378. Baghdad: The Golden Age

“It wouldn't be very difficult to kill the president of the United States, you just have to be in a high building with a high powered rifle, telescopic sight and there's nothing anyone could do about it….” On the morning of Friday, 22nd November 1963, John F. Kennedy awoke with just hours to live. Ahead was a flight to Love Field, Dallas; then a motorcade into the heart of the city’s business district. But as the president and his glamorous wife, Jacqueline, settled back in their limousine for the journey towards destiny, they had no idea of the horror to come …   By 12:22pm the motorcade had reached Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, passing the nondescript Texas Book Depository and slowing for the unexpectedly large and enthusiastic crowds gathered to greet the President. At 12:25 bystanders spotted the figure of a man on the sixth floor of the Book Depository, staring strangely away from the motorcade. Then, at exactly 12.30 pm, the first shot rang out around the square…. Join Dominic and Tom as they break down the events of the day of the assassination of President Kennedy moment by moment, from the night before the murder to its traumatic aftermath, poring over the evidence in order to solve this supremely fascinating historical mystery.  *Dominic’s book The Fall of the Aztecs is available now from bookshops across the UK - the perfect Christmas present!* Twitter:  @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

By the late 1950s, John F. Kennedy was a rich and handsome Democratic senator with a beautiful wife and young family, heading for the White House despite his Catholicism, his affairs and his secret illnesses. In January 1961 he became the youngest ever President of the United States, during a period of heightened political and social tensions at home and abroad, with the Cold War raging, communism on the rise and the Civil Rights Movement dominating the headlines. What role, then, did Kennedy’s domestic and foreign policies play in these monumental moments of world history? And does the backlash against him offer us the crucial clues to the motives behind his assassination, and the identity of his killer?  Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss Kennedy’s early political career, the successes and failings of his presidency, and world-shaking events such as the Bay of Pigs disaster, the Cuban missile crisis, the Space Race and the Vietnam War. All the while, Kennedy’s days are numbered as that fateful day in Dallas comes ever closer… *Dominic’s book The Fall of the Aztecs is available now from bookshops across the UK - the perfect Christmas present!* Twitter:  @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“There were a lot of people who wanted Kennedy dead, a lot of powerful people. There are secrets still being held and I never bought for a minute that Oswald operated alone.” The assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas on 22nd November 1963 is one of history’s most iconic stories, a moment of terrible innocence lost and a foundational myth for modern America. The tragedy of the murder, coupled with the mystery surrounding it and the glamour of Kennedy himself, have only heightened the enduring fascination with the event. But what really happened in the days before, during and after the assassination? Did Lee Harvey Oswald really act alone? Or was he just a tool for darker forces at play in American politics - or for an international conspiracy at the terrifying height of the Cold War? Join Dominic and Tom as they launch their epic investigation into the life and death of JFK, beginning with the controversial Kennedy clan, the young ‘Jack’s’ upbringing and the personality of the victim himself. Along the way they discuss his battle with crippling illness, his sexual escapades and his romance with the woman who became his wife, Jacqueline Bouvier. *Dominic’s book The Fall of the Aztecs is available now from bookshops across the UK - the perfect Christmas present!* Twitter:  @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices