139 episodes

Power, greed, religion and sex: historian Dan Jones brings the drama of mediaeval history to life through compelling stories, fascinating characters and vivid scenes.

“A Dynasty to Die For” tells the story of the Plantagenets, one of the most powerful and dysfunctional families in European history. Their scandals, betrayals and bloody politics shaped the world we live in today.

Season 4 tells the story of two kings, Henry and Edward, who are desperately trying to save their dynasty. Their conflicting personalities will be put to the ultimate test as an old friend, Simon de Montfort, and his growing powerbase threaten to destroy the Plantagenets for good.

NOTE: If you haven’t heard Seasons 1, 2 and 3 you can go back and hear this wild story from the start.

A Sony Music Entertainment production.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

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This is History: A Dynasty to Die For This is History

    • History
    • 4.9 • 1.2K Ratings

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

Power, greed, religion and sex: historian Dan Jones brings the drama of mediaeval history to life through compelling stories, fascinating characters and vivid scenes.

“A Dynasty to Die For” tells the story of the Plantagenets, one of the most powerful and dysfunctional families in European history. Their scandals, betrayals and bloody politics shaped the world we live in today.

Season 4 tells the story of two kings, Henry and Edward, who are desperately trying to save their dynasty. Their conflicting personalities will be put to the ultimate test as an old friend, Simon de Montfort, and his growing powerbase threaten to destroy the Plantagenets for good.

NOTE: If you haven’t heard Seasons 1, 2 and 3 you can go back and hear this wild story from the start.

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

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

    Season 4 | 1. A Simple Man

    Season 4 | 1. A Simple Man

    What happens when you make a nine-year-old boy king of England? It turns out, it’s a recipe for unscrupulous advisers and a king unlike any the nation has ever known.



    Henry III is the opposite of his cruel father: he is compassionate and pious, but he’s also indecisive and easily manipulated. When trouble brews in Plantagenet lands in France, Henry’s brother, the wily and calculating Richard, is sent to assert the Plantagenet authority. It’s a decision that Henry and his advisors will come to sorely regret. . 



    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 



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    Written and presented by Dan Jones



    Producer and Story Editor - Georgia Mills

    Executive  Producer - Louisa Field

    Production Manager - Jen Mistri 

    Composer -  Matt Acheson 

    Sound Design and Mixing - Chris O'Shaughnessy 


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    • 30 min
    Season 4 | Did Henry III have daddy issues?

    Season 4 | Did Henry III have daddy issues?

    Dan and producer Georgia dive straight back to 1225, where a very young boy, Henry III, is ruling England. Child kings don’t have a great reputation – but could Henry be different? Perhaps this time, the power won’t go to his head. We also learn about Henry’s upbringing and Dan muses on what Henry really thought of his dad, “Bad” King John.

    To send us questions for the show, you can tweet Dan directly@DGJones or use #Dansplaining

    This is History is 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

    Presented by Dan Jones and Georgia Mills
    Producer - Hannah Talbot
    Executive Producer - Louisa Field
    Production Manager - Jen Mistri
    Engineering - Gulliver Lawrence-Tickell

    Season 4 | 2. Brothers in Arms

    Season 4 | 2. Brothers in Arms

    Henry III’s younger brother Richard returns from victory abroad and is rewarded with a wealthy area of English land. There’s just one problem: Henry has already granted key pieces of that land to someone else. This insult sends a furious Richard down the well-trodden path to family rebellion and civil war, while Henry desperately tries to stop things from spiralling out of control. 



    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 



    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices



    Written and presented by Dan Jones



    Producer and Story Editor - Georgia Mills

    Executive  Producer - Louisa Field

    Production Manager - Jen Mistri 

    Composer -  Matt Acheson 

    Sound Design and Mixing - Chris O'Shaughnessy




    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    • 32 min
    Season 4 | Did Henry III suck at being king?

    Season 4 | Did Henry III suck at being king?

    Why does no one like Henry? Surely having a “simple man” on the throne is better than a ruthless murderer. Producer Georgia takes Henry’s corner and asks whether he was really such a dud. Plus, Dan reveals the greatest wine of the Middle Ages, one you can still buy today, and examines why one chronicler thought William Marshall Junior was murdered.

    To send us questions for the show, you can tweet Dan @DGJones or use #Dansplaining

    This is History is 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

    Presented by Dan Jones and Georgia Mills
    Producer - Hannah Talbot
    Executive Producer - Louisa Field
    Production Manager - Jen Mistri
    Engineering - Gulliver Lawrence-Tickell

    Season 4 | 3. The In-Laws

    Season 4 | 3. The In-Laws

    Henry III’s mild and agreeable nature attracts all sorts of ambitious hangers-on and manipulators into the royal court. The most dangerous of these is a pious nobleman called Simon de Montfort. Simon easily charms the King, worming his way right into both Henry’s inner-circle and even his family. 



    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 



    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices



    Written and presented by Dan Jones



    Producer and Story Editor - Georgia Mills

    Executive Producer - Louisa Field

    Production Manager - Jen Mistri 

    Composer -  Matt Acheson 

    Sound Design and Mixing - Chris O'Shaughnessy


    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    • 29 min
    Season 4 | Did they have mortgages in the Middle Ages?

    Season 4 | Did they have mortgages in the Middle Ages?

    The beginning of banks, the first ever parliament and Eleanor’s vow of chastity; Dan and producer Georgia cover a lot of ground in this exciting bonus episode.

    They dive into the ways in which Richard raises money for, you guessed it, a crusade, right through to plantagenet baby-naming conventions. Georgia reveals she has some fairly left-field friends…

    To send us questions for the show, you can tweet Dan @DGJones

    This is History is 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


    Presented by Dan Jones and Georgia Mills
    Producer - Hannah Talbot
    Executive Producer - Louisa Field
    Production Manager - Jen Mistri
    Engineering - Gulliver Lawrence-Tickell

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
1.2K Ratings

1.2K Ratings

dkline250 ,

There’s so much I didn’t know about the Middle Ages!

Riveting content explained by a truly gifted storyteller. This is History is the first and only podcast that I willingly subscribe to. Keep ‘em coming!

TeamObsolete ,

Great but omitted a small detail

A great story well told by a gifted storyteller. However my understanding is that Henry and Eleanor’s “devil’s brood” were not known as the Plantagenets during their time. I am also disappointed that there is no mention of the Angevin Empire.
/r James Angevine

Lini DL ,

A history podcast that feels like a 5 star drama

Dan really brings the people of the time to life and makes the story a must binge show. Excellent work.

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