Historian Tom Holland on Oppenheimer, Napoleon and why the world loves British history

[@andyknuckles2903]

Tom Holland is a gold mine. His podcast with Dominic Sandbrook is often a highlight in my week.

[@GrumpaGladstone1809]

I looked it up, will give it a whirl, thanks!!! :)

[@robertgebruers9519]

It is THE best podcast.

[@vlndfee6481]

Learning constant new context and information. Better than any historic lessons on school.

[@samgoodway5244]

The podcast GOATs.

[@user-lp7wo7og4x]

I'll give his podcast a go pal

[@mithrandirthegrey7644]

I've always had a casual interest in history but Tom Holland for sure has made me much more interested in classical history than I ever used to be.

[@localfox1000]

Nice to see the Telegraph give a platform to an elite sportsman

[@alanfox8928]

it is a shame for the sake of the interview that the interviewer was so poor, but Tom Holland fantastic to listen to as always.

[@trytwicelikemice3190]

His fixation on trying to bring it back to culture war issues in the middle was very weird...

[@johnhealy6494]

Absolutely

[@jamiearan]

Stephen was trying to get Tom to bite on right wing talking points, but I was impressed by Tom's ability to steer from them

[@billythedog-309]

@@trytwicelikemice3190 The fact that this is sponsored by the Daily Telegraph is purely coincidental.

[@ddkdkdkdkdkdk1]

Total Torygraph interviewer

[@JeansiByxan]

I read Dominion when it came out and it blew me away. Anything Tom Holland writes now I’ll read. His ability to pivot from the present to the past is unparallelled.

[@agracier8656]

Absolutely riveting interview. So insightful with his modest speaking style. A pleasure to have listened to.

[@skp8748]

So disappointing he's a raging islamophobe.

[@paulm3033]

What I like about Tom apart from his erudition and sense of humour is the clear way he speaks , he makes every word count , no words are superfluous, his sentences are perfectly crafted , he doesn't rush his words , when he's made a point he moves on to the next , and doesn't repeat his comments or even partially revisit them ,all of which makes him very easy to listen to .

[@abcav297]

Never expected Spider-Man 4 to be a single room arthouse movie with only two characters and mostly dialogue. Bravo Marvel!

[@ceceliategdirb7371]

My thoughts exactly

[@ssotkow]

Didn't know what I expecting when I clicked this video... thought it was another Oppenheimer review, but totally engrossed in this riveting conversation that suddenly popped up from nowhere like a dream.

[@paulheydarian1281]

Don't get caught up in the latest HollyWeed Hype...Be an original thinker.

[@profiler4772]

Impressive teacher! His own enthusiasm is so fluently transferred to and captured by the listener.

[@jamieguthrie1760]

Nice to drop in a few buzzwords of the moment using Oppenheimer in the title, but this interview was much more about the Roman Empire and how it relates and has influenced the modern West of today! Fascinating interview btw!

[@arthurw8054]

Yeah, the title might be a bit misleading, but if it's Tom Holland it's going to be superb, period.

[@janecote]

May I just say, I am very impressed by how such a young man can sound so pompous already

[@SynapseDriven]

Holland is genius and a very generous person because that interviewer is just daft.

[@starcapture3040]

he is biased

[@Joe-og6br]

As it went along I could sense a growing distain towards the interviewer.

[@waveplay3978]

@@Joe-og6br towards the end his smugness just became too much, consistently trying to get some controversial statements out of him re: current day daft culture wars

[@andrewturner3580]

Great Interview !

[@fredlewis6527]

Bloody hell that presenter had an agenda

[@akjdhajkdjhaghjkadh9804]

and what agenda would that be?

[@pheebobobeanie7680]

@@akjdhajkdjhaghjkadh9804🐏

[@j.s3300]

@@akjdhajkdjhaghjkadh9804he didn’t say what I wanted him to say!

[@patrickquinlan3056]

Great interview, although I had to wait 40 minutes for a mention of Oppenheimer, Napoleon or British history. Never mind, I love listening to Tom.

[@darrenkaminsky7618]

Tom Holland is, of course, terrific and fascinating. He has to find his way around some of the interviewer's clunkier and more short-sighted questions, but he seems to have no problem doing this with grace, agility, and brilliance. The overall lesson is that history doesn't serve a single perspective, and the events and battles of the moment fade quickly. A telling moment was when the interviewer asked Holland whether he'd be able to get his Islam documentary made in today's political atmosphere, obviously under the impression that he wouldn't, and Holland having to remind him--or inform him--of the atmosphere around the subject of Islam in the post 9/11 and Iraq war period, which the interviewer obviously either didn't know about or hadn't bothered to research.

