“Plague, pestilence and statue smashing are back in business.” That’s the premise of “We’re All So 17th Century,” Episode Four of The Rest is History, a podcast hosted by historians Tom Holland (Rubicon, Dominion) and Dominic Sandbrook (Never Had It So Good: A History of Britain from Suez to the Beatles). In this series, essential history meets contemporary politics and culture. Subjects have included “Is Trump Caesar or Nixon?” (Episode Three), “Sex in the City” (Episode 24, delivering “everything you wanted to know about sex in the 18th and 19th century but were afraid to ask”), and “Game of Thrones” (Episode 53, asking what, if anything, we can learn about the Middle Ages from the hit show). Guests from Stephen Fry (on Troy, Episode 13) to Ben MacIntyre (on espionage, Episode 37) are as lively as the hosts, helping to elevate this history podcast to a crash course that is both relevant and fun. —J.V.