By Episodes

Ep. 814: Photographing Wolf Kills, Underwater Beavers, and Other Impossible Shots

December 29, 2025

Steven Rinella talks with Ronan Donovan. Topics discussed: What it means to be a National Geographic Explorer; doing hard shit to get the perfect image; photographing beavers through the ice; when...
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7 books
630. Tchaikovsky: LIVE at the Royal Albert Hall

December 29, 2025

What are the complex origins of Russia’s most renowned composer, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky? What inner conflicts and private contradictions lay behind his romantic music, and how did these...
0 books
Ep. 812: The Best Grub in Texas

December 25, 2025

Steven Rinella talks with chef Jesse Griffiths, Janis Putelis, Clay Newcomb, Brent Reaves, and Randall Williams. Topics discussed: How everything is from around here; buying truck loads of...
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1 book
629. WWI: The Christmas Truce

December 25, 2025

Did the Christmas Truce - which saw a number of unofficial ceasefires between the combatants of the First World War, during the Christmas of 1914 - really occur, or was it a myth? What is the real...
5 books
Ep. 810: The Perfect Country and Western Song

December 23, 2025

Steven Rinella talks with Reid Isbell, Dan Isbell, and Clay Newcomb. Topics discussed: Hosting MeatEater's God's Country podcast; Music Row and where music is made; yet another North vs. South...
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0 books
Ep. 809: The 209 - A Backyard Hunt For An Iowa Giant

December 22, 2025

Steven Rinella talks with Iowa Auditor of State Rob Sand. Topics discussed: Iowa's big-buck-killing Auditor of State and what an Auditor actually does; 406 Boneworks; running for Iowa Governor;...
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1 book
628. Jack The Ripper: The Killer Unmasked (Part 5)

December 22, 2025

Who are the prime suspects for the identity of Jack the Ripper? Why did he suddenly halt his hellish killing spree, and never strike again? And, once and for all, who really was Jack the Ripper…?...
6 books
Ep. 808: A Costa Rican Immigrant on Hunting In America

December 20, 2025

Steven Rinella talks with Pablo Esquivel and Janis Putelis.  Topics discussed: Blow guns and sling shots; learning about ballistics; getting whopped as a kid for hunting illegally; cooking...
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1 book
627. Jack The Ripper: From Hell (Part 4)

December 18, 2025

Why was Jack the Ripper’s final murder the most appalling of all? Who was the mysterious Mary-Jane Kelly, his unfortunate victim? And, what enduring impact would his crimes have upon the cultural...
9 books
Ep. 805: The Condo Butcher, Bison as Wildlife, and Other News

December 15, 2025

Steven Rinella talks with Janis Putelis, Brody Henderson, Randall Williams, Phil Taylor, and Corinne Schneider. Topics discussed: A snow goose with an underbite; Steve betting on NFL teams because...
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1 book
626. Jack The Ripper: The Killer Strikes Again (Part 3)

December 15, 2025

How did Jack the Ripper manage to strike twice in the same night without getting caught? Did he have an accomplice? And, what chilling clues did the police discover in the wake of the murder…?...
6 books
625. Jack The Ripper: Horror in Whitechapel (Part 2)

December 11, 2025

Who was Jack the Ripper’s second victim, and why was their murder considered the true starting point of his terrifying killing spree? How did the police investigation unfold? And, when and how did...
3 books
The Beatles: The British Invasion, with Conan O’Brien (Part 2)

December 10, 2025

| This episode is available a week early for members of The Rest Is History Club | What happens when fame, drugs, and genius collide? How did the Beatles survive John Lennon’s “more popular than...
0 books
Ep. 802: The Life And Death of Jim Harrison

December 08, 2025

Steven Rinella talks with author Todd Goddard. Topics discussed: The first literary biography of Jim Harrison, Devouring Time: Jim Harrison, A Writer's Life; a brilliant writer and a person full...
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17 books
624. Jack The Ripper: History’s Darkest Mystery (Part 1)

December 08, 2025

Was Jack the Ripper the first serial killer of all time? Who was his first victim, and why was the murder so shocking? And, what did the Ripper phenomenon reveal about the anxieties of Victorian...
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5 books
623. The Nazis at War: Churchill’s Finest Hour (Part 4)

December 04, 2025

With Adolf Hitler at the apex of his power during the Second World War, how did he move on Britain? How did Winston Churchill respond? And, would Britain’s airforce triumph over Hitler’s Luftwaffe...
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6 books
The Beatles: The Band that Changed the World, with Conan O’Brien (Part 1)

December 03, 2025

How did four Liverpool teenagers become the most influential band on earth? What made their music and charisma irresistible to a generation? And, how did their ambition and timing spark a cultural...
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2 books
Ep. 799: Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp, and the Booze-Fueled Bender that Ended at OK Corral

December 01, 2025

Steven Rinella talks with author Mark Lee Gardner, Brody Henderson, Randall Williams, Phil Taylor, and Corinne Schneider.  Topics discussed: Mark Lee Gardner's brand new book: Brothers of the Gun:...
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6 books
622. The Nazis at War: The Fall of France (Part 3)

December 01, 2025

How did the Battle of Dunkirk unfold in 1940? Why was it one of the key turning points of the Second World War for Hitler and his Nazi regime? And, how did the Allies manage to evade the jaws of...
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6 books
Ep. 798: Bonus - Tis The Season To Be Hunting

November 28, 2025

Steven Rinella talks with Ryan Callaghan, Spencer Neuharth, Randall Williams, and Cory Calkins. Topics discussed: Cal's AK grizzly; the new CEO of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers; our newest true...
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2 books