[@matthewstokes1608]

No… I think this young interviewer is singly the most outstanding interviewer of intellectual quality to have arisen on the western/global stage in years.

[@palatine7013]

@@matthewstokes1608 i disagree, he's fishing for controversial debate where one doesn't exist. Another useless attempt at stirring the societal pot!

[@StumpyVandal]

The interviewer was constantly trying to draw Tom into the debate on wokism and political correctness stifling all forms of expression. The right wing newspapers in the US and UK care about little else right now. It’s ridiculous given the actual problems facing society.

[@matthewstokes1608]

@@StumpyVandal Tom Holland was asked provocative (not leading) questions by a perfectly reasoned and intellectual young man doing a far better job than those we typically see.

[@darrenkaminsky7618]

@@StumpyVandal Yes, watching again that's what the interviewer is trying to do. He's subtler than some, but it's still a bit scary -- not everything can or should connect to "wokeism" or the political right's bizarre cultural obsessions.

[@scottbuchanan9426]

One figure Tom Holland didn't mention when discussing Britain's global cultural-historical influence is probably the biggest one of all: William Shakespeare.

[@themsmloveswar3985]

Not sure. I reckon Shelley, Dickens, had a larger impact. And possibly Orwel, and Huxley.

[@scottbuchanan9426]

@@Mickyway Don't think so.

[@jonhelmer8591]

Great, I've found Tom's podcast on the iplayer! 46 hours of fun.

[@jamesbailey5008]

Hooked on the rest is history, love it

[@ahothabeth]

It is a joy to listen to Tom Holland; Steven Edginton not so much.

[@samurai_wack]

I had no interest in history until I discovered The Rest is History. I read Persian Fire a couple of months ago and found it utterly fascinating!

[@EerieV23]

The rest of his books are just as riveting. I highly recommend them.

[@samurai_wack]

Rubicon is next on my list!@@EerieV23

[@mrsmvcheek]

I am listening to that and reading in tandem Tom Holland’s book on Late Antiquity.So many interlocking ideas and events in history I knew nothing about.

[@bengeorge894]

So in a parallel universe Spiderman is a middle aged British historian

[@samuelpepys5350]

Tom Holland is always great value but the title of this video needs fixing, it's a 47-minute interview and they spend all of 3 minutes discussing Oppenheimer, Napoleon and British history!

[@supertuscans9512]

He’s brilliant to listen to. He’s actually made me review the way I see the Roman Empire and the influence of the Christian ethos on society ( for better and worse) even when it’s not overt, and in many ways has transgressed from being a religion to a subconscious philosophy. Fascinating!

[@dulls8475]

@@supertuscans9512 With Christianity mocked we are already on the way down.

[@TurnCoatTechie]

Outstanding views from Tom Holland that I also share ❤

[@Metta33]

Very enjoyable to watch. Good stuff.

[@kevinmcinerney1959]

Mr Holland is so lucid. Always reaches for a beautiful phrase so easily.

[@reecemccullough4829]

The rest is history is incredible. From Australia.

[@ozzell]

I'm fascinated by this idea of christendom being inherently destabilizing and a potential cause for a lot of social progress and post-christian ideologies.

[@dulls8475]

It gave us the stability for social progress and post-christian ideologies.

[@ton1]

Didn't know Tom Holland was a historian in his free time in between Spiderman movies.

[@paullewis2413]

Love Tom Holland’s book “Persian Fire”. There’s so much to digest in this comprehensive survey of a pivotal time in European/Asian history.

[@mcpanorama]

Life and Leisure in Ancient Rome by Balsdon, which came out in the 1960s, is still worth reading.

[@Clipgatherer]

37:45 Britain may not be "Greece to America's Rome"; rather, as someone observed, Britain is Alfred the butler to America's Batman. They provide good advice and experience.

[@saattlebrutaz]

And Batman is an imaginary figure.

[@thomasmitchell7645]

British-vetted scientists played a key role in the development of the Soviet atom bomb.

[@bj6515]

But it was an American who provided Russia with the blueprints then got prison for it.

