Greg Jenner (Historian)

@gregjenner

~Public Historian 📜🤓 ~Host & creator BBC YOU’RE DEAD TO ME comedy & history podcast😆🧐🎙️📻📜🏛️ ~Hon. Dr & Fellow, University of York IPUP 🧑‍🎓 ~ Author of 7 funny books for kids & adults ✍️📚 ~ Ex-HORRIBLE HISTORIES BBC TV 📺🤣 ~Spurs fan #COYS ⚽️ www.gregjenner.com 🧑‍💻

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Greg Jenner (Historian)@gregjenner· 20d

Hi! If you’d like to know my thoughts as a historian and movie fan, I’ve recorded a 12 minute review of Chris Nolan’s The Odyssey over on my Instagram page TL, DR — Brilliant cinematic accomplishment, I didn’t love ALL of the storytelling choices, it feels a bit like Oppenheimer 2, it’s still ace!

Greg Jenner (Historian)@gregjenner· 22d

“Roll up, get your ribbons!” 🎀 Here’s another fun clip from our latest episode of You’re Dead To Me about female pirates Mary Read & Anne Bonny — featuring expert museum curator @hannahcusworth.bsky.social and comedian Kemah Bob Watch the full episode on BBC iPlayer or listen on BBC Sounds

Greg Jenner (Historian)@gregjenner· 25d

🏴‍☠️🚨NEW EPISODE!! 🚨🏴‍☠️ This week on You’re Dead To Me we sail the high seas with female pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read, with comedian Kemah Bob and expert curator Hannah Cusworth from Greenwich Royal Museum Listen to the full episode on BBC SOUNDS 🎧, or watch us on BBC iPlayer 📺

Greg Jenner (Historian)@gregjenner· 28d

I don’t often get recognised, but today I got stopped in the street three separate times by regular listeners of my podcast — I suspect it was the shirt… this look is apparently Maximum Jenner

Greg has curly brown hair and wears an aggressively vibrant purple shirt

Greg Jenner (Historian)@gregjenner· Jul 12

Hiya! If you want to laugh while you learn, there are THREE new, fully visualised episodes of #YoureDeadToMe to enjoy on BBC iPlayer about The Odyssey, Francis Galton, and the Cult of Saints in Medieval Europe Of course, our audio back catalogue is 175 episodes deep too! Listen on any podcast app

Greg Jenner (Historian)@gregjenner· Jul 10

Here are some screengrabs from the Medieval Saints episode with Rachel Parris and Dr Simon Yarrow And here is the link to watch the full episode on BBC iPlayer. If you’re not in the UK, it’ll come to YouTube in a month’s time #YoureDeadToMe www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

Rachel Parris smiles while talking into a microphone. She has a salmon coloured top on, and long blonde hair — behind her are various books and historical trinkets on shelves

Group photo of conversation

Simon Yarrow (left) wears a grey shirt and glasses, he has short brown hair.

Greg Jenner (centre) wears a light blue shirt and has curly brown hair

Rachel