I have a history degree and love the discipline but rarely find any history shows that interest me because they're either too dry or too sensationalistic or too poorly researched. You guys are both thoroughly academic and super entertaining, plus very balanced. I just love your channel and am listening to everything you've done. Thank you 😊 🙏
I love the light humour combined with great quotes and large reservoir of knowledge of both Tom and Dominic. Always entertaining and educational whether discussing the French Revolution in 1789, the 1974 British General Election or the events in the USA in 1968. Great stuff thanks 👍
Congrats on 100k Didn't take too long to 'blow up' after adopting video I see. Great to see your hard work rewarded. Your new fans have an awesome backlog of episodes to catch up on. Greetings from prussias capital
Love hearing the British perspective of American history at this moment in time of America . God I was a young boy 8 years old. In 1968 . Enjoy your podcast. Thanks
I love this! I was 18 in 1968..from LBJ’s Texas..went off to private college in Brookline, where Kennedys lived. Voted for McCarthy in my first voting opportunity! Thank you
Reading speeches from previous eras in our countries, political history, even relatively recent ones, is depressing. It underscores how quickly things have fallen apart, and how trite and inconsequential our political discourse has become.
Don't despair. The pendulum swings both ways. Granted, half our lives will be spent at the far reach but change is constant and people are reactionary, a back swing follows as day follows night. And remember that our lives compared with any other time or place are like farting through silk as PJ O'Rourke would say. Who has it better than we do?
I wrote my comment before Tom even finished reciting the passage. I was grateful when Tom made essentially the same remark! These guys never disappoint.
Bravo, Gents, bravo. I am totally captivated with your presentations. (I can’t wait for your take in hindsight in a few years on Biden / Trump era to help me make sense of that as well. ) cheers from Australia
As you report, Sirhan shot at Kennedy from in front of him. He was at least a meter away. Kennedy was hit three times, once behind his right ear and twice in his back. The corner reported powder burn residue around the head wound meaning the weapon that fired that shot was near point blank. The secuity guard standing immediately behind Kennedy had pulled his gun, was initially taken into custody and then released. The number of shots fired, some hitting people near kennedy, others removed from the ceiling and woodwork, exceeded the capacity of and did not match Sirhan's weapon.
It was the security guard, Eugene Thane Cesar, who killed RFK for sure. The medical examiners report said that the lethal bullets came from behind RFK from a gun pressed right into RFKs body. Sirhan was in front and his gun never came close to touching RFK. Cesar was behind RFK and was so close to RFK that when RFK fell shot to the ground he pulled off Cesar's tie off his neck The security guard was one of those hardcore anti Castro cubans and had links to the CIA and to Nixon's plumbers. He was also friends with another anti Castro cuban who happened later to be the door man at the Dakota when John Lennon was killed. The US mainstream media's continued insistence of crazed lone gunmen killing JFK RFk and MLK shows whi really controls the media in the USA.
At the 58:30 mark of this video that you’ve read from your script, that Kennedy had been shot three times, once in the head and twice in the back. I wish you both would have done your research on this topic instead of reading from a script . Sirhan Sirhan was never behind Robert Kennedy . All witnesses do say Sirhan was shooting , however it was estimated that Sirhan was 4-6 feet in front of Kennedy. The bullet that killed Robert Kennedy according to the coroner’s report was 3 inches behind Kennedys his right ear. It was the security guard that was assigned to him that night that killed him. You guys are entertaining that’s about it! ✌️
I met a local niche celebrity in the San Francisco Bay Area ~12 years ago to pick up some artwork from his home gallery. He had RFK posters all over the inside of his beautiful Victorian home. I asked him about it and he told me his story about how he quit grad school and join RFK’s campaign in 1968. He said he was at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles that infamous night, less than 20 feet away from RFK’s assassination. This was a very nice man who obviously partied like a rock star in the 60s and 70. Very jovial and personable man. But he became very serious and precise in his language when he described the details of what happened that night. I wish I could recall all the details, but he came across very credible when he said there was zero chance Sirhan was RFK’s assassin. I’m not aware of him ever giving a public interview on this subject, but I wish he would. But that experience caused me to seriously doubt the official narrative of what happened that night in 1968.
There is a bill mahr clip with rfk jr that title something like how rfk was mur*Der. Rfk jr says sirhan was apart of the plot but didn't shoot the shots that killed his dad. He goes into more depth on evidence to that theory.
@@QuietFemmeI’ve heard RFK Jr say that as well. I may have caught part of the Bill Maher interview. But that’s consistent with what I was told. The person I met said Sirhan was definitely not the shooter. That said, it’s entirely possible that Sirhan may have been involved.
@@smore54 Sirhan was definitely a shooter. But, he did not murder RFK, the evidence is overwhelming, The security guard shot RFK behind the ear (which was impossible for Sirhan to do).
The older you get and the more you dig you will find that you have been lied to about almost every single major event of the past 75 years. "Official Narratives: are in 9 out of 10 cases outright lies.The magnitude of deceit is simply mind boggling. and thoroughly disillusioning. We are only given short fleeting glimpses of what really goes on and then the window is shut again. I am haunted by the thought of the powers that be pissing themselves laughing at how gullible and stupid we the public are as they get away with another Big Lie. The two biggest mistakes the USA ever made was (1) creating the CIA and then staffing many of its top positions with hundreds of bonafide german nazis via Operation Paperclip and (2) letting the military industrial complex entrench itself and become a thing.
Lived through all of this with my 2nd memory at 3 being of JFK assassination and funeral. Have a signed note to my father from RFK thanking him for his work on his campaign. Dom is right though because having lived through it I could never learn about it since no one could write objectively about it, and still no American probably could. Thank you both.
I was 11 when RFK was shot, and I watched replays on TV that morning. Being a kid meant that I couldn't stay up past my bedtime to watch presidential primary television coverage--in fact, some of the television stations in the Biloxi, MS area went off the air at midnight and didn't resume broadcasting until six AM. I was old enough to be shocked by the murder but too young to have followed the turmoil. I've got to look up your video covering the riots at the Chicago DNC convention in 1968.
