The Rest Is History

Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland are joined by tech pioneer Marc Andreessen. Has the internet been the most important force in modern history? In part one of this two part series they look at how the internet developed out of military technology, whether early developers knew they were changing the world, and why business initially built a ‘wall of scepticism’ around the possibilities of the World Wide Web.

*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:

Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!

Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com

Twitter: 

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

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The year is 1983, and on November the 8th the world is the closest it’s ever been to nuclear destruction, yet nobody at the time realises. Dominic and Tom are joined by author and historian Taylor Downing to discuss how Armageddon was just avoided and why Tom, living near Salisbury, was in more danger than most.

A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production

Produced by Jack Davenport & Harry Lineker

Exec Producer Tony Pastor

*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:

Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!

Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com

Twitter: 

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook are live at the Chalke Valley History Festival to discuss the cultural impact of the Fab Four. What were the social conditions that led to their phenomenal success, and will their legacy endure in another hundred years? Plus, why Tom was turned away from John Lennon’s house.  

A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production

Produced by Jack Davenport

Exec Producer Tony Pastor

*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:

Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!

Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com

Twitter: 

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The slaughter and bloodshed on the Western Front in World War One helped shape the narrative of the 20th century. But was it a case of lions led by donkeys?

Gary Sheffield, historian and author of Forgotten Victory: The First World War - Myths and Realities, joins Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook to explore events on the Western Front.

A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production

Produced by Jack Davenport

Exec Producer Tony Pastor

*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:

Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!

Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com

Twitter: 

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From the Ice Age to the Winter of Discontent, climate and weather have hugely impacted historical events. Wars halted by freezing conditions, Prime Ministers thrown out of office by an electorate made angrier by the weather. Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland review their top ten weather affected moments in time.

A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production

Produced by Jack Davenport

Exec Producer Tony Pastor

*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:

Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!

Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com

Twitter: 

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“A war begun for no wise purpose.” This description of the First Anglo-Afghan War, fought in the early-mid 19th Century, could stand as an epitaph for most conflicts in the region since. William Dalrymple has written extensively about the history of Afghanistan and he joins Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland to take a deep dive into this ‘graveyard of empires’.

A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production

Produced by Jack Davenport

Exec Producer Tony Pastor

*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:

Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!

Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com

Twitter: 

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the first of a two-part series exploring the history of Afghanistan, Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook examine the nation’s complicated relationships with empires and discuss its role in the ‘Great Game’.

A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production

Produced by Jack Davenport

Exec Producer Tony Pastor

*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:

Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!

Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com

Twitter: 

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Once there was darkness and then there was light. What was the Enlightenment and why did it matter? Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook explore the Enlightenment and its path towards reason, science, revolution and the guillotine.

A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production

Produced by Jack Davenport

Exec Producer Tony Pastor

*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:

Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!

Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com

Twitter: 

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The games afoot! Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook discuss the world’s favourite consulting detective. Why has the popularity of Sherlock Holmes survived more than a century and what do the stories tell us about Victorian and Edwardian London?

A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production

Produced by Jack Davenport

Exec Producer Tony Pastor

*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:

Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!

Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com

Twitter: 

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Even the memory of them is enough to make most people shudder. As thousands of British students wait nervously for their A-level and GCSE results, Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook are joined by educationalist Daisy Christodoulou to discuss the fascinating history of the examination. Your time starts now.

*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:

Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!

Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com

Twitter: 

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

60 years ago this month, the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) began building a barrier that divided the city of Berlin. It stood until 1989 and came to symbolise the front line of the Cold War.

Iain MacGregor, author of "Checkpoint Charlie: The Cold War, the Berlin Wall and the Most Dangerous Place on Earth", joins Tom and Dominic to discuss the history of the Wall, the ideological divide it represented and why it eventually fell.

A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production

Produced by Jack Davenport & Harry Lineker

Exec Producer Tony Pastor

*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:

Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!

Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com

Twitter: 

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What does it mean to be a Spartan? How much of this Spartan image is real and how much is based on projections and prejudices of others?

Tom and Dominic delve into the Ancient Greek world and take us inside the minds and reality of this civilisation. They also analyse the film “300” and look at what it got right and wrong. 

A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production

Produced by Jack Davenport & Harry Lineker

Exec Producer Tony Pastor

*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:

Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!

Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com

Twitter: 

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tom and Dominic continue their journey through the history of the Olympics, turning their attention from post-war to the present day. 

They discuss Cold War rivalries, financial extravagance, the influence of TV and the darkest moments in Olympic history.