[@paulthomas-hh2kv]

Work on atomic bomb was non secret in Uk although Radar was for some reason. There was a Russian scientist working on the development in UK. Very interesting interview with Mark Oliphant with names and dates

[@deanedge5988]

Best interview post Pax - most revealing; least formulaic. Very cunning in its oh so polite bowling.

[@LawrenceBottorff]

Oh of course Britain is our Greece here in the Colonies. It wasn't until Spinal Tap that we finally woke up to the fact than not everyone with a British accent is a genius.

[@judithglasser3072]

Absolutely fantastic interview and so "on pointe" I am reading Mr. Holland PAX is totally brilliant and fascinating, full of insights and reflections. Also addicted to The rest is History with Dominic Sandbrook, two titans of history and knowledge!

[@GrayArmyGaming]

The ads are killing me! 😂 😂😂

[@JonniePolyester]

Just heard Free Thinking episode on Julian The Apostate with Tom …very good.

[@flambr]

his oddyssey is so readable like he's genuinely one of the best classics writers of our time

[@nathanngumi8467]

Great discussion!

[@sesntainueve]

Why is the interviewer so angry?

[@SusanPerkins-g5g]

The length of a human generation, 70-80 years, is the ultimate controller of so many of these historical swings. The true lessons of a generation are forgotten when it dies, and the next one up has not yet learned those lessons.

[@paulthomas-hh2kv]

Very interesting interview with Mark Oliphant about his career working with Ernest Rutherford

[@benmclaren]

Tom is brilliant but this interviewer asking the most loaded questions my god!

[@adventussaxonum448]

It's like watching the BBC or Sky, but from the other direction.😅

[@matthewstokes1608]

@@adventussaxonum448 which is why it is superb

[@adventussaxonum448]

Makes a nice change.😅

[@UncriticalRaceTheory]

some historians argue that this lack of empire that could control western europe is what made western europe so powerful, as they were constantly in competition with itself.

[@jonathanphillips5514]

Explains why we are all knackered

[@leisti]

This interviewer is digging quite hard to get an anti-wokeness quote.

[@DanforthFrance]

Interviewer is a drip.

[@AndyJarman]

How extraordinary to assert the British have had minimal influence on the USA.

[@judithjohnson5055]

He was speaking of the present rather than the past

[@martinaaron609]

Hilarious - like watching Slavoj Žižek be interviewed by Harry Enfield's Tim Nice-But-Dim. Comforting and encouraging that in 2023 this is the calibre of young person that The Telegraph can manage to find. But some fascinating insight from Tom - especially r.e. the concept of "pax".

[@Joseph-ax999]

I'm amazed at the stability of the empire in spite of the many assassinations.

[@Ozgipsy]

Wow. That was a sharp observation.

[@corinaijac4381]

Had the best summer ever. Unbelieveble tears, heat, but...summer. Found my lost family, a bit shuttered, still alive, still love them. I forgive, if it does matter to him, to Graham from Fund Daniel for what is done. Today he is still alive. Wish him the best he can get by his own. Corina Miriam Georgeta IJAC autumn, 2023

[@frankwitte1022]

This interviewer was really trying so hard to shoehorn in Telegraph-talking-points🤣

[@Historian212]

Clickbait alert: there’s almost nothing in this video about the new films about Oppenheimer and Napoleon.

[@dougiemarks9852]

That’s my thinking about the Roman Empire done for the day

[@RANDALLBRIGGS]

The interviewer seems to be constantly grinding an axe.

[@DaboooogA]

Peter Parker on fire as always

[@ElGrandoCaymano]

The name of this video is completely wrong. Oppenheimer and Napoleon aren't discussed until 42:34

[@gmk2222]

Anyone got a link to his brothers podcast, I found a James holland, is that him? Thanks

[@eddiel7635]

that’s his brother, yeah. Military historian.

[@narkelnaru2710]

34:16 Edgerton is a brilliant interviewer. His ability to speak over his guest to obliterate important pieces of information at 34:21 is superb. Here is another Tucker Carlson in the making.

[@Asgath]

Eminating pure toff. Yahh, yahh, yahh.

[@Joe-og6br]

He's dreadful.

[@matthewstokes1608]

Edgerton is excellent… We need more like him. Holland is a slippery coward here.

[@uncletravellingmatt588]

Great interview from Holland but the interviewer is awful. He is desperate to turn this into a discussion on wokeism. Wish he'd grow up and focus on real things rather than his own imaginings and insecurities.

