X-ray observations by ROSAT and, most recently, Chandra are revealing direct signatures of the interaction between radio galaxies and the diffuse hot X-ray medium of their host galaxy or galaxy cluster. I will discuss these observations with particular emphasis on one such system, the cluster Abell 4059 which hosts the radio galaxy PKS2354-35. I will then discuss how these observations can be used, together with detailed hydrodynamic simulations, to constrain the evolution of radio-loud AGN activity.