile ground for other nobles who have any claim to the throne, like Henry Tudor. And so, he — along with Richard’s ever-growing list of enemies — descend on England. – As always, Dan’s royal favourites can chime in anytime on the royal court on Patreon at patreon.com/thisishistory. It’s where you get your bonus episodes, and on this week’s episode Dan and Al discuss whether Richard III had buyers’ remorse, Henry Tudor’s shadow court in France, and why France’s Charles VIII was interested in driving a wedge between England and Brittany. – A Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices –– Presented by Dan Jones Producer - Alan Weedon Senior Producer - Dominic Tyerman Junior Producer - Dulcie Whadcock Executive Producer - Louisa Field Executive Producer - Dan Jones Production Manager - Jen Mistri Production Coordinator - Eric Ryan Head of Content - Chris Skinner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Season 10, Episode 16

What King Arthur Reveals About Ourselves

Did King Arthur exist? Amy Jeffs isn't fussed. In this episode, the historian and artist behind Arthur: A New Life takes Dan Jones beyond Camelot and the search for a "real" Arthur, into a world of Welsh myth, Breton storytelling, medieval chronicles, haunted landscapes and hyperbolically violent kings. Together, they try to understand why one of Britain's most compelling legends has endured, and why centuries of writers, artists and dreamers keep remaking him. – If you want a deeper dive into the medieval world with Dan and Amy, grab their accompanying bonus episode at patreon.com/thisishistory. There, Amy shares her favourite absurd moments from medieval manuscripts, including the time when St Martin granted a woman’s wish to see her husband covered all over in male genitalia. – A Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices – Presented by Dan Jones Producer - Alan Weedon Senior Producer - Dominic Tyerman Junior Producer - Dulcie Whadcock Executive Producer - Louisa Field Executive Producer - Dan Jones Production Manager - Jen Mistri Production Coordinator - Eric Ryan Head of Content - Chris Skinner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Season 10, Episode 15

Did the Hundred Years war ever really end?

Two men and two hundred years of history… On this week’s This Is History: In Conversation, Dan Jones meets Mike Livingston — award-winning historian and novelist from across the pond — to discuss the Hundred Years War. A former Secretary-General for the United States Commission on Military History and professor at The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, Livingston knows a thing or two about battles. They delve into Livingston’s latest book ‘The Two Hundred Years War’ and discuss : when did the war actually start and end? What did the French really think about it? Is the longbow overrated? – If you want a deeper dive into the Hundred Years War with Dan and Mike, grab their accompanying bonus episode at patreon.com/thisishistory. There, they dig deeper into the gory, the genius and the gruesome medieval warfare involved in England and France’s most enduring military conflict. – A Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices – Presented by Dan Jones Producer - Alan Weedon Senior Producer - Dominic Tyerman Junior Producer - Dulcie Whadcock Executive Producer - Louisa Field Executive Producer - Dan Jones Production Manager - Jen Mistri Production Coordinator - Eric Ryan Head of Content - Chris Skinner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Season 11 Trailer

Who’s afraid of Henry Tudor?

He’s the man who schemed, smashed and slashed his way to power. But as it turns out, winning a crown is far easier than keeping one. This Is History: The Tudors traces the unlikely rise of King Henry VII — the man responsible for creating England’s most iconic royal family. Their story begins on 22 August 1485, a day that changed English history forever. At the Battle of Bosworth Field, Henry Tudor defeated King Richard III, ending more than three centuries of Plantagenet rule and claiming the English throne as Henry VII. He inherits a fractured kingdom, weakened by the Wars of the Roses, while ambitious nobles and foreign powers are ready to rally behind rival claimants. The results are often extraordinary. Two pretenders emerge from obscurity: a ten-year-old boy and a Flemish teenager who reinvent themselves as long-lost princes. Both claim to be princes once locked up in the Tower of London and launch audacious bids for the throne. Across the Channel, kings, emperors and a vengeful English princess lend support to their cause, turning political intrigue into an international crisis. It's a far cry from the story Henry VII hoped to tell. His marriage to Elizabeth of York was meant to unite the rival houses of Lancaster and York and bring lasting peace to England. Diplomatic alliances strengthen England's position abroad, while explorers push further across the Atlantic than ever before. Yet invasions, rebellions, trade disputes and betrayals threaten everything Henry has built. It’s a story packed with romance, betrayal, jealousy, revenge — and at least one weird case of a king giving someone a foot-rub. So who’s afraid of Henry Tudor? Not as many as he’d like. – As always, Dan’s royal favourites can chime in anytime with Dan and the rest of the royal court on Patreon, too. Become a royal favourite today: patreon.com/thisishistory – A Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices – Presented by Dan Jones Producer - Alan Weedon Senior Producer - Dominic Tyerman Junior Producer - Dulcie Whadcock Executive Producer - Louisa Field Executive Producer - Dan Jones Production Manager - Jen Mistri Production Coordinator - Eric Ryan Head of Content - Chris Skinner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Season 10, Episode 1

