History’s Greatest Fails

History’s Greatest Fails

We’re often taught that history’s written by the winners. But we’d like to argue that, in fact, it’s the losers who end up making history. In this brand new series from Dan Jones and Elizabeth Day, History’s Greatest Fails 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 series, Dan and Producer Al are hearing from the favourites directly — join us as they discuss the royal favourites’ special fail mentions. So, join us for the debut episode of History’s Greatest Fails. –– 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 – Presented by Dan Jones and Elizabeth Day Producer - Alan Weedon Senior Producer - Dominic Tyerman Executive Producer - Simon Poole Executive Producer - Dan Jones Executive Producer for Daylight Productions - Elizabeth Day Production Manager - Jen Mistri Production Coordinator - Eric Ryan Head of Content - Chris Skinner

Episodes

May 11, 2026 32 mins
Elizabeth Day grew up in Belfast and would as a child walk past the most bombed hotel in Europe. Dan Jones recalls a Croatian widow whose husband went out for bread and never returned. In this final episode of History’s Greatest Fails, Dan and Elizabeth name war as history's ultimate failure and reflect on the changes that follow societal collapse. Together, they draw on conflicts that have changed the course of worl...
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If you’re an artist, when would you like recognition to strike? Do you want it to be in your lifetime, only to be forgotten decades after your death? Or do you want to remain undiscovered, with your story potentially echoing for centuries after you’ve been discovered posthumously? These are some of the thorny questions Dan and Elizabeth consider in this episode about artistic failure. Together, they trace the storie...
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If you judge him by his own elaborate metrics, Leonardo da Vinci was a failure. Long before the Mona Lisa became shorthand for genius, Leonardo imagined himself as something else entirely: a military engineer, a designer of bridges and armoured vehicles, a master of siegecraft and architecture.  In 1482, he wrote a breathless letter to Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, itemising these talents with bravado and noting, quickly, ...
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What would you do if your life was omitted, reduced to an overlooked footnote, or filed away as an anomaly?  In this episode, Dan and Elizabeth turn a lens on the practice of history itself, interrogating the choices and power structures that have traditionally left women out of the history books.  They retrace the lives of three women who once stood firmly in their moment: Hatshepsut, a pharaoh who consolidated power i...
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To love is to risk heartbreak.  And while for some, breakups result in renewal, maybe some therapy (or a few months’ spent wallowing), for the historical figures of this episode… a relationship’s end has broken many more things than hearts.  In this episode, Dan and Elizabeth discover the lessons of history’s epic failed romances through three world-changing unions: Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn; M...
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April 6, 2026 33 mins
He died at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. And we haven’t been able to stop talking about him since. Yes, it’s time to consider the story of England’s last Plantagenet king, Richard III — a centuries-old tangle involving alleged murder, Shakespeare, vanquish and one mighty rediscovery. In this debut episode of History’s Greatest Fails, Dan Jones and Elizabeth Day argue that the story of Richard...
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March 30, 2026 4 mins
We’re often taught that history’s written by the winners. But we’d like to argue that, in fact, it’s the losers who end up making history.  In this brand new miniseries from Dan Jones and Elizabeth Day, History’s Greatest Fails 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 H...
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Mark as Played

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