This is History: History’s Greatest Fails
Sony Music Entertainment
History’s Greatest Fails is a miniseries from Dan Jones and Elizabeth Day that 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 miniseries, Dan and Producer Al are hearing from the favourites directly via voice notes! Following along as they discuss the failures the royal favourites’ have deemed historic!
A Sony Music Entertainment production.
To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com
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 miniseries, Dan and Producer Al are hearing from the favourites directly via voice notes! Following along as they discuss the failures the royal favourites’ have deemed historic!
A Sony Music Entertainment production.
To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jul 16, 2024 • 29min
Season 5 | 2. Bros with Benefits
King Edward physically attacks his son, the heir to the throne, in a shocking display of violence. The reason for this outburst? The young prince’s relationship with his favourite knight, Piers Gaveston. The way Edward sees it, if he doesn’t split these two apart, the entire kingdom will suffer. But the old king is running out of time.
A Sony Music Entertainment production.
Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts
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Written and hosted by Dan Jones
Producer - Georgia Mills
Assistant producer: Harry Gordon
Executive Producer - Louisa Field
Production Manager - Jen Mistri
Marketing - Kieran Lancini
Sound Design - Chris o'Shaughnessy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jul 11, 2024 • 27min
Season 5 | Bonus: Beasts at feasts
To mark the launch of season 5, we are dishing out a free sample of This is History Plus. Each week Dan and producer Georgia explore strange tangents and delicious Medieval gossip.
This episode serves up some of the most excessive Mediaeval shopping lists and feasts including an out-of-place porpoise and several thousand chickens.
Plus, why Robert the Bruce killed someone in a church, and was Edward II a jock or a nerd?
This Is History Plus also includes hours of interviews with celebrated historians, the entire backlog of main episodes ad-free and the chance to ask Dan your questions. You can try it out with a seven day trial: head to historypod.com or click ‘try free’ on Apple podcasts.
A Sony Music Entertainment production.
Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts
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Presented by Dan Jones and Georgia Mills
Producer - Dom Tyerman
Assistant producer: Harry Gordon
Executive Producer - Louisa Field
Production Manager - Jen Mistri
Marketing - Kieran Lancini
Mixing - Gulliver Lawrence-Tickell
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Jul 9, 2024 • 27min
Season 5 | 1. Generation Kill
Edward I is getting too old to fight his enormous list of enemies, and so begins handing over the reins of war to his son and a brand new generation of knights. But the old king has a gnawing feeling he can’t shake – does his heir have what it takes to rule, or is this the beginning of the end for the Plantagenets?
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
Written and hosted by Dan Jones
Producer - Georgia Mills
Executive Producer - Louisa Field
Assistant producer: Harry Gordon
Production Manager - Jen Mistri
Marketing - Kieran Lancini
Sound Design - Chris O'Shaughnessy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jul 2, 2024 • 2min
Introducing… Season 5 of a Dynasty to Die for
The Plantagenets are back! This season we meet Edward II, a king who is head over heels with his favourite knight, Piers Gaveston. Their relationship sparks off a mighty conflict in court, pitching Edward against his cousin, the fearsome Earl of Lancaster. While these two come to extremely violent blows, his wife, Queen Isabella, waits for her moment.
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
Written and hosted by Dan Jones
Producer - Georgia Mills
Executive Producer - Louisa Field
Production Manager - Jen Mistri
Marketing - Kieran Lancini
Sound Design and Mixing - Gulliver Lawrence-Tickell
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jun 25, 2024 • 30min
The Iron King | 6. The Curse
Philip the Fair’s beloved daughter Isabella comes to his rooms in the dead of night with scandalous news: his son’s wives are having affairs. Philip reacts to this revelation with an explosion of paranoia, violence and cruelty. As The Iron King does everything he can to secure his dynasty, he sows the seeds of its ultimate downfall.
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.
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Written and hosted by Danièle Cybulskie
Producer - Georgia Mills
Executive Producer - Louisa Field
Production Manager - Jen Mistri
Marketing - Kieran Lancini
Sound Design and Mixing - Chris O'Shaughnessy
Additional Production - Harry Gordon
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Jun 18, 2024 • 30min
The Iron King | 5. The Last Templar
Philip the Fair turns his owl-like gaze onto the mighty order of the Knights Templar. They have amassed a huge amount of wealth: wealth Philip wants. He and his lawyer concoct a plan to take on one of the most famous holy orders in all of Christendom.
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 hosted by Danièle Cybulskie
Producer - Georgia Mills
Executive Producer - Louisa Field
Production Manager - Jen Mistri
Marketing - Kieran Lancini
Sound Design and Mixing - Chris O'Shaughnessy
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Jun 11, 2024 • 26min
The Iron King | 4. The Battle of the Golden Spurs
Philip the Fair is determined to take control of the kingdom of Flanders, in his dream of a united France. But when he attacks, the people of Flanders throw up an astonishing resistance, defeating the French army and slaying some of its finest knights. The Iron King vows revenge, but it will come at a truly terrible cost.
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.
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Written and hosted by Danièle Cybulskie
Producer - Georgia Mills
Executive Producer - Louisa Field
Production Manager - Jen Mistri
Marketing - Kieran Lancini
Sound Design and Mixing - Chris O'Shaughnessy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jun 4, 2024 • 28min
The Iron King | 3. The Pope Slap
Philip the Fair’s vindictive nature ignites when a drunken bishop mouths off about him, calling him “a useless owl”. Possibly not the most devastating burn, but Philip isn’t one to suffer insults, however slight. This sets him on the path to collide with another of Europe’s massive egos, The Pope. Things escalate into a truly deranged smear campaign and culminate in, arguably, the most blasphemous slap in history.
A Sony Music Entertainment production.
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To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com
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Written and hosted by Danièle Cybulskie
Producer - Georgia Mills
Executive Producer - Louisa Field
Production Manager - Jen Mistri
Marketing - Kieran Lancini
Sound Design and Mixing - Chris O'Shaughnessy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
May 28, 2024 • 28min
The Iron King | 2. The Double Cross
Philip the Fair begins his reign with a strange, robot-like attitude and a fevered dedication to restoring the glory of France. As naval skirmishes in the channel escalate with the most unusual war tactics, Philip is faced with his first real challenge as leader: a showdown with Plantagenet bully, King Edward I.
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
Written and hosted by Danièle Cybulskie
Producer - Georgia Mills
Executive Producer - Louisa Field
Production Manager - Jen Mistri
Marketing - Kieran Lancini
Sound Design and Mixing - Chris O'Shaughnessy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
May 21, 2024 • 26min
The Iron King | 1. The Vespers
A suspected royal poisoning. A bloody rebellion in Sicily. A dying king fleeing across the mountains. The stage is set for the reign of one of the coldest rulers from all of the Middle Ages: Philip the Fair.
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
Written and hosted by Danièle Cybulskie
Producer - Georgia Mills
Executive Producer - Louisa Field
Production Manager - Jen Mistri
Marketing - Kieran Lancini
Sound Design and Mixing - Chris O'Shaughnessy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