S10 E1 | A New Hope

A 13-year-old girl labours in a sealed chamber at Pembroke Castle as the plague circles them. Miraculously, Margaret Beaufort survives. Her son does, too. His name is Henry Tudor. This birth doesn’t register in the minds of many nobles, as they’re focused on England’s first Yorkist King, Edward IV. After his decisive victory at the Battle of Towton, his mission as king is to do what Henry VI couldn’t: rebuild a broken kingdom. He solidifies power in concert with his ally, the Earl of Warwick, who fancies himself as a kingmaker. Warwick grows rich on titles, ports, and power, until some say he rules as much as the king. They stamp out a few threats to Edward’s rule, but ultimately their mission is to stamp order over the kingdom. The best way to do that is to find England a new Queen. – As always, Dan’s royal favourites can chime in anytime on the royal court on Patreon at patreon.com/thisishistory. And don’t forget to listen to this season’s accompanying bonus episodes for this miniseries, where Dan and Producer Al discuss the Earl of Warwick’s lust for power, and why the role of matchmaker has been thrust upon him. Plus, Dan gives you a close insight into the social discord of England early on in Edward IV’s reign thanks to the Paston Letters — the largest surviving collection of 15th-century private correspondence, written in English between 1422 and 1509. – A Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices –– Presented by Dan Jones Producer - Alan Weedon Senior Producer - Dominic Tyerman Executive Producer - Louisa Field Executive Producer - Dan Jones Production Manager - Jen Mistri Production Coordinator - Eric Ryan Head of Content - Chris Skinner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Season 10, Episode 14

Dan Snow is taking Dan Jones places

It’s time for a Dan-off. To celebrate the return of This Is History: In Conversation, Dan Jones meets the other history podcaster called Dan. Dan Snow’s an award-winning historian, best-selling author, and host of Dan Snow’s History Hit. Together, the history Dans have racked up quite a lot of air miles, and in this special episode, they discuss their FAVOURITE destinations teeming with historical intrigue. From the water meadows that birthed the Magna Carta, to the mysteries of Easter Island, let our Dans take you away… – If you want MORE of our Dan-off, grab their accompanying bonus episode at patreon.com/thisishistory. There, the Dans field some of naval history’s thorniest questions from Dan Jones’s royal favourites (yes, including a deep cut about Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic ship, The Endurance). As always, Dan’s royal favourites can chime in anytime with Dan and the rest of the royal court on Patreon, too. Become a royal favourite today: patreon.com/thisishistory – A Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices – Presented by Dan Jones Producer - Alan Weedon Senior Producer - Dominic Tyerman Junior Producer - Dulcie Whadcock Executive Producer - Louisa Field Executive Producer - Dan Jones Production Manager - Jen Mistri Production Coordinator - Eric Ryan Head of Content - Chris Skinner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Season 10, Episode 11

