James Holland

Historian.

Establishing himself through a career of acclaimed books and programmes for TV and radio, rendering the tangled tales of history for an audience of millions, James Holland is one of Britain’s eminent popular historians. Today, he also co-chairs the Chalke Valley History Festival and co-hosts - with comedian Al Murray - the brilliant podcast, We Have Ways Of Making You Talk.

Why did we invite him on?

After Tucker Carlson’s highly contentious interview with amateur historian Darryl Cooper, we invited James on our show for the first time. Long-time admirers of his work, we felt he was the perfect candidate to explore the eminating myths of World War II revisionism. He was an exceptional guest, masterfully separating the fact from the fiction, and we knew instantly that we’d have him back again.

We also knew we wanted to go deep. Deep into the murky, disturbing world of the 20th century’s greatest monster: Hitler.

A telling of the dictator’s life has been missing from our historical catalogue. It’s such an immense subject, one so sensitive and densely woven, we couldn’t help but approach it with caution. Once it was covered, that was it. We had to get it right.

We had faith in James, and were thrilled when he accepted our offer to host him once more. The interview was scheduled to run for 90 minutes. By the time we wrapped filming, we’d gone for three hours.

What did we learn?

Typically, we would take the time here to share some of the highlights and insights from the interview.

In this case, that feels wholly inadequate. This is one of the longest, most detailed, and comprehensive conversations in the history of the channel. Dicing it up would defeat the point. Rather, we feel you should enjoy it in full. Believe us - you’ll want to.

Over the course of our three-hour exploration of the life of the last century’s great tyrant, we left no stone unturned. We talked about…

- Hitler’s distinct lack of charisma in his youth, and how his heroism in the First World War sets about a rebirth of character.
- How the momentum post-war spite shaped his political outlook, carried him to party leadership, and guided him to finding his voice.
- His 1000-year vision of Germany and how long-termism shaped the Nazi project.
- Whether the Nazis were a right- or left-wing party, or if it even matters.
- Their iconography and its subliminal messaging.
- The psychology of imperialism and initial expectations.
- The miscalculations in battle.
- His final throes of desperation…
- … and humiliating demise.

and ask what is arguably the most explosive question of all… Is there any feasible moral understanding of Hitler?

And yet, that’s still not all. These kinds of interviews come along only once in a while, and we can’t wait to share this one with you. The whole thing comes to Substack tonight before going out on YouTube and X tomorrow - 7PM UK / 2PM ET. Don’t miss it.