A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production

Produced by Jon Gill

Exec Producer Tony Pastor

*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:

Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!

Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com

Twitter: 

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1896 the Olympic Games were reborn in Athens. Here we look at the forgotten tales and little known facts from the start of the modern Olympics through to the outbreak of the Second World War.

Tom tells us about the greatest race of all time, whilst Dominic reveals he is somewhat of an Olympics sceptic.

A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production

Produced by Jon Gill

Exec Producer Tony Pastor

*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:

Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!

Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com

Twitter: 

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With the Games underway in Tokyo, Tom and Dominic look back to the Ancient Olympics. They discuss the heroic but incredibly violent stories of the Greek superstars of 2500 years ago, and why the Games were bad news for women, animals and cheats. Plus, Tom reveals how his cricketing woes were compounded by an Ancient Greek poet.

A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production

Produced by Jack Davenport

Exec Producer Tony Pastor

*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:

Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!

Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com

Twitter: 

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Statues: Parliament Square

In the final part of their epic trilogy, Tom and Dominic arrive at Parliament Square to explore the statues of world leaders including Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi. 

A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production

Produced by Jack Davenport

Exec Producer Tony Pastor

*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:

Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!

Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com

Twitter: 

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tom and Dominic continue their tour of London’s statues, arriving in Whitehall. War leaders, useless royals and courtesans all feature.

A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production

Produced by Jack Davenport

Exec Producer Tony Pastor

*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:

Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!

Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com

Twitter: 

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the first of a three part series Tom and Dominic take a walking tour of central London to examine the statues of Trafalgar Square and explore the stories behind them. 

A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production

Produced by Jack Davenport

Exec Producer Tony Pastor

*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:

Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!

Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com

Twitter: 

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tom and Dominic are joined by historian William Dalrymple to tell the fascinating and shocking story of the East India Company in the 18th century. How could a gang of “spectacularly corrupt” merchants conquer vast parts of Asia from a small office in London with just 35 employees? And how did the company’s actions pave the way for British government rule in India.

A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production

Produced by Jack Davenport

Exec Producer Tony Pastor

*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:

Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!

Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com

Twitter: 

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Henry VIII had the most notorious marital relations of any king in history. Tom and Dominic discuss the six women who became his queen. How did they influence the course of the Reformation? And which one would have done best on Love Island?

A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production

Produced by Jack Davenport

Exec Producer Tony Pastor

*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:

Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!

Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com

Twitter: 

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

No country has enjoyed a greater influence on the English than Italy. Ahead of the European Championship final, Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland explore the history of Rome, Italy and England.

A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production

Produced by Jack Davenport

Exec Producer Tony Pastor

*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:

Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!

Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com

Twitter: 

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

No war has divided public opinion more than the conflict in Vietnam. Andrew Preston, Cambridge University Professor of American History, joins Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland to discuss the international politics surrounding the conflict.

A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production

Produced by Jack Davenport

Exec Producer Tony Pastor

*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:

Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!

Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com

Twitter: 

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ahead of the two countries’ encounter at Wembley, Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook discuss Anglo-Danish history through the ages. Vikings, the destruction of Copenhagen and royal dogs all feature prominently.

A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production

Produced by Jack Davenport

Exec Producer Tony Pastor

*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:

Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!

Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com

Twitter: 

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tom and Dominic discuss how to write history books for kids. What topics are they interested in? What will they find boring? How much detail is acceptable when writing about mass killings and violence? And why it's best to get an 8 year old to do the proof reading

A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production

Produced by Jack Davenport

Exec Producer Tony Pastor

*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:

Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!

Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com

Twitter: 

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the eve of a huge sporting encounter in Rome between the English and Ukrainian football teams, Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook explore the history binding the two nations. Crimea, The Light Brigade and Florence Nightingale all make the starting line-up.

A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production

Produced by Jack Davenport

Exec Producer Tony Pastor

*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:

Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!

Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com

Twitter: 

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The British Empire: good, bad or neither? And how does its legacy shape us today? Journalist Sathnam Sanghera, author of “Empireland”, joins Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook to explore this timely, fascinating and hugely controversial subject.

A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production

Produced by Jack Davenport

Exec Producer Tony Pastor

*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:

Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!

Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com

Twitter: 

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With England and Germany set to do sporting battle once again, Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook explore the historical events which have shaped the relationship between two or Europe’s super powers.

A Goalhanger Films & Left Peg Media production

Produced by Jack Davenport

Exec Producer Tony Pastor

*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:

Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!

Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com

Twitter: 

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Settle down by the fire and prepare to be haunted. Roger Clarke, author of A Natural History of Ghosts, joins Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook to wonder whether ghost stories evolve to reflect the age in which the apparition appears.

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Jeremy Thorpe was the most flamboyant politician of his day. Leader of the Liberal Party for nine years he was tried at the Old Bailey for conspiracy to murder his former lover Norman Scott. Although acquitted, the case destroyed Thorpe’s career. Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland discuss this extraordinary story, which includes the murder of Scott’s dog Rinka.

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In the second part of our examination of Adolf Hitler, Sir Ian Kershaw joins Dominic Sandbrook to discuss the Nazi leader’s years leading up to and during the Second World War.

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He was “the embodiment of modern political evil” according to historian Sir Ian Kershaw. In this first episode of a two-part investigation of the Nazi dictator, Sir Ian joins Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland to discuss Adolf Hitler.

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Does the Magna Carta enshrine the liberties of every free-born Englishman? Or is it now irrelevant? Ted Vallance, Professor of History at Roehampton University, joins Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook to discuss King John and the bill of rights he was forced to sign.

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No state in America captures the imagination quite like California. With its glitz and glamour and also its enormous economic disparities the state is a symbol of both the American dream and nightmare. Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland explore California’s origins as well as its modern day politics.

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Who was Muhammad, where did he come from and what was the historical context for his life? Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook discuss one of the most influential religious, social, and political leaders in history.

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Competition for top deity hots up as we look back on the knock out stages of the Rest is History World Cup of Gods. Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland discuss the last eight contestants and analyse the final outcome.

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In one of the most anticipated contests of the year, sixteen gods battled for the crown of ultimate deity. Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook offer analysis and insight on the group stages of the competition.

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It may just be the most popular city on earth. Throughout history Paris has maintained a grip on the public imagination, thanks to its culture, architecture and its people.

French journalist and historian Agnès Poirier joins Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook to discuss La Ville Lumièr.

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He remains one of the great characters in all history. But was he depraved, corrupt and evil? Or an artist much maligned by elitist historians? Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland discuss Nero.

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It promises to be the biggest event of the summer - The Rest is History World Cup of Gods.

Sixteen competitors, but there can be only one winner. Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook preview all the runners and riders.

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Did Oliver Cromwell save Britain from tyranny or was he a killjoy and military dictator? Paul Lay, author of Providence Lost: the Rise and Fall of Cromwell's Protectorate joins Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook to discuss the short-lived British Republic.

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What, if anything, can we learn about medieval history from Game of Thrones? Or is George R R Martin’s hugely popular series of books, and the blockbuster TV series based on them, in danger of supplanting true history in the popular imagination? Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook, both huge fans of the series, discuss books, films and history.

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Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook talk to award-winning writer Camilla Townsend, author of the revelatory Fifth Sun.

Professor Townsend used Nahuatl language sources to write an engaging history offering a new interpretation of events in Mexico centuries ago.

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“They’re wasting their money and having sex with each other.” Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland explore the modern phenomenon of the teenager. Why do teenagers scare older generations and will Tom cope with his daughter’s veganism?

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Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook tuck into the history of British food with author Pen Vogler. They debate the origins of curry and debate our obsession with beef. Plus, they discuss a curious historical obsession with cooking pigs and chickens, stitched together.

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With France facing economic struggles and rising unemployment revolution was in the air. But who was in charge of the uprising and what did it achieve? Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland storm their own podcasting Bastille.

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Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook are joined by historian and broadcaster Dan Snow to discuss the biggest event of the 18th century - The Seven Years' War.

@dcsandbrook

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The battle lines are drawn as Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook get involved in this most timely of subjects.

They discuss the historical significance of culture wars from Ancient Rome to the US Civil Rights movement.

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Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook cross their legs and rank the best Eunuchs in history.

From religious fanatics to operatic singers, they discuss the grisly glory these young men ‘enjoyed’.

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It is perhaps the best known year in English history. But why has it endured in the national consciousness? Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook talk the Battle of Hastings, the end of the Anglo-Saxons and wonder if King Harold really was killed by an arrow in the eye.

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It is arguably the most important year in modern history. With the British Expeditionary Force trapped at Dunkirk, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain replaced by the maverick Winston Churchill and France collapsing under the force of invasion, the world watched and waited to see which way the axis of power would tilt. James Holland, leading historian of the period, joins his brother Tom and Dominic Sandbrook to discuss the events of 1940.

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