Very interesting episode. Listener and history lover from Vietnam. So being able to learn more about the internal situation of the "other side" has been fascinating for me. Thanks Dominic and Tom
The climax of the campaign for Robert Kennedy would be the California primary of June 4, 1968. Before focusing his efforts on California, Robert Kennedy had journeyed to Columbus, OH, to speak with members of the uncommitted Ohio delegation. Kenny O’Donnell [who had been Kennedy's roommate at Harvard and later worked as a close aide to President Kennedy] helped to organize this meeting, stressing to Kennedy NOT to be late. Well, Kennedy ended up mixing with supporters on the streets of Columbus and ended up 3 hours late. It didn’t look good when Kennedy belatedly arrived in that hotel. “He walked into a room filled with angry, sullen, and inebriated delegates, and saved himself by delivering what O’Donnell called ‘the best damn speech I have ever heard in my life.’ “ “O’Donnell was ecstatic, saying later, ‘He knew just what they wanted to hear and acted as if he loved being there…. He just handled himself beautifully. He was his brother. It was fantastic. The women just went ga-ga over him. They were unanimous - all the old pros were taken aback by how much they liked him. This was not the Bob Kennedy they had read about. This was not the ruthless arrogant young fellow. All they kept saying was, ‘He’s just like Jack! He’s just like Jack!’ I knew he could go all the way, then. Once he had California in his pocket, he would have Daley and all the pros were going to love him. I was never worried about the general election.” Then tragedy ensued.
Dominic has my chair and a prolific collection of classic Doctor Who stories, a man of taste. Goes to demonstrate that though our politics are different that we can have common ground, well, at least when it comes to chairs and classic TV. I'll take that.
I Thoroughly Love Watching And Listening To You Guys' Videos; The Multi-Installment Series Covering Lieutenant Colonel Custer's 'Leadership' (👀) In 1876 Has Been My Favorite So Far. Very Well Done, Gentlemen🙂!! In Contrast, The Way You Laid The Guilt On Sirhan Wholesale Here, And With Such Astonishing Certainty, Was At The Very Least, Disturbing. An Interview With The 'Attendant' Wearing The Black-Framed Glasses, Revealing The Absolutely Ghastly, Yet Critically Important Detail That The Wound Was Much Larger Than 22/100ths" (More Like A .38) Went Without Mention, As Did The Facts That RFK Jr Is Convinced Of Sirhan's Relative Innocence, Has Even Visited Him In Prison, And Has Lobbied For His Release. As Well, The Armed Off-Duty Policeman Standing Directly Behind Bobby Certainly Deserved Heavy Scrutiny Since He Had The Only .38 In The Room, Which Then, As Now, Astonishingly, Goes Almost Without Mention. It's Obvious To Many These Days That Sirhan, Like Oswald, Was Just A Patsy / Puppet / Prop, And You May, Or May Not, Want To Seek Out A Clearer Understanding Of What Actually Happened That Night, And Later Through Destroyed Records, By Researching A Bit Further. The Subject Deserves It, And So Does The Slain Senator. Simply Pitching All The Blame Onto Sirhan, Then Moving On, Is Relaxed Effort And Incomplete Work.
I could quibble perhaps but I would never , I really enjoy I guess these podcasts , you make these conversations look easy, but I know it’s far from it , so I salute you with these wry informative kinda almost laconic but still serious takes on history , it’s great !& i mean I love everything you do but this & your take on Britain in 73/74 for me is extra special
I worked in Indiana politics in the 2000s, and the fact that Indianapolis didn't burn thanks to RFK is an oft-mentioned talking point on both sides of the political spectrum.
Thank you so much for this episode. I'll need to search for your book on Eugene McCarthy ,Mr. Dominic. I had no idea about his private life & personality. It was very surprising. His former press secretary related that Sen. McCarthy was possibly involved in CIA type operations in Latin America. Perhaps you were already aware of that but again, I was quite surprised.
I used to wonder why English people never thought impersonating their accent was funny, until an English guy tried to speak like an American and now I understand
I actually wondered if that was what Tom Holland was trying to do. I knew it wasn’t his typical way of speaking but I really couldn’t tell _what_ it was (speaking as a fellow American).
Bostonian here and I actually thought he did really well. The Kennedy’s had a really bizarre unique accent, not at all typical Boston area. He got the rhythmic cadence down pat, imo.
You had me at the Dominic Sandbrook Archives. But I wept at "The George Custer Experience"--- "we've been in here for months". And then just a few minutes for "The French Revolution." Tom would have "Back to Lafayette". Sleeping bag merch for sale in the gift shop as you exit.
PPS And it's not lost on us that the "Archives/Experience -- Orlando" is in keeping with your fully realized mission of drawing parallels between history and our lives today. Please God, tomorrow will give you an amazing parallel with the 84 election.
Wow. I appreciate Tom's attempt to read a speech in an appropriate tone of voice... but that opening really makes me long for the actual audio recording if any exist.
Loved listening to this. Just 2 questions: 1. What part in Kennedy's and McCarthy's switch from pro to anti-war did the discovery of Robert McNamara"s damning report saying the US could not win in Viet Nam play?
When President Kennedy was murdered in 1963 my father was worried and concerned about the country. In 1968 when Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy were murdered, my dad was scared for the future of the United States. It was as if the seams of the country were breaking and things were coming apart. Perhaps they were.
Love these podcasts. Curious that , as a BBC Film camera assistant, on various assignments, I worked on interviews with Alger Hiss Edward Kennedy, Walter 'Fritz' Mondale, Norman Mailer, all of whom appeared in your riveting tale. And, indeed , as a bonus, my camera got a smile and a wave from President Carter when he arrived at (Andrews AFB?) just prior to his inauguration.
Dominic if you seriously have lost your Masters thesis then can’t you just contact the university you wrote it at? When I wrote my dissertation for my BA degree I had to supply my university with a paper copy for them to keep in their archives.
