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
Explore episode
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.
Similar snapshots
$25K/month revenue
Avnish's solopreneur business reached $25,000 per month in revenue using a community-driven, zero-ad-spend marketing strategy.
15 months to $25K/month
Avnish scaled his business from zero to $25K/month in just 15 months using a single core marketing strategy.
Zero marketing spend
Avnish acquired thousands of users without spending any money on marketing, relying entirely on Reddit and Facebook groups.
Single thousands to tens of thousands of users
One specific Reddit or Facebook post was responsible for taking Avnish's user base from single thousands to tens of thousands.
5-step playbook
Avnish developed a 5-step process specifically for finding early users through Facebook groups and Reddit communities.
80% of time above the fold
Focus 80% of your landing page design effort on the hero section — the first thing visitors see when they open the website.
Hero section carries full message
The hero section must convey the product's complete value proposition on its own, so visitors instantly understand what it is.
First couple of seconds matter most
Visitors decide whether to stay or leave within just a few seconds, so immediate clarity is essential on any landing page.
Pain-point headline drives conversion
Highlighting time savings, money savings, or a painful problem solved in the headline and subheading is the core conversion lever.
