History Is Sexy

Straight up - don’t listen to this at work! Even with a headset on because I’m so busy trying not to burst out laughing. This is the way history should be told - with a great sense of humor, an eye for the ridiculousness of human nature and lots of historical analysis. Love it!

Some interesting topics - unfortunately the filler words make their conversations genuinely hard to follow.

Pros: Wide range of topics, amusingly breezy synopses of various historical moments, lots of personal asides but they blend pretty well with the flow of the show. The podcast avoids droning academic recitations of historical events and keeps things engaging. Cons: Some glaring factual inaccuracies, and a weird vibe between the hosts. Emma, the historian, has a lot of…self-regard? She’s subtly condescending to her non-historian partner, and over time this becomes quite grating. A PhD does not mean you are automatically smarter—and I say this as someone with a PhD. Sometimes I felt badly for her co-host. Additionally, they’re both very much of a Skeptical Inquirer bent; anyone across time and culture who doesn’t subscribe to a scientific materialist worldview is skewered as a complete moron. This probably resonates with a lot of people, but the meanness doesn’t add to the show. Finally, hearing Emma declare that disabled dogs should just be euthanized sent me over the edge. (She was specifically wanting to euthanize all overbred Frenchies, although I’m assuming this stance would apply to other dogs with disabilities.) I understand she says stuff like this for shock value, but…meh. I’ve listened to about 35 episodes (not in order) and although there is good pacing and some genuinely informative and funny moments, the ick factor with this show is just too high.

🩷 these gals and the content! I’d give 5 stars, but the “ummm,” makes it difficult to binge.