Podcast / You're Dead To Me

You're Dead To Me is a Radio 4 comedy podcast "that takes history seriously." Every episode is hosted by Greg Jenner^note former historical advisor or "chief nerd" of Horrible Histories and two guests: a historian, who is an expert in the given subject area, and a comedian, who is there to ask questions and be funny.

Each episode is on a specific person, place, concept, or process^note such as the history of chocolate, for example. Excluding the introduction and sign-off, the episodes are divided into the following parts:

• "So, what do you know?" in which Greg summarises where the viewer may have heard about the subject before, usually citing pop culture examples.
• The main part, in which the three presenters talk about the topic, with humorous commentary and small games and quizzes thrown in.
• "The Nuance Window," in which the historian gets two uninterrupted minutes to talk about anything related to the subject they like.
• "So what do you know now?" is a quiz for the comedian, consisting of 10 questions over the course of another two minutes.

The show can be heard on all major podcast providers or on the BBC website.

---

Episodes:

Series 1

• Boudicca
  • Historian: Dr. Emma Southon; Comedian: Sara Pascoe
• The Spartans
  • Historian: Prof. Michael Scott; Comedian: Joel Dommet
• Harriet Tubman
  • Historian: Dr. Michell Chresfield; Comedian: Desiree Burch
• The History of Football
  • Historian: Prof. Jean Williams; Comedian: Tom Parry
• Blackbeard
  • Historian: Dr. Rebecca Smith; Comedian: Stu Goldsmith
• LGBTQ History
  • Historian: Dr. Justin Bengry; Comedian: Suzie Ruffell
• Mansa Musa
  • Historian: Dr. Augustus Caseley-Hayford (OBE); Comedian: Athena Kugblenu
• Justinian and Theodora
  • Historian: Prof. Peter Frankopan; Comedian: Shaparak Khorsandi ^note credited as Shappi Khorsandi
• Young Napoleon
  • Historian: Dr. Laura O'Brien; Comedian: Dan Schreiber
• Joan of Arc
  • Historian: Dr. Helen Castor; Comedian: Catherine Bohart
• The Aztecs
  • Historian: Dr. Caroline Dodds; Comedian: Joel Dommet
• Stonehenge
  • Historian: Susan Greaney; Comedian: Richard Herring
• Lord Byron
  • Historian: Dr. Corin Throsby; Comedian: Ed Gamble
• The Witch Craze
  • Historian: Prof. Suzannah Lipscomb; Comedian: Cariad Lloyd
• Saladin
  • Historian: Prof. Jonathan Phillips; Comedian: Maria Shehata
• The History of General Elections
  • Historian: Dr. Hannah Nicholson; Comedian: Catherine Bohart
• The Victorian Christmas
  • Historian: Dr. Fern Riddell; Comedian: Russell Kane

Series 2

• Neanderthals
  • Historian: Dr. Becky Wragg Sykes; Comedian: Tim Minchin
• Mary Shelley
  • Historian: Dr. Corin Throsby; Comedian: Lauren Pattison
• The Mayflower
  • Historian: Dr. Misha Ewen; Comedian: Alex Edelman
• The Ancient Olympics
  • Historian: Prof. Michael Scott; Comedian: Shaparak Khorsandi
• Josephine Baker
  • Historian: Dr. Michell Chresfield; Comedian: Deisree Burch
• The History of Chocolate
  • Alex Hutchinson; Comedian: Richard Osman
• Eleanor of Acquitane
  • Historian: Gabby Storey; Comedian: Rachel Parris
• The Mughal Empire
  • Historian: Dr. Mehreen Chida-Razvi; Comedian: Sindhu Vee

Series 3

• The Battle of Salamis
  • Historian: Prof. Michael Scott; Comedian: Shappi Khorsandi[[note credited as Shappi Khorsandi[[/note]]
• Vampires in Gothic Literature
  • Historian: Dr. Corin Throsby; Comedian: Ed Gamble
• The Haitian Revolution
  • Historian: Prof. Marlene Daut; Comedian: Athena Kugblenu
• Jack Sheppard
  • Historian: Dr: Lena Liapi; Comedian: Stu Goldsmith
• Notting Hill Carnival
  • Historian: Dr. Meleisa Ono-George; Comedian: Nathan Caton
• Ghengis Khan
  • Historian: Prof. Peter Frankopan; Comedian: Phil Wang
• The Egyptian Pyramids
  • Historian: Prof. Sarah Parcak; Comedian: Maria Shehata
• Agrippina the Younger
  • Historian: Dr. Emma Southon; Comedian: Cariad Lloyd
• The Ancient Babylonians
  • Historian: Dr. Moudy Al-Rashid; Comedian: Kae Kurd
• Grainne O'Malley
  • Historian: Dr. Gillian Kenny; Comedian: Catherine Bohart
• Ancient Greek and Roman Medicine
  • Historian: Dr. Kristi Upson Saia; Comedian: Stu Goldsmith
• The Borgias
  • Historian: Prof. Catherine Fletcher; Comedian: Phil Wang
• The Asante Empire
  • Historian: Dr. Augustus Casely-Hayford (OBE); Comedian: Sophie Duker
• King James VI of Scotland
  • Historian: Dr. Anna Whitelock; Comedian: Larry Dean
• The Tang Dynasty
  • Historian: Prof. Tineke D'Haeseleer; Comedian: Evelyn Mok
• Old Norse Literature
  • Historian: Dr. Janina Ramirez; Comedian: Kae Kurd
• Chevalier de Saint-Georges
  • Historian: Prof. Olivette Otele; Comedian: Sophie Duker
• The Harlem Renaissance
  • Historian: Prof. Emily Bernard; Comedian: Roy Wood Jr.
• Becoming America
  • Historian: Prof. Joanne Freeman; Comedian: Chris Addison
• Sacagawea
  • Historian: Prof. Katrina Phillips; Comedian: Alex Edelman
• Prohibition in the USA
  • Historian: Prof. Sarah Churchwell; Comedian: Kemah Bob
• P.T. Barnum
  • Historian: Prof. Benjamin Reiss; Comedian: Desiree Burch