"According to the autopsy, all four shots that struck my father (one shot passed harmlessly through his suit) were fired from behind at a steep upward angle toward the ceiling. All shots were from within a few inches, with two leaving gun powder residue in the wounds, suggesting that the assassin was standing close behind my father, shielding his weapon with his body while all attention focused on Sirhan". RFK Jr.
The Kennedys were Irish-American and hated the British and WASPs. I have lived in Boston. Joe and JFK were fans of Hitler in the 1930s JFK visited Germany twice and wrote that he was impressed with Hitler in his journals. JFK donated to America First in 1941. It was trying to keep the US out of the European war. Joe was a gangster and insider trader and bought the 1960 election with help from the Mob, with whom he had strong ties. The Kennedys then turned on the Mob. Eisenhower and Nixon agreed not to call out the Kennedys for the good of the country. Bobby was JFK's hatchet man which is why he was hated. He asked the FBI to raid MLK's offices and bug his hotel rooms. There is a weird interview with Jackie in which she called King, a “phoney” and “tricky”. The Kennedys were sleazy. What part did Bobby play in the death of Marilyn Monroe?
This is an OVER simplistic view of their feelings on Britain. JFK himself loved England and did his mother but his father had his issues for a good reason
There is no such thing as a curse on a particular family...It's occurrences that happen to families all over the world...be they blessed or tragic...😮😮😮...
Have yet to watch this on a nervous pre-election day, 2024. Simply reading the title of this piece my answer is, "hell, yes"--I was 17 when Bobby was shot and remember every excruciating minute. I also remember the millions following the rail route of the return of his body. A reminder of FDR. It is hard to express what a breath of fresh air he was to the campign of 1968. McCarthy was too dour and cerebral to catch on with the masses. RFK was pure charisma, more so even than his brother.
To the question on the thumbnail,could he have won? Yes.He would have had a fighting chance at the convention.Remember he helped win the nomination for his brother 8 years before.Bet he knew a lot of the state chairmen of the party and probably a good many delegates at local levels,so I believe he could effectively have operated/politicked.At worst he would've come in second to Humphrey,and HHH would have been insane (or severely controlled by LBJ) not to make him his VP/running mate
Sirhan shot Kennedy from the front, but Kennedy was hit three times from the rear--where Kennedy was shielded by an armed bodyguard. One mystery is how Sirhan's bullets did a 180-degree turn and managed to miss the bodyguard. Another mystery is that the three bullets recovered from Kennedy couldn't be matched to either Sirhan's gun barrel or to the spent cartridge casings. Sirhan's revolver had eight chambers in the cylinder and a maximum shot capacity of eight bullets with no opportunity to reload--more bullets were recovered than Sirhan's revolver held. Worse, the bullets in the other five victims did match Sirhan's revolver and shell casings. Reality is stranger than fiction because fiction writers have to make sense.
A very enjoyable account of the democratic race for 1968 candidate. I think I have found the political version of the Mayo and Kermode podcasts - informal and informative presentation with the occasional naughty double entendre thrown in the mix.
There were riots in the USA after MLKs death. Except Indianapolis. Because of this speech. Words matter. (I recommend Larry Tye's book on RFK. What a man)
Regarding 'Hands Bleeding due to Shaking' - I remember seeing a video showing King Edward VIII (when he was the Prince of Wales) being forced to use his left hand to shake others because his right hand was injured due to shaking so many hands. Maybe his Canada trip ??
Outstanding performance by Dom when covering the US election last night. Can't see him as the LA Dodgers though. For me, he's more like the White Sox of twenty odd years ago. Not Moneyball, or Small ball, but as Ozzy Guillen said, "Smart ball."
Having listened to almost every episode of your podcast, the blind admiration you have for the Kennedy's is rather perplexing. RFK's life was entirely the product of nepotism and his appointment as Attorney General set a very troubling precedent that haunts the USA to this day.
I don't know man, I don't get a lot of admiration, I get a fair amount of condescension. I don't think these guys are particular enthusiasts of good government. They're just chroniclers, don't you see?
I find it perplexing that if you have listened to so many of their podcasts you haven't realised that they give a more neutral view to the subject of the Kennedys than many others do and in no way appear to me to be the rose tinted admirers you think they are
@TribuniPlebis I think phrasing was close to RFK. But I recall seeing a well-known impressionist (perhaps, but at least similar to, Rich Little) who, in his impression of RFK, said, "And... and it's not true that I speak like Bugs Bunny... Bugs... Bugs Bunny speaks... like me!" I may have the precise cadence of the speech wrong, but it's been a long time since RFK impressions were commonly performed. - sj
Very interesting. I was young when this happened but I still remember it. Very sad & a pointless loss of a good man. I thought they had 11 children?? I remember seeing a documentary on a Royal Tour of the Prince of Wales (the future King George VI) having to stop shaking hands because of the damage that it was doing to his hand from so much shaking. Surprised me at the time but yes thinking about it , it does make sense.
Wrong. I was a county Young Dem chairman at 17 in 1968, in Wisconsin. I worked for McCarthy in the primary campaign and RFK later, finally Humphrey. Most state level politicos understood that Humphrey couldn't match the historical moment and RFK would have healed the divided nation by withdrawing immediately from Nam. And that McCarthy also wasn't a national unifier. The race riots were not the main factor in the thought processes of voters in middle America by November of that year. A return to a sense of normalcy was. Many voted for Nixon out of a false sense of nostalgia for the Eisenhower years, and because he said he had a 'secret plan' to end the war. Had RFK lived, the street demonstrations in Chicago would not have happened. Those televised riots elected Nixon though Humphrey nearly beat him. But RFK would have neen nominated and beaten Nixon in 1968. And Humphrey was a hawk, and campaigned as one.
