Nick Cave reveals his favourite podcast
The distinctive baritone vocals and timeless songwriting of Nick Cave have helped to amass something of a cult following for the Australian post-punk icon. One of the most respected songwriters of his generation, it seems as though any scrap of new information Cave reveals about his mysterious existence is treated with the kind of reverence that might seem strange to those outside of Cave’s following.
Luckily, for fans, Cave has always strived to maintain a relationship with his audience. One of the methods he employs to do so is through his newsletter, The Red Hand Files, where fans are able to put questions to the former Birthday Party frontman. Recently, a question posed on the website led Cave to take time from his busy schedule to shed light on his favourite podcast.
One can tell a lot about a person from the content that they consume. According to Cave, his recent listening habits largely revolve around the podcast The Rest Is History.
Presented by historians Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook, the show is hailed as the most popular history podcast on both Apple and Spotify. Since launching in 2020, the pair have produced over 650 episodes, tackling a wide variety of topics.
Explaining his appreciation for the show, Cave wrote, “Anyone who thinks there is a right and a wrong side of history has never listened to Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook’s The Rest is History. This splendid podcast shows us that history is extraordinarily complicated and rarely draws a clean line between right and wrong, good and evil.”
The ‘Into My Arms’ singer continued, “Much of history seems to be a violent collision of good intentions, and sometimes what appears ethically obvious today has its way of turning tomorrow. History reflects our shambolic nature and is seldom settled, stable, or simple.”
It should come as no real surprise that Cave harbours a deep love and interest in the world of history. The songwriter has regularly drawn from historical events and figures within his celebrated discography, and his interest in The Rest Is History seems to confirm his endless thirst for education.
Cave’s assessment of The Rest Is History seems to be in keeping with his nuanced views, which can sometimes be confusing, such as his attendance at the coronation of King Charles despite him admitting to not being a monarchist.
He concluded his show of appreciation with the not-so-subtle argument, “Humans are messy, and it can be dangerous to deny our common fallibility by drawing up lines that separate and divide.”
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