S10 E11 | Last Hope

*THIS IS HISTORY — A DYNASTY TO DIE FOR* *Season 10, Episode 11: Last Hope* It’s 1482. Margaret Beaufort and her husband, Thomas Stanley hold the most power in Northwest England…and they’re hungry for more. They’ve asked their pal, King Edward IV, to organise a royal pardon for their exiled son, Henry Tudor, who’s in Brittany. The aim? To marry Edward’s daughter, Elizabeth of York and claim the crown. But… there's a problem. Richard III has seized the throne, reversed Henry’s pardon and induced nationwide mayhem. Backed by Francis, Duke of Brittany, Henry incites a rebellion against Richard and aims to invade England by force. Will he succeed, or will the future of England remain in Richard III’s tyrannical hands? – 00:00 Margaret’s Pardon Plan 03:38 Edward Dies, Richard Takes Over 08:32 Henry’s Weak Claim 12:08 Buckingham Turns Conspirator 16:57 The Collapsed Rebellion 21:06 Henry’s Stormy Landing That Wasn’t 24:52 Richard Strikes Back in Parliament 26:28 Christmas Oath to Marry Elizabeth 27:39 Finale Tease and Endgame - As always, Dan’s royal favourites can chime in anytime on the royal court on Patreon at patreon.com/thisishistory. It’s where you get your bonus episodes, and on this week’s episode Dan and Al discuss the legitimacy of Henry Tudor’s claim to the throne, and whether Richard III, however brutish he is, may have had a point. A Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices –– Presented by Dan Jones Producer - Alan Weedon Senior Producer - Dominic Tyerman Junior Producer - Dulcie Whadcock Executive Producer - Louisa Field Executive Producer - Dan Jones Production Manager - Jen Mistri Production Coordinator - Eric Ryan Head of Content - Chris Skinner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Season 10, Episode 6

S10 E6 | The Prophecy

The not-completely-there king, Henry VI, isn’t someone you’d associate with clarity, but in 1470, he sees something with absolute focus. After being presented with his 13-year-old namesake, Henry Tudor, he tells everyone gathered at Westminster Palace that the young Henry is ‘the one’. While his mother, Margaret Beaufort’s thrilled, there is a slight hitch to Henry’s apparition. There’s still an exiled Edward IV on the loose, and he’s about to launch an assault on the coalition that ejected him from the throne at the Battle of Barnet. It’s going to be open season on everyone in the Lancastrian royal court. Warwick the Kingmaker doesn’t know what’s about to hit him. – As always, Dan’s royal favourites can chime in anytime on the royal court on Patreon at patreon.com/thisishistory. And don’t forget to listen to this season’s accompanying bonus episodes for this miniseries, where Dan and Producer Al discuss Henry VI’s powers of prediction, Margaret Beaufort’s political manoeuvring, and why the Battle of Barnet was fought against all logic. – A Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices –– Presented by Dan Jones Producer - Alan Weedon Senior Producer - Dominic Tyerman Executive Producer - Louisa Field Executive Producer - Dan Jones Production Manager - Jen Mistri Production Coordinator - Eric Ryan Head of Content - Chris Skinner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Season 10, Episode 9

S10 E9 | Kidnap

Edward IV finally has it all. With his enemies vanquished, the Yorkist king can now focus on what really matters to him — pleasure. But, after one fateful fishing trip, he drops dead at 41. The kingdom is now left to his 12-year-old son, Edward V. It’s not like England hasn’t seen this before. After all, Henry VI ascended to the throne at nine-months-old. So the realm expects another royal council to steer things on Edward’s behalf until he gets older. And there’s a long list of nobles who are more than happy to shepherd the young king. This includes Edward IV’s brother, Richard Duke of Gloucester, who has other plans. Diabolical plans that will change the course of Plantagenet — and indeed English history — forever. – As always, Dan’s royal favourites can chime in anytime on the royal court on Patreon at patreon.com/thisishistory. It’s where you get your bonus episodes, and on this week’s episode Dan tells us about why Edward’s gluttony was his undoing, and just how much life the Yorkist king packed into his 41 years. Plus: Hear about what links Edward IV and Queen Elizabeth II in the afterlife. – A Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices –– Presented by Dan Jones Producer - Alan Weedon Senior Producer - Dominic Tyerman Junior Producer - Dulcie Whadcock Executive Producer - Louisa Field Executive Producer - Dan Jones Production Manager - Jen Mistri Production Coordinator - Eric Ryan Head of Content - Chris Skinner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Historian Dan Jones returns with This Is History: The Tudors. Season one gives you the extraordinary origin story of England’s most iconic royal family. This is the ultimate story of kings and queens, seduction and spectacle, where power is seized in private chambers, performed in public and, too often, lost on an executioner’s block. In just over a century, the Tudors alter the fabric of the state and Church. Theirs is the era of the Reformation, of Shakespeare, and of voyages to the New World. Their story starts on 22 August 1485. At the bloody Battle of Bosworth Field, Henry Tudor defeated King Richard III, ending more than three centuries of Plantagenet rule and claiming the English throne as Henry VII. As the embers of the Wars of the Roses finally cool, Henry VII discovers that winning a crown is far easier than keeping one. Too soon, die-hard Richardians team up with a vengeful English princess and plot to replace Henry with pretenders. One is a ten-year-old boy, another, a Flemish teenager who reinvents themselves as long-lost princes. England is once more plunged into chaos. It's a far cry from the story Henry VII hoped to tell. To dive deeper into Tudor lore, subscribe to bonus episodes on Apple podcasts or become a Royal Favourite in Dan’s royal court on patreon/thisishistory. A Sony Music Entertainment production. To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com

