The Week’s Picks - 14.12.25

The Rest is History - The Beatles

Goalhanger’s dominance of the visual podcast market edges one step closer with this excellent, succinct history of The Beatles. In a move that brought to mind one of the aggrieved onlookers complaining as the band played on the roof of Apple Corps, co-host Dominic Sandbrook declined to accompany Tom Holland on this (magical mystery) tour. Instead, in an absolute masterstroke from Team Goalhanger, Tom is joined by the impossibly charming and puppyish Conan O’Brien(!), whose enthusiasm and love of The Beatles are palpable. It’s a treat to hear his own, very Conan, Beatles-related anecdotes peppered throughout.

Presented from, where else, Abbey Road itself, the pair cover the most exciting and important chapter in pop history across two episodes. The band are placed firmly in their historical context, exactly as you’d expect from The Rest Is History, which only magnifies the scale of their artistic and commercial achievements. With access to a wealth of archive and the Beatles’ music, the podcast deploys both impeccably. In many chat-based shows, its use can feel clumsy or crowbarred in; here, it’s the magic that brings the story fully to life.

I’m a huge Beatles fan and know this story inside out. Frankly, at this point, it’s an obsession. My only criticism of this mini-series is that I’d happily have spent even longer in the company of these two ebullient hosts, who are clearly having just as good a time as the listener.

A Goalhanger production