Series 4

• Ivan the Terrible
  • Historian: Prof. Peter Frankopan; Comedian: Olga Koch
• Fairy Tales
  • Historian: Prof. Maria Tatar; Comedian: Sally Phillips
• Ramesses the Great
  • Historian: Dr. Campbell Price; Comedian: Sophie Duker
• Nell Gwynn
  • Historian: Diana Solomon; Comedian: Jess Knappet
• The History of High Heels
  • Historian: Dr. Elizabeth Semmelhack; Comedian: Laura Pattinson
• Medieval Science
  • Historian: Dr. Seb Falk; Comedian: Josie Long
• Sake Dean Mahomed
  • Historian: Dr. Arunima Datta; Comedian: Eshaan Akbar
• Çatalhöyük and the Neolithic Revolution
  • Historian: Dr. Lindsay Der; Comedian: Mike Wozniak
• Paul Robeson
  • Historian: Prof. Shana L. Redmond; Comedian: Desiree Burch
• Owain Glyndŵr
  • Historian: Dr. Kathryn Hurlock; Comedian: Elis James
• Disability in the Ancient World
  • Historian: Dr. Jane Draycott; Comedian: Rosie Jones
• Mary Seacole
  • Historian: Prof. Gretchen Gerzina; Comedian: Nathan Caton
• The History of Ice Cream
  • Historian: Dr. Annie Gray; Comedian: Richard Osman
• Mary Wollstonecraft
  • Historian: Dr. Corin Crosby; Comedian: Cariad Lloyd
• Zheng Yi Sao
  • Historian: Prof. Ronald C Po; Comedian: Ria Lina
• The Medieval Christmas
  • Historian: Dr. Eleanor Janega; Comedian: Miles Jupp

Series 5

• Frederick the Great of Prussia
  • Historian: Dr. Bodie Ashton; Comedian: Stephen Fry
• Hatshepsut
  • Historian: Dr. Cambpell Price; Comedian: Kemah Bob
• The Bayeux Tapestry
  • Historian: Dr. Janina Ramirez; Comedian: Lou Sanders
• Ancient Athenian Democracy
  • Historian: Prof. Michael Scott; Comedian: Alice Fraser
• Captain Cook's First Voyage
  • Historian: Dr. Katherine Parker; Comedian: James Nokise
• Istanbul in the Ottoman Golden Age
  • Historian: Prof. Ebru Boyar; Comedian: Sue Perkins
• Julie d'Aubigny
  • Historian: Dr. Sara Barker; Comedian: Catherine Bohart
• Julius Caesar's Rise To Power
  • Historian: Dr. Shushma Malik; Comedian: Ahir Shah
• Black Georgian England
  • Historian: Prof. Gretchen Gerzina; Comedian: Kwame Asante
• The Terracotta Army
  • Historian: Prof. Julia Lovell; Comedian: Phil Wang
• Njinga of Ndongo and Matamba
  • Historian: Dr. Daniel F. Silva; Comedian: Athena Kugblenu
• The History of Timekeeping
  • Historian: Dr. David Rooney; Comedian: Desiree Burch
• Ibn Battuta
  • Historian: Prof. Amira Bennison; Comedian: Nabil Abdulrashid
• Medieval Animals
  • Historian: Dr. Tim Wingard^note Tim uses they/them pronouns; Comedian: Kiri Pritchard-McLean
• The History of Fandom, 1700-1900 (Recorded live at the Hay Festival 2022)
  • Historian: Dr. Corin Throsby; Comedian: Stu Goldsmith
• Christmas With Charles Dickens
  • Historian: Dr. Emily Bell; Comedian: Mike Wozniak