4.8 (1772)

History
We’re often taught that history’s written by the winners. But we’d like to argue that, in fact, it’s the losers who end up making history. In this brand new series from Dan Jones and Elizabeth Day, History’s Greatest Fails aims to answer the simple, but complex, question: Why do losers make history? From Richard III, to Vincent Van Gough, to the purposefully forgotten female Pharaoh Hatshepsut, this series is going to help you better understand how the idea of failure changes over time, and what lessons failure has for all of us. Dan and Elizabeth are old friends, fellow history graduates, and fellow authors and podcasters. Dan Jones is host of ⁠This Is History — A Dynasty to Die For⁠, a narrative podcast that charts the bloody and complex drama of England’s Plantagenet dynasty, now up to its 10th season. Elizabeth is host of ⁠How To Fail⁠, a podcast that has brought together hundreds of luminaries and thinkers including Kate Winslet, Yuval Noah Hariri, and Malala Yousafzai, to reflect on failure in the present. Over six episodes, History’s Greatest Fails will dissect failure of all kinds, from troubled historical rulers, to the failures of remembrance, to the failures that have created the happy accidents that last for generations. As always, Dan’s royal favourites can chime in anytime on the royal court on Patreon at ⁠patreon.com/thisishistory⁠. And for the bonus episodes of this series, Dan and Producer Al are hearing from the favourites directly — join us as they discuss the royal favourites’ special fail mentions. So, join us for the debut episode of History’s Greatest Fails. –– A Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices – Presented by Dan Jones and Elizabeth Day Producer - Alan Weedon Senior Producer - Dominic Tyerman Executive Producer - Simon Poole Executive Producer - Dan Jones Executive Producer for Daylight Productions - Elizabeth Day Production Manager - Jen Mistri Production Coordinator - Eric Ryan Head of Content - Chris Skinner

4.0 (4)

History

Power, greed, religion and sex: historian Dan Jones brings the drama of medieval history alive through compelling stories, larger-than-life characters and vivid scenes. In the first season, get to know the most dysfunctional family of the Middle Ages – the Plantagenets – and find out how their scandalous betrayals and bloody politics shaped the world we live in today. A Somethin’ Else & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is History

Weekly Bonus Episodes & Ad-Free Listening

Top Shows

Paul Greengrass: Turning Andrew Garfield Into a Medieval Rebel

S10 E12 | To Bosworth

What King Arthur Reveals About Ourselves

Did the Hundred Years war ever really end?

Who’s afraid of Henry Tudor?

S10 E1 | A New Hope

Dan Snow is taking Dan Jones places

S10 E11 | Last Hope

S10 E6 | The Prophecy

S10 E9 | Kidnap

Weekly Bonus Episodes & Ad-Free Listening

Paul Greengrass’s on cinema’s ‘Bayeux tapestries’

This man got covered in penises?!

Bumper all-Plantagenet Q&A!

The decisive battle? That’s toxic!

Oh Richard…

Did Edward eat and philander himself to death?

Was Henry VI a soothsayer?

What legacy did the Plantagenets leave?

Would Dan Snow have made a good Navy recruit?

Smashing the French: a favourite medieval pastime

About

This is History

Weekly Bonus Episodes & Ad-Free Listening

Top Shows

Top Episodes

This is History PLUS

Weekly Bonus Episodes & Ad-Free Listening

Top This is History PLUS Episodes

About