[@trytwicelikemice3190]

Shame the interviewer has no idea how to read a vibe and had this weird insistance on pushing culture wars issues... still, excellent work by Tom Holland, respectfully navigating that to say something interesting despite the questions!

[@akjdhajkdjhaghjkadh9804]

very interesting man

[@CirclingDuck]

Loved him in Spiderman

[@ni6toli4no]

the subject - Roman empire never bored me!!! but comparing, find similarity between the American politics to/and Ancient Roman Emperors are hilarious 😂

[@lublondon]

I am an avid admirer of Tom Holland: however I feel the clash of civilisations very vividly

[@kitl8081]

Tom Holland is great! I don’t know what this interviewer is doing though, he’s a mess!

[@artofmusic303]

I am a strong proponent of accurate headlines. "Oppenheimer, Napoleon and why the world loves British history" occupies approximately 5 minutes out of the 47. About half the interview is about ancient Rome. Do better, Telegraph.

[@otuamab]

What is the Best book on Trajan?

[@McNeish]

Love Tom Holland and been reading his books for the last 20 years but wish he’d comb his hair.

[@gerarddearie-zd2gb]

Steven's lack of self-awareness when he asks about contemporary historians insisting that we must see history through culture was, is something to behold.

[@davekeith576]

Disruptive loud advertising interference.?

[@DiamondMind]

Love Tom

[@vlndfee6481]

Shalom means peace in Hebrew Is very differnent from Rome pax. Shalom start with in the heart by Jesus spirit. Pax is military ruling order.

[@AndyJarman]

As an occupant of a former British colony, I think Mr Holland greatly underestimates the degree to which Britain is a very central point of reference when defining the meaning of the various liberal femocracies it has given birth to.

[@Mrtomcree]

I know it’s a typo but femocracy what a lovely word

[@jonahtwhale1779]

Femunism - illustrates the communitarian nature of female nature but also the authoritarian aspect of the same.

[@sirrathersplendid4825]

@@Mrtomcree- Is it a typo though? Perfectly describes what was happening in Sweden for several decades. Indeed sums up the dysfunctional world we live in today in most of the West.

[@buolindo8795]

That interviewer tried so hard to turn it into a culture war issue

[@boguslawagumuchian2427]

How is America a cultural superpower ? What is their culture ?

[@tyronebiggums8660]

People around the world are influenced by American movies, television, music, innovations

[@TalleyrandsPuppet]

American culture is a huge stew, where cooks from all over the world throw their bits into the pot. What comes out is not always great, but is creative and it sells.

[@kevwhufc8640]

History,,, i used to think everything in history books was true , Until i graduated and started working as a field archaeologist. Boudicca killed many thousands in London and in verulamium. I know that didn't happen, verulamium was half the size and mostly a building site when boudicca passed through. The people were warned and they fled deep into woodland not far from the city, we have evidence of people cooking, remains of post hole's where people made crude short time camps . The city and surrounding areas have been extensively recorded by GPR, and no mass graves or anything else you'd expect to find . The layer of burning in the centre of the Roman city, is no more than a couple of inches thick and only in a small area of the city. History books claim julius Caesar invaded Britain and destroyed the catuvellauni tribe. ..Even though not a single piece of archeological evidence has been found, In fact all we have are a few words written by Caesar. His objectives were to destroy the catuvellauni and their settlement, To return lands to the kings which the catuvellauni invaded. Take surviving warriors back to Rome to be sold into slavery. We know none of that happened, the catuvellauni continued to expand into neighbouring territory, and were soon to become the most powerful tribe in middle Britain That couldn't have happened if Caesar had killed the warriors. No deposed kings had lands returned, no slaves were taken , Caesar did not defeat or destroy the catuvellauni settlement... There's a lot of misinformation about my city and surrounding areas in history books. My city cannot be the only one with written history that can't be substantiated . I don't trust anything that doesn't have archaeological evidence to support what's written.

[@tincoffin]

I don’t suppose Boudicca had a chariot with swords coming out of the wheels, did she ?

[@kevwhufc8640]

@@tincoffin no evidence blades were used on chariots, I'd guess not , probably do more damage to the foot warriors than the enemy ;)

[@tincoffin]

@@kevwhufc8640 Perhaps l dreamt it 🙁

[@tomsoyer5639]

Everything from over 2000 years ago is educated guesswork. Dont look at history books as the truth. Most history books are also very dated, as in decades old.