Series 6

• Georgian Courtship (Valentine's Day Special)
  • Historian: Prof. Sally Holloway; Comedian: Cariad Lloyd
• Early Medieval Papacy
  • Historian: Prof. Brett Whalen; Comedian: Alison Spittle
• The Indus Civilisation
  • Historian: Dr. Danika Parikh; Comedian: Ahir Shah
• Vital Electricity
  • Historian: Dr. Iwan Rhys Morus; Comedian: Olga Koch
• Frederick Douglass
  • Historian: Prof. Emily Bernard; Comedian: Toussaint Douglass
• The Columbian Exchange
  • Historian: Dr. Caroline Dodds Pennock; Comedian: Desiree Burch
• Sarah Bernard
  • Historian: Prof. Sharon Marcus; Comedian: Isy Scuttie
• Atlantis
  • Historian: Dr. Stephen Kershaw; Comedian: Sophie Duker
• The Jacobites
  • Historian: Dr. Jeremy Filet; Comedian: Eleanor Morton
• Al Andalus
  • Historian: Prof. Amira Bennison; Comedian: Faitha El-Ghorri
• Cleopatra
  • Historian: Dr. Shushma Malik; Comedian: Thaniya Moore
• The Rise of the Tudors
  • Historian: Dr. Adam Chapman; Comedian: Kiri Pritchard-McLean
• Victorian Bodybuilding
  • Historian: Dr. Vanessa Heggie; Comedian: Darren Harriot
• Leonardo da Vinci (Recorded live, with live music by the BBC orchestra)
  • Historian: Prof. Catherine Fletcher; Comedian: Dara Ó Briain
• Agatha Christie
  • Historian: Lucy Worsley; Comedian: Sue Perkins
• Medieval Irish Folklore (Recorded live at the Hay Festival 2023)
  • Historian: Dr. Gillian Kenny; Comedian: Seán Burke
• Medieval Ghost Stories (Halloween Special)
  • Historian: Dr. Michael Carter; Comedian: Mathew Baynton

---

You're Dead To Me contains examples of:

• The Ace:
  • Desiree Burch is the all-time champion of the quizzes, with a success rate of 100%! According to Greg, the production team refer to a 10/10 score on the quiz as "Burching it"
  • The Chevalier de Saint-Georges was a sword-fighting, womanising, revolutionising violin virtuoso.
• Actor-Shared Background: Frequently, a guest or both guests have something in common with the subject; for example, the episode on the Asante empire in modern-day Ghana features historian Gus Casely-Hayford and comedian Sophie Duker, who are both of Ghanaian descent.
• Berserk Button:
  • Greg absolutely loathes conspiracy theories about history, especially ancient aliens.
  • Downplayed, but Greg, and guests who are also medievalists, aren't very fond of the term "The Dark Ages"
• Christmas Episode: So far, the podcast has explored Christmas in the Victorian Era, the Medieval Era, and very specifically, Christmas with Charles Dickens.
• Don't Try This at Home: Whenever the talk is about dangerous, weird, or just plain stupid things people from history got up to, Greg will throw in an 'obligatory BBC disclaimer.' The episode on Vital Electricity alone has three! When the presenters discuss Alexander von Humboldt shoving electric nodes up his bum to see what would happen, Greg exclaims, "please, for the love of God, don't try this at home!"
• Early Instalment Weirdness: There is no quiz in the first two episodes, on Boudicca and the Spartans, respectively. The first quiz happens in episode 1x03, on Harriet Tubman.
• First-Name Basis: The presenters address each other by their first names. Greg likes to stick the historian's title before their first name, resulting in such amusing forms of address as "Dr. Gus" or "Prof. Gretchen"
• Fun with Homophones: In the episode on the history of ice cream, comedian Richard Osman mishears (or pretends to mishear) the term "the queen of ices" as "the queen of ISIS"
• The Internet Is for Porn: In the episode on the Medieval Papacy, comedian Alison Spittle asked for clarification when Greg refers to the pornocracy (due to a combination of Greg's accent and the utter outrageousness of the term); Greg confirms that it's not "pawn" as in the chess piece, but "porn", as in, "the stuff you find on the internet"
• Non-Indicative Name: Defied. The episode "Julius Caesar's Rise to Power" was initially entitled "Young Julius Caesar." When it turns out that the episode covers Caesar's life until well into his fifties, comedian Ahir goes on a rant about it. Greg changes the episode title.
• Pungeon Master: Greg rarely lets an opportunity to make a (usually groanworthy) pun pass by.
• The Scrappy: The episode on P.T. Barnum is mostly all three presenters, but especially comedian Desiree Burch, repeatedly voicing their disgust with the man and his actions. The Nuance Window even doubles down on it!
  Desiree: Normally that window brings renewed humanity to the subject, as opposed to just, like, firmly entrenching them in time as, like, an even bigger, like, top-of-the-dickpile of enslaver dicks.
• Shout-Out: The series logo is one to the Bayeux Tapestry.
• Values Dissonance: Inevitably, since this is a podcast about history. In discussing the subjects, the presenters are confronted with racism, enslavement, children getting married or outrageous age gaps between spouses, incest, sexism, homophobia, etc.
• The Watson: The comedian's role. They are there to ask questions, for the historian to explain things to, and also to occasionally lighten the mood cracking jokes.