If you read the international headlines in 1969, you'd think the Central American countries of Honduras and El Salvador loved football (soccer, for the US folks in the crowd) so much that they actually went to war over it. But does this story actually hold up? That's the question for today's episode, as the guys dive into the true events leading to the infam ... Show More
Yesterday
Did Lead Lead to the Fall of the Roman Empire?
Don't do lead, kids! Nowadays everyone knows the dangers this substance poses to humans -- especially children in their formative years -- but back in the day, lead was everywhere. Ancient Rome was riddled with the stuff, using lead in everything from pipes, to smelting, to cutle ... Show More
49m 52s
Mar 28
CLASSIC: California Schoolchildren and the Great Squirrel War
In this week's Classic episode: In 1918, as the planet was consumed by World War I, the government of California found itself combating an unexpected and catastrophic enemy: Ground squirrels. The rodents were wreaking havoc across the countryside, consuming crops left and right. ... Show More
28m 18s
Mar 26
Don’t Be a Schmo Yo, Try a Yoyo!
Most people think of yo-yos as a fun, old-school toy for kids: a pretty simple, clever device leveraging physics with a string and a weight. Yet as Ben, Noel and Max discover in today's episode, the story of the humble dates back into antiquity -- and the story of its evolution i ... Show More
42m 22s
Jul 2018
Soccer and Repression: 1978 and the World Cup in Argentina
The story of the 1978 World Cup, a cautionary tale about democracy. The world spotlight on the junta that controlled Argentina that year helped focus some attention on the plight of the victims of a vicious dictatorship, but locally, may have enhanced support for the regime. We t ... Show More
48m 24s
Nov 2022
252. The World Cup: British Imperialism, South American rivalries, and Mussolini (Part 1)
Welcome to The Rest Is History's definitive guide to the history of the FIFA World Cup, which looks past the football and uncovers the personalities, geopolitics, and drama behind the tournament.
In the first of three episodes, Tom and Dominic debate whether the global game is a ... Show More
58m 22s
Nov 2022
Uruguay 1930: The first football World Cup
As the spotlight falls on Qatar for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, we tell the story of how the world's biggest sporting spectacle began, in Uruguay in 1930. How did a small South American nation of just two million people, thousands of miles from football's centre of power in Europe, ... Show More
43m 23s