[@bartproost1977]

My god, stop focussing on this woke nonsense and let the man talk about actual history.

[@DavosTheDegen]

Tom Holland looks a bit different from the last spiderman movie

[@ssotkow]

Accumulating cobwebs, not shooting spidey webs

[@fhujf]

This is a multiverse version of Tom Holland.

[@micu1544]

It must be quite difficult to talk about your subject when the interviewer just wants to make everything about right wingesque telegraph politics

[@williambranch4283]

Non-Romans hated the Romans. Non-Christians hated the Christians. Those other people need to get over it!

[@davewolfy2906]

I really like the Oppenheimer bit.

[@patl709]

No the Napoleon bit is much better.

[@StumpyVandal]

The interviewer was constantly trying to draw Tom into the debate on wokism and whether political correctness is stifling all forms of expression. The right wing newspapers in the US and UK care about little else right now. It’s ridiculous given the actual problems facing society.

[@Lanxe]

He definitely had an angle. Quite tiresome but I suppose that's might be what his employer wants. Always pushing for some dramatic statement from the interviewee.

[@adventussaxonum448]

​@@Lanxe Yes, it's like watching mainstream media, only from the opposite direction.

[@HomeFromFarAway]

​@@adventussaxonum448there are two "mainstream medias" with intetnionally opposing views. conservatism has never not been mainstream and the left has always owned the press

[@saattlebrutaz]

Those were perfectly fair questions. It's a legitimate contemporary issue. Holland's answers were reasonable and enlightening.

[@mcpanorama]

Absolutely right about Christianity.

[@Kuan._.2011]

Wait where is Tom holland in this video?

[@Holoether]

Lovely! “Christendom was the peak theme….200 years ago”

[@jamess89775]

A bad interview full of clumsy right wing talking points awkwardly shoehorned in.

[@suburbia2050]

Good interviews should only have left wing talking points?

[@corinaijac4381]

Just five minutes before, left a comment to an interview to some ambassad in bucarest from Ishrael. It was, the comment, erased because of the content. It wasn't offending, they didn't love the content. Wow! How could this happen? Corina Ijac 6 oct 2023/7 oct.

[@humongousfungus8052]

Tom Holland is masterful as always. The guy from the Telegraph is far too tense and uptight in comparison and comes across like an overzealous schoolboy. He needs to relax his sphincter a bit before situations like this. 😉

[@corinaijac4381]

Tomorrow is wednesday, my favorite day. So it's Freitag, the day I was born. Corina

[@corinaijac4381]

saw many at the local*

[@Simzoid]

Of course a Telegraph journalist starts the question with a religious decline, as opposed to sticking to the traditionally modern term void of religious connotations. Classic. Only here for Tom, who carefully avoids falling down the Douglas Murray route - as probably the Telegraph would enjoy.

[@apocalypseblues3897]

we gotta do something about that haircut man

[@apocalypseblues3897]

dude what is going on with this interviewer? 😮

[@willem1642]

Rome's golden age was overrated. There was little exploration, creativity, scientific discovery in this time.

[@suburbia2050]

It's relative, muppet

[@tomsoyer5639]

​@@suburbia2050Time seems a difficult concept for some people.

[@markwrede8878]

Arriving throughout the world with place value math, extortion contracts, and gunpowder, the British made everyone affected by their history.

[@dirtbag1793]

The interviewer keeps trying to bait Tom Holland into joining with him in a condemnation of 'Woke' culture and Holland keeps nimbly escaping the net. Good for him. This conservative obsession with the buzzword 'woke', which nobody, conservative or liberal, has any idea what it actually means, is getting tiresome. It is paying dividends of diminishing returns and I wish conservatives would move on to something of real substance instead of the usual fripperies.

[@matthewstokes1608]

Holland is evading purposefully the questions leading to an ugliness he knows to be true… He has no spine - and is a coward.

[@MichelGmusic]

It's not in decline, it's in expansion. The whole world wants to live like the west. It has become a global culture, always in transformation, with, yes, central heating and plumbing!!

[@davidhawley1132]

Not China, in fact the reverse: the elites are tempted by China's authoritarianism. Secularism also seems in decline as various cultures reclaim a more traditional identity including a religious component.

[@supertuscans9512]

Too short!