I have an interesting idea of one of the reasons RFK was so close to JFK and how he ended up handling the most stressful parts of his brother’s issue: civil rights, organized crime, etc.. JFK had Addison’s Disease -PAI. His adrenal glands had died. Nothing can live without adrenaline/cortisol. I have been diagnosed myself for 24 yrs with this disease. You are often severely fatigued and have trouble with SEVERE brain fog/concentration. I used to joke that JFK HAD to be on speed to be a senator nor president during incidents like the Bay of Pigs. Without functioning adrenal glands - we’ll - Jackie confirmed in her book she authored as she was dying of cancer that yes, he was on amphetamines and in hideous pain. Addison’s disease affects bone density as well. His lower back was disintegrating. I had to halt my own career as a historian of religion to this condition due to the inability to think critically and be focused. I spent 10 years getting properly educated to do what I always knew I wanted to be to not get tenure due to health. He was the president! I wonder what part Bobby felt responsible for being that serious, keeping Jack appearing in full control of his decision making and hiding exhaustion. That would make him appear hyper -serious and stressed himself. There are many serious endocrine diseases in the extended Kennedy family including Grave’s disease. I don’t see how Jack’s disease did not affect what Bobby felt he had to constantly cover for his brother. Interestingly enough one of my first memories was seeing Kennedy’s funeral. My mother kept telling me I was not born yet. What I couldn’t idly remember was the flag draped cason pulling up to a church; I was sitting on my grandmother’s rug with their late ‘60’s color tv. It was RFK’s funeral and I was just under 2 yrs old. No picture taken, I knew the color of the carpet I was on, and I have never watched it again. Being American born into that era, the Kennedys such a part of the myth of promise and the death of the utopian nation we were going to be. On this eve of the craziest election, I thank you for the reminder that there was a sense of hope and belief in making not just the States but the world a place of connection and equality.
I will not let people spam this comments section with nonsense advocating for the assassin of RFK. His death was an unmitigated disaster. I take it quite personally as he was a hero to my entire family of Boston Irish. It’s disgusting advocacy to lionize an assassin of this man.
RFK (sr)’s close friend and political supporter who was also shot that night (but survived) Paul Schrade, had similarly looked into the evidence (autopsy report, witness testimonies etc.) and was extremely shocked by it. He not only came to the conclusion that Sirhan is innocent but even attended his parole hearing to lend his support. Indeed, Sirhan was eventually granted parole in 2022/3(?) but it was ultimately blocked by the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom.
@@BenjaminNavillus You know what the problem with this country is? 90% of the population are idiots. Vincent Bugliosi spent the last 10 years of his life writing a thousand-page book debunking every single stupid conspiracy theory related to JFK's assassination including one that claimed that the body buried in Lee Harvey Oswald's grave had somebody else's head on it which ridiculous claim actually caused them to dig up Oswald whereupon they discovered that his head was perfectly well connected to his body. And 5 minutes after the book came out people just started generating new crazy conspiracy theories.
I am 80. I worked for the McCarthy campaign in Massachusetts. I am captivated! You are brilliant.
McCarthy as in McCarthism?
@@carolinemcgovern8059 Senator Eugene McCarthy. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_McCarthy
As in Eugene@@carolinemcgovern8059
I have a history degree and love the discipline but rarely find any history shows that interest me because they're either too dry or too sensationalistic or too poorly researched. You guys are both thoroughly academic and super entertaining, plus very balanced. I just love your channel and am listening to everything you've done. Thank you 😊 🙏
I almost changed my major to history after my freshman year but my parents talked me into accounting instead. One of my bigger regrets
I agree
Agree with every word.
This channel is my greatest discovery of 2024!!
I love the light humour combined with great quotes and large reservoir of knowledge of both Tom and Dominic.
Always entertaining and educational whether discussing the French Revolution in 1789, the 1974 British General Election or the events in the USA in 1968.
Great stuff thanks 👍
Perfectly put. This is a phenomenally good and perfectly pitched podcast series, and is everything this platform should be for.
0:46 The cut to Dominic laughing was comedy gold 😂 loved the intro though Tom
Congrats on 100k
Didn't take too long to 'blow up' after adopting video I see.
Great to see your hard work rewarded.
Your new fans have an awesome backlog of episodes to catch up on.
Greetings from prussias capital
Love hearing the British perspective of American history at this moment in time of America . God I was a young boy 8 years old. In 1968 . Enjoy your podcast. Thanks
I love this! I was 18 in 1968..from LBJ’s Texas..went off to private college in Brookline, where Kennedys lived. Voted for McCarthy in my first voting opportunity! Thank you
I was a child when Bobby and MLK were assassinated. I didn’t understand but I was scared and sad. Thanks for the episode.
Thank you both for so entertainingly educating us about history.
Great to see you both on TH-cam. Adds another dimension to the enjoyment.
Easily my favourite history show!!
Thank you !
@@restishistorypod wouldn’t anGovernCleveland episode, or two, be appropriate right about now, after the recent U.S. Presidential election?
Reading speeches from previous eras in our countries, political history, even relatively recent ones, is depressing. It underscores how quickly things have fallen apart, and how trite and inconsequential our political discourse has become.
Don't despair. The pendulum swings both ways. Granted, half our lives will be spent at the far reach but change is constant and people are reactionary, a back swing follows as day follows night.
And remember that our lives compared with any other time or place are like farting through silk as PJ O'Rourke would say. Who has it better than we do?
I wrote my comment before Tom even finished reciting the passage. I was grateful when Tom made essentially the same remark! These guys never disappoint.
I loved this PodCast, thank you
These guys are fantastic!
These videos are real good. Thanks
Bravo, Gents, bravo. I am totally captivated with your presentations. (I can’t wait for your take in hindsight in a few years on Biden / Trump era to help me make sense of that as well. ) cheers from Australia
As you report, Sirhan shot at Kennedy from in front of him. He was at least a meter away. Kennedy was hit three times, once behind his right ear and twice in his back. The corner reported powder burn residue around the head wound meaning the weapon that fired that shot was near point blank. The secuity guard standing immediately behind Kennedy had pulled his gun, was initially taken into custody and then released. The number of shots fired, some hitting people near kennedy, others removed from the ceiling and woodwork, exceeded the capacity of and did not match Sirhan's weapon.
I was just going to post something similar, but you stated much it much better !
It was the security guard, Eugene Thane Cesar, who killed RFK for sure. The medical examiners report said that the lethal bullets came from behind RFK from a gun pressed right into RFKs body. Sirhan was in front and his gun never came close to touching RFK. Cesar was behind RFK and was so close to RFK that when RFK fell shot to the ground he pulled off Cesar's tie off his neck The security guard was one of those hardcore anti Castro cubans and had links to the CIA and to Nixon's plumbers. He was also friends with another anti Castro cuban who happened later to be the door man at the Dakota when John Lennon was killed. The US mainstream media's continued insistence of crazed lone gunmen killing JFK RFk and MLK shows whi really controls the media in the USA.
At the 58:30 mark of this video that you’ve read from your script, that Kennedy had been shot three times, once in the head and twice in the back.
I wish you both would have done your research on this topic instead of reading from a script .
Sirhan Sirhan was never behind Robert Kennedy . All witnesses do say Sirhan was shooting , however it was estimated that Sirhan was 4-6 feet in front of Kennedy. The bullet that killed Robert Kennedy according to the coroner’s report was 3 inches behind Kennedys his right ear. It was the security guard that was assigned to him that night that killed him. You guys are entertaining that’s about it! ✌️
True. These guys are entertaining, but that’s it.
Guys, you’ve done it again! Compelling stuff. Thanks.
Thank you !
I met a local niche celebrity in the San Francisco Bay Area ~12 years ago to pick up some artwork from his home gallery. He had RFK posters all over the inside of his beautiful Victorian home. I asked him about it and he told me his story about how he quit grad school and join RFK’s campaign in 1968. He said he was at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles that infamous night, less than 20 feet away from RFK’s assassination. This was a very nice man who obviously partied like a rock star in the 60s and 70. Very jovial and personable man. But he became very serious and precise in his language when he described the details of what happened that night. I wish I could recall all the details, but he came across very credible when he said there was zero chance Sirhan was RFK’s assassin. I’m not aware of him ever giving a public interview on this subject, but I wish he would. But that experience caused me to seriously doubt the official narrative of what happened that night in 1968.
There is a bill mahr clip with rfk jr that title something like how rfk was mur*Der. Rfk jr says sirhan was apart of the plot but didn't shoot the shots that killed his dad. He goes into more depth on evidence to that theory.
@@QuietFemmeI’ve heard RFK Jr say that as well. I may have caught part of the Bill Maher interview. But that’s consistent with what I was told. The person I met said Sirhan was definitely not the shooter. That said, it’s entirely possible that Sirhan may have been involved.
@@smore54 Sirhan was definitely a shooter. But, he did not murder RFK, the evidence is overwhelming, The security guard shot RFK behind the ear (which was impossible for Sirhan to do).
The older you get and the more you dig you will find that you have been lied to about almost every single major event of the past 75 years. "Official Narratives: are in 9 out of 10 cases outright lies.The magnitude of deceit is simply mind boggling. and thoroughly disillusioning. We are only given short fleeting glimpses of what really goes on and then the window is shut again. I am haunted by the thought of the powers that be pissing themselves laughing at how gullible and stupid we the public are as they get away with another Big Lie. The two biggest mistakes the USA ever made was (1) creating the CIA and then staffing many of its top positions with hundreds of bonafide german nazis via Operation Paperclip and (2) letting the military industrial complex entrench itself and become a thing.
@@smore54soooo, who’d he say did it?
I'm sure this was recorded before then, but Ethel just died a few weeks ago on Oct. 10th.
Yes, well noted--out of curiosity--does TH-cam allow creators to edit after the fact or to addend an update?
Must have been just recorded
Jackie Kennedy "She loves the Greeks"!
I’ve already listened to all of this in the podcast but it’s worth repeating, it’s been a brilliant series. 😁👏
Lived through all of this with my 2nd memory at 3 being of JFK assassination and funeral. Have a signed note to my father from RFK thanking him for his work on his campaign. Dom is right though because having lived through it I could never learn about it since no one could write objectively about it, and still no American probably could. Thank you both.
JFK was killed on my 14th birthday. Try to imagine that. 😮
I guess conversational & compelling is the best way to sum it up
fabulously informative and entertaining
I’m glad you’ve put the performance of the quote into these TH-cam versions!
I was 11 when RFK was shot, and I watched replays on TV that morning. Being a kid meant that I couldn't stay up past my bedtime to watch presidential primary television coverage--in fact, some of the television stations in the Biloxi, MS area went off the air at midnight and didn't resume broadcasting until six AM. I was old enough to be shocked by the murder but too young to have followed the turmoil.
I've got to look up your video covering the riots at the Chicago DNC convention in 1968.
Very interesting episode. Listener and history lover from Vietnam. So being able to learn more about the internal situation of the "other side" has been fascinating for me. Thanks Dominic and Tom
The climax of the campaign for Robert Kennedy would be the California primary of June 4, 1968. Before focusing his efforts on California, Robert Kennedy had journeyed to Columbus, OH, to speak with members of the uncommitted Ohio delegation. Kenny O’Donnell [who had been Kennedy's roommate at Harvard and later worked as a close aide to President Kennedy] helped to organize this meeting, stressing to Kennedy NOT to be late. Well, Kennedy ended up mixing with supporters on the streets of Columbus and ended up 3 hours late. It didn’t look good when Kennedy belatedly arrived in that hotel. “He walked into a room filled with angry, sullen, and inebriated delegates, and saved himself by delivering what O’Donnell called ‘the best damn speech I have ever heard in my life.’ “
“O’Donnell was ecstatic, saying later, ‘He knew just what they wanted to hear and acted as if he loved being there…. He just handled himself beautifully. He was his brother. It was fantastic. The women just went ga-ga over him. They were unanimous - all the old pros were taken aback by how much they liked him. This was not the Bob Kennedy they had read about. This was not the ruthless arrogant young fellow. All they kept saying was, ‘He’s just like Jack! He’s just like Jack!’ I knew he could go all the way, then. Once he had California in his pocket, he would have Daley and all the pros were going to love him. I was never worried about the general election.”
Then tragedy ensued.
Dominic has my chair and a prolific collection of classic Doctor Who stories, a man of taste. Goes to demonstrate that though our politics are different that we can have common ground, well, at least when it comes to chairs and classic TV. I'll take that.
I Thoroughly Love Watching And Listening To You Guys' Videos; The Multi-Installment Series Covering Lieutenant Colonel Custer's 'Leadership' (👀) In 1876 Has Been My Favorite So Far. Very Well Done, Gentlemen🙂!! In Contrast, The Way You Laid The Guilt On Sirhan Wholesale Here, And With Such Astonishing Certainty, Was At The Very Least, Disturbing. An Interview With The 'Attendant' Wearing The Black-Framed Glasses, Revealing The Absolutely Ghastly, Yet Critically Important Detail That The Wound Was Much Larger Than 22/100ths" (More Like A .38) Went Without Mention, As Did The Facts That RFK Jr Is Convinced Of Sirhan's Relative Innocence, Has Even Visited Him In Prison, And Has Lobbied For His Release. As Well, The Armed Off-Duty Policeman Standing Directly Behind Bobby Certainly Deserved Heavy Scrutiny Since He Had The Only .38 In The Room, Which Then, As Now, Astonishingly, Goes Almost Without Mention. It's Obvious To Many These Days That Sirhan, Like Oswald, Was Just A Patsy / Puppet / Prop, And You May, Or May Not, Want To Seek Out A Clearer Understanding Of What Actually Happened That Night, And Later Through Destroyed Records, By Researching A Bit Further. The Subject Deserves It, And So Does The Slain Senator. Simply Pitching All The Blame Onto Sirhan, Then Moving On, Is Relaxed Effort And Incomplete Work.
I could quibble perhaps but I would never , I really enjoy I guess these podcasts , you make these conversations look easy, but I know it’s far from it , so I salute you with these wry informative kinda almost laconic but still serious takes on history , it’s great !& i mean I love everything you do but this & your take on Britain in 73/74 for me is extra special
Tom's RFK impression was hysterical
I worked in Indiana politics in the 2000s, and the fact that Indianapolis didn't burn thanks to RFK is an oft-mentioned talking point on both sides of the political spectrum.
Tom's American South accent is just gold. Comedy gold.
Is "South accent" the same as Southern accent?
@@petes9524 Yes. All the more humorous when I then hear that he was imitating RFK. Love the podcast.
The struggle between Johnson, RFK, McCarthy really was one of the most interesting political battles in the late 1960s
Thank you so much for this episode. I'll need to search for your book on Eugene McCarthy ,Mr. Dominic. I had no idea about his private life & personality. It was very surprising. His former press secretary related that Sen. McCarthy was possibly involved in CIA type operations in Latin America. Perhaps you were already aware of that but again, I was quite surprised.
Thank you both so much
You're welcome !
Love this channel!
Thank you !
As a New Englander that was one of the hardest accents to listen too
worse than George Bush? (I live in TX, so I can say that 🤣) I'm curious though. Have you heard any Cajun/South Louisiana speech?
I used to wonder why English people never thought impersonating their accent was funny, until an English guy tried to speak like an American and now I understand
I actually wondered if that was what Tom Holland was trying to do. I knew it wasn’t his typical way of speaking but I really couldn’t tell _what_ it was (speaking as a fellow American).
Bostonian here and I actually thought he did really well. The Kennedy’s had a really bizarre unique accent, not at all typical Boston area. He got the rhythmic cadence down pat, imo.
I literally stopped what I was doing hearing that intro 😂 my favorite accent yet! Totally nailed the Kennedy rhythm 👌
You had me at the Dominic Sandbrook Archives. But I wept at "The George Custer Experience"--- "we've been in here for months". And then just a few minutes for "The French Revolution."
Tom would have "Back to Lafayette". Sleeping bag merch for sale in the gift shop as you exit.
P.S. For the record, I'm an American and I love Lafayette. Team Tom! Well, and also Team Dom! if it comes to that.
PPS And it's not lost on us that the "Archives/Experience -- Orlando" is in keeping with your fully realized mission of drawing parallels between history and our lives today.
Please God, tomorrow will give you an amazing parallel with the 84 election.
Many thanks, again.
Thank you !
The into is 100/10. That accent. The pacing. It sounded so authentic.
Thank you for the excellent content, I think you focus a lot more on 20th century UK politics.
Wow. I appreciate Tom's attempt to read a speech in an appropriate tone of voice... but that opening really makes me long for the actual audio recording if any exist.
Video exists! th-cam.com/video/_bDlET_gK68/w-d-xo.htmlsi=i6pQIxEfZax0xWos
Indeed, the original is one of a kind.
I don't. It's a cheap theatrical attempt which borders on mockery.
This pod is the best spoof since The Office👏
Listening every single programme a number of times. French revolution is my favourite so far, but such agony of choice!
Loved listening to this. Just 2 questions: 1. What part in Kennedy's and McCarthy's switch from pro to anti-war did the discovery of Robert McNamara"s damning report saying the US could not win in Viet Nam play?
When President Kennedy was murdered in 1963 my father was worried and concerned about the country. In 1968 when Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy were murdered, my dad was scared for the future of the United States. It was as if the seams of the country were breaking and things were coming apart. Perhaps they were.
Love these podcasts. Curious that , as a BBC Film camera assistant, on various assignments, I worked on interviews with Alger Hiss Edward Kennedy, Walter 'Fritz' Mondale, Norman Mailer, all of whom appeared in your riveting tale. And, indeed , as a bonus, my camera got a smile and a wave from President Carter when he arrived at (Andrews AFB?) just prior to his inauguration.
Thank you for sharing !
@restishistorypod oh, I forgot Clark Clifford, and a little later, Andrew Young. (Another great subject for your podcast, Humboldt? )
Dominic if you seriously have lost your Masters thesis then can’t you just contact the university you wrote it at?
When I wrote my dissertation for my BA degree I had to supply my university with a paper copy for them to keep in their archives.
I like these as you get a little glimpse into the mistakes the guys make, like anybody having a passionate conversation about something e.g. 25:40
"According to the autopsy, all four shots that struck my father (one shot passed harmlessly through his suit) were fired from behind at a steep upward angle toward the ceiling. All shots were from within a few inches, with two leaving gun powder residue in the wounds, suggesting that the assassin was standing close behind my father, shielding his weapon with his body while all attention focused on Sirhan". RFK Jr.
The Kennedys were Irish-American and hated the British and WASPs. I have lived in Boston. Joe and JFK were fans of Hitler in the 1930s JFK visited Germany twice and wrote that he was impressed with Hitler in his journals. JFK donated to America First in 1941. It was trying to keep the US out of the European war. Joe was a gangster and insider trader and bought the 1960 election with help from the Mob, with whom he had strong ties. The Kennedys then turned on the Mob. Eisenhower and Nixon agreed not to call out the Kennedys for the good of the country. Bobby was JFK's hatchet man which is why he was hated. He asked the FBI to raid MLK's offices and bug his hotel rooms. There is a weird interview with Jackie in which she called King, a “phoney” and “tricky”. The Kennedys were sleazy. What part did Bobby play in the death of Marilyn Monroe?
The deification of the Kennedys just goes on and on!
This is an OVER simplistic view of their feelings on Britain. JFK himself loved England and did his mother but his father had his issues for a good reason
Don't forget Joe's illegal liquor trade during Prohibition. Also heard that the early democrat primaries were "rigged" to give JFK momentum?
Breaking news lol
There is no such thing as a curse on a particular family...It's occurrences that happen to families all over the world...be they blessed or tragic...😮😮😮...
Well done again gentlemen , I had no idea there was a Mt Kennedy . I knew about the animals and children !!!!!
Do you guys have any merch for sale?
T-shirts or coffee mugs?
Have yet to watch this on a nervous pre-election day, 2024. Simply reading the title of this piece my answer is, "hell, yes"--I was 17 when Bobby was shot and remember every excruciating minute. I also remember the millions following the rail route of the return of his body. A reminder of FDR. It is hard to express what a breath of fresh air he was to the campign of 1968. McCarthy was too dour and cerebral to catch on with the masses. RFK was pure charisma, more so even than his brother.
Listener from Orlando Florida here, 😂 so very unexpected to hear my city mentioned in one of your podcasts
To the question on the thumbnail,could he have won? Yes.He would have had a fighting chance at the convention.Remember he helped win the nomination for his brother 8 years before.Bet he knew a lot of the state chairmen of the party and probably a good many delegates at local levels,so I believe he could effectively have operated/politicked.At worst he would've come in second to Humphrey,and HHH would have been insane (or severely controlled by LBJ) not to make him his VP/running mate
Superb narrative
Sirhan shot Kennedy from the front, but Kennedy was hit three times from the rear--where Kennedy was shielded by an armed bodyguard. One mystery is how Sirhan's bullets did a 180-degree turn and managed to miss the bodyguard. Another mystery is that the three bullets recovered from Kennedy couldn't be matched to either Sirhan's gun barrel or to the spent cartridge casings. Sirhan's revolver had eight chambers in the cylinder and a maximum shot capacity of eight bullets with no opportunity to reload--more bullets were recovered than Sirhan's revolver held. Worse, the bullets in the other five victims did match Sirhan's revolver and shell casings.
Reality is stranger than fiction because fiction writers have to make sense.
.…and how did Sirhan know where Kennedy was going to be when they had changed the arrangements and went straight to meet the journalists? Inside job.
Just a side note: RFK and Ethel had 11 children, the eleventh, Rory Kennedy being born six months after his assassination
A very enjoyable account of the democratic race for 1968 candidate. I think I have found the political version of the Mayo and Kermode podcasts - informal and informative presentation with the occasional naughty double entendre thrown in the mix.
There were riots in the USA after MLKs death. Except Indianapolis. Because of this speech. Words matter. (I recommend Larry Tye's book on RFK. What a man)
Reference to Aeschylus would currently be viewed as elitist, or worse, even ridiculed as "wierd".
Or "weird." 😉
Regarding 'Hands Bleeding due to Shaking' - I remember seeing a video showing King Edward VIII (when he was the Prince of Wales) being forced to use his left hand to shake others because his right hand was injured due to shaking so many hands. Maybe his Canada trip ??
I think the Alan Alda character in the later episodes of The West Wing had to get secret medical treatment after shaking too many hands
60 years on and we have learned very little as a nation.
We just keep on repeating our mistakes. 2024 feels a great deal like 1968.
Fascinating commentary
This is a brilliant channel. Well done as usual. But having lived during this time, this topic is a bit much for me.
To tame the savagery of man & make gentle the life of this world 😢
Dom was very good in TRIP coverage of the US election, on the rare occasions the Mooch remained quiet long enough for anyone else to speak
“Have the Kennedys not have enough tragedies”😂😂😂
Where's the third volume of 1974 in Britain, Wilson v. Heath?
The Nebraska primary was between Indiana and Oregon. It was Kennedy’s best showing.
Wow, first time I’m catching a video that isn’t 3+ months old.
Would welcome more book recommendations for children please!
Outstanding performance by Dom when covering the US election last night.
Can't see him as the LA Dodgers though. For me, he's more like the White Sox of twenty odd years ago. Not Moneyball, or Small ball, but as Ozzy Guillen said, "Smart ball."
oh..that's harsh! I've adopted that phrase
Ripping yarns, yet again, Hooray !
Does anyone know if there’s an episode covering the assassination of JFK?
Having listened to almost every episode of your podcast, the blind admiration you have for the Kennedy's is rather perplexing. RFK's life was entirely the product of nepotism and his appointment as Attorney General set a very troubling precedent that haunts the USA to this day.
I don't know man, I don't get a lot of admiration, I get a fair amount of condescension. I don't think these guys are particular enthusiasts of good government. They're just chroniclers, don't you see?
I find it perplexing that if you have listened to so many of their podcasts you haven't realised that they give a more neutral view to the subject of the Kennedys than many others do and in no way appear to me to be the rose tinted admirers you think they are
Great stuff. Sigh. As I sit here after the reelection of Trump. (Embarrassed and stricken)
Look at policy and forget the media fantasies.
Just magnificent stilted voice acting. BRAVO
@TribuniPlebis I think phrasing was close to RFK. But I recall seeing a well-known impressionist (perhaps, but at least similar to, Rich Little) who, in his impression of RFK, said, "And... and it's not true that I speak like Bugs Bunny... Bugs... Bugs Bunny speaks... like me!" I may have the precise cadence of the speech wrong, but it's been a long time since RFK impressions were commonly performed.
- sj
Dominic finds Toms drawl comical 😂
Agree with you that he wouldn’t have gotten the nomination. But had he gotten it, I think he would have beaten Nixon.
Very interesting. I was young when this happened but I still remember it. Very sad & a pointless loss of a good man. I thought they had 11 children?? I remember seeing a documentary on a Royal Tour of the Prince of Wales (the future King George VI) having to stop shaking hands because of the damage that it was doing to his hand from so much shaking. Surprised me at the time but yes thinking about it , it does make sense.
Wrong.
I was a county Young Dem chairman at 17 in 1968, in Wisconsin. I worked for McCarthy in the primary campaign and RFK later, finally Humphrey.
Most state level politicos understood that Humphrey couldn't match the historical moment and RFK would have healed the divided nation by withdrawing immediately from Nam. And that McCarthy also wasn't a national unifier.
The race riots were not the main factor in the thought processes of voters in middle America by November of that year. A return to a sense of normalcy was. Many voted for Nixon out of a false sense of nostalgia for the Eisenhower years, and because he said he had a 'secret plan' to end the war. Had RFK lived, the street demonstrations in Chicago would not have happened. Those televised riots elected Nixon though Humphrey nearly beat him. But RFK would have neen nominated and beaten Nixon in 1968.
And Humphrey was a hawk, and campaigned as one.
To be fair to Johnson...he had a legendary Johnson.
And we think we got it bad today? 🌍✌️🌎
What amazes me is that RFK was never supposed to walk through the Ambassador Hotel kitchen, so was this all a fluke that he was fatally shot there????
I have an interesting idea of one of the reasons RFK was so close to JFK and how he ended up handling the most stressful parts of his brother’s issue: civil rights, organized crime, etc.. JFK had Addison’s Disease -PAI. His adrenal glands had died. Nothing can live without adrenaline/cortisol. I have been diagnosed myself for 24 yrs with this disease. You are often severely fatigued and have trouble with SEVERE brain fog/concentration. I used to joke that JFK HAD to be on speed to be a senator nor president during incidents like the Bay of Pigs. Without functioning adrenal glands - we’ll - Jackie confirmed in her book she authored as she was dying of cancer that yes, he was on amphetamines and in hideous pain. Addison’s disease affects bone density as well. His lower back was disintegrating. I had to halt my own career as a historian of religion to this condition due to the inability to think critically and be focused. I spent 10 years getting properly educated to do what I always knew I wanted to be to not get tenure due to health. He was the president! I wonder what part Bobby felt responsible for being that serious, keeping Jack appearing in full control of his decision making and hiding exhaustion. That would make him appear hyper -serious and stressed himself. There are many serious endocrine diseases in the extended Kennedy family including Grave’s disease. I don’t see how Jack’s disease did not affect what Bobby felt he had to constantly cover for his brother.
Interestingly enough one of my first memories was seeing Kennedy’s funeral. My mother kept telling me I was not born yet. What I couldn’t idly remember was the flag draped cason pulling up to a church; I was sitting on my grandmother’s rug with their late ‘60’s color tv. It was RFK’s funeral and I was just under 2 yrs old. No picture taken, I knew the color of the carpet I was on, and I have never watched it again. Being American born into that era, the Kennedys such a part of the myth of promise and the death of the utopian nation we were going to be. On this eve of the craziest election, I thank you for the reminder that there was a sense of hope and belief in making not just the States but the world a place of connection and equality.
I will not let people spam this comments section with nonsense advocating for the assassin of RFK. His death was an unmitigated disaster. I take it quite personally as he was a hero to my entire family of Boston Irish. It’s disgusting advocacy to lionize an assassin of this man.
His own son, having looked at the autopsy report, has advocated for his parole release.
If you mean RFK Jr, the man is a raving lunatic.
RFK (sr)’s close friend and political supporter who was also shot that night (but survived) Paul Schrade, had similarly looked into the evidence (autopsy report, witness testimonies etc.) and was extremely shocked by it. He not only came to the conclusion that Sirhan is innocent but even attended his parole hearing to lend his support. Indeed, Sirhan was eventually granted parole in 2022/3(?) but it was ultimately blocked by the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom.
@@BenjaminNavillusthis comment is completely accurate.
@@BenjaminNavillus You know what the problem with this country is? 90% of the population are idiots. Vincent Bugliosi spent the last 10 years of his life writing a thousand-page book debunking every single stupid conspiracy theory related to JFK's assassination including one that claimed that the body buried in Lee Harvey Oswald's grave had somebody else's head on it which ridiculous claim actually caused them to dig up Oswald whereupon they discovered that his head was perfectly well connected to his body. And 5 minutes after the book came out people just started generating new crazy conspiracy theories.
Not listened to your podcast, but yes. RFK would have been the 37th POTUS.
The Irish curse. Wonder if he heard the Banshee
I always wonder how Sirhan knew to wait in the kitchen. Wasn't it a last minute decision to go through there ?
Yes.
Bobby Kennedy was the braintrust of the Kennedy political ambition.
Tragic loss for humanity.