Featured interviews
Blake & Diallo
How one song turns into a story.
Kaelyn Moore
Her secret code for engaging listeners.
Mina Kimes
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Payne Lindsey
Dominic: It reminds us that all our assumptions and preconceptions are not absolute. Lots of people have been on this Earth before us who thought very differently from us, so it should make us a little bit more humble and give us a bit of perspective.
Tom: It gives you a sense that you’re in communion with people who might have points of resemblance to you but might also have completely different perspectives.
Dominic: We don’t moralize, we don’t judge the past, and we approach it in a spirit of, I think, real enthusiasm. We love talking about the past, exploring the characters. We don’t look down on people in the past. We just try to enjoy it, to relish the madness, the bonkers-ness of people.
Tom: People are very funny. And we’re not afraid of that. We’re not looking for the humor in the past, but when it emerges, we enjoy it, and I think that people who listen to the podcast enjoy it as well.
The Rest Is History weaves together relatable stories, humor, and a genuine enthusiasm for characters of the past.
Tom: Well, I think the perfect historical story — and it took both of us by surprise — is the story of the Titanic. There is a reason why it is an iconic, almost mythic narrative.
Dominic: I think the perfect historical story is one in which there is fantastic, relatable human interest, which is often rooted in character. But then beyond that, it acts as a window onto a vanished world.
Dominic: The point of the show was that we would be coming from different ends of the spectrum. But what we discovered, is that the specialisms are not as trapping as you would think. For both of us, the joy of the show is partly in the discovery.
Tom: You have me coming from antiquity and Dominic coming from the 20th century, but we were a bit worried about what we were going to do in the middle. But actually, it’s like building a bridge. We’ve got the two pillars at either end of the river, but we’re slowly building the arch over the great stream of time, and hopefully, we’ll meet in the middle.
Dominic: We love the sense of community. I enjoy reading all the speculation about the show. We have a genuine feeling of camaraderie with our listeners. It’s something that we never, ever imagined when we started the show.
Dominic: It’s been an absolutely central part. When we started the show, so much of it was geared to how it would look on Apple Podcasts — what the title art would be, the episode description, how that would look on the page. It’s completely integral to the way I think of the podcast.
Dominic: It’s something that we could never possibly have dreamed of. It’s recognition not just for us but for the Goalhanger team who produce the show. It’s lovely that people recognize history in an age when people aren’t doing it at university as much as they used to.
Tom: It’s the biggest thrill imaginable. We’re the first British podcast to win it, so that’s a cause of patriotic pride. I feel particularly delighted that it’s Apple who has recognized us. I couldn’t be more delighted and honored by it. Incredibly grateful.
Blake: I wanted to share this treasure trove inside songs: what it sounds like to hear just the isolated drums, the vocals, and build a story around it. Then I met my co-host and we’d have these obsessive, hour-long phone calls — deep dives, fact-sharing, “You gotta hear this.” At the end of it, we did that thing: “Dude, we should record this.” The cliché moment.
Diallo: I looked at a few directions but kept coming back to this guy — because every time I called him with one music question, we’d talk for 60 minutes. I thought, that’s a great podcast.
Blake: My circle is making music, living through it, wearing out cassettes. His circle is DJing, watching crowd reactions, obsessively studying what makes a song catchy. As people, it just feels like we complement each other perfectly. When the mics go on and we’re talking as friends about music, it’s playful. It’s hard work, but it’s fun.
Diallo: He makes music and I’ve always wanted to — so I’ll fanboy hard. And because I’ve DJed everything from weddings to the Golden Globes, I’ve been fascinated by what makes any song catchy. We will talk about this stuff for hours.
Blake: Both. My brain gathers, then compares — and comparing takes five times as long. By the time we’re taping, we’re both thinking, “That was great, but it won’t make the cut.” The whole thing is a lesson in editing as part of the creative process.
Diallo: No hard and fast rules exist, and we both wish they did. We’ve worked out a system where one person has 51% of the call depending on the artist — much more peaceful. And when it’s truly too big, we just make it a double episode.
Blake: I only know what I’ve learned by doing it. I can sense when I’m boring myself, and that’s when we cut it. The depth that doesn’t bore me tends to be exactly right for the listener. That’s also where the team is invaluable. Together we find the thread — something that hasn’t been heard before.
Diallo: We go into every episode asking, what is the story of this song? There’s the historical and social context, the story of recording it, and the story of what it changed. Half the show is us genuinely surprising ourselves in real time.
Diallo: I think the appeal is that it feels like it’s you and your best friend, a record player, stopping the song and saying, “Here’s what’s working.” It’s a global listening party.
Blake: We give listeners a takeaway that means they will never hear a song the same way again. Amaze your friends with music knowledge. That’s always been an idea behind the show.
Diallo: If you love it, you’ll find others who do too.
Blake: And, start. Expect it won’t be right the first time — get over that fear. Nine out of ten things won’t hit, but build your next attempt on that tenth one. Make sure you genuinely love it because it will only grow and demand more from you.
Kirbie: We were audio-only for the longest time. We’d clip out video from our computer cameras or do audiograms, but they’re just not shareable. When we felt like we could afford to do video properly, we went for it.
Sara: We treated it like a real production. This is a TV show. We wanted to invest in a good studio, good lighting, good equipment. The sound quality matters.
Kirbie: It also gave us a schedule. Before, it was, “Can you record on this day?” Now it’s, “We record on Thursdays between these two hours.” Having that structure matters, especially when you work for yourself. This is our business now.
Kirbie: When we saw our listenership improving with video — something we’d invested real time and money into — we were like, what else can we do? Seven years ago you could listen to a podcast and be fine — but people want to see it now. It’s not the exception anymore. It’s the rule.
Kirbie: Apple has always been our number one platform for listenership, and now, viewership. Since we launched video, our Slack community has grown, and on Instagram and TikTok, we’ve grown our followings. Because of video clipping, social platforms promote us more, giving us greater reach and expanding our audience.
Kirbie: Yes, absolutely. When listeners see two people engaging with each other — especially when they have a close professional and personal relationship — there’s something inherently more interesting about it. Video pulls you in, in a way a title alone doesn’t.
Kirbie: We’re proof that video can drastically increase your listenership and viewership in a very short amount of time. In roughly three months, we’re up 62%. That’s huge growth for a show that’s been around as long as ours has.
Catch Gloss Angeles — now with video — on Apple Podcasts.