Goalhanger's The Rest Is History is biggest podcast in the world
Apple recently announced that The Rest Is History, produced by Lineker's Goalhanger company, is the biggest podcast in the world.
Snapshot · The Louis Theroux Podcast
S8 EP1: Gary Lineker on England’s losing streak, leaving the BBC, and his frosty relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo
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Jun 8, 2026
Where this was said
Building the Goalhanger Podcasting Empire
At 1:09:35 · chapter starts 1:07:50
The final substantive section covers Goalhanger's rise. Lineker explains the origin of the company: he and business partner Tony Pastore dabbled with the podcasts Behind Closed Doors with Danny Baker, then Tony noticed in a bookshop that four of the top ten books were about World War II and couldn't find a podcast on the subject. They recruited Al Murray and James Holland to make We Have Ways of Making You Talk, still running and with an annual festival. From there, Lineker had the idea to ask James's brother Tom Holland to make a broader history podcast. Finding Tom a co-host took months until Tony asked who he'd want next to him in a pub of historians — 'Dominic,' said Tom — and The Rest Is History was born. Apple has since announced it as the world's biggest podcast. Lineker describes his own role with characteristic self-deprecation: 'I let everyone else do the work and then get all the praise, exactly the same as my football career.' The episode closes on his legendary three-act boxing of his life, and Theroux's warm outro. [1] — Gary Lineker "Tony Pastore noticed four of the top 10 books in a shop were about World War II and couldn't find a podcast on it, so Goalhanger made one. …" 1:08:15
How Goalhanger Built the World's Biggest Podcast
Tony Pastore noticed four of the top 10 books in a shop were about World War II and couldn't find a podcast on it, so Goalhanger made one. That led to The Rest Is History with Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook — now announced by Apple as the biggest podcast in the world.
I Was Born to Be In the Box
In a single line, Lineker captured his entire life arc: born to be in the penalty box as a striker, became reasonably good on the television box as a presenter, and will soon be in a box in the ground. Perfect, unimprovable, and completely effortless — just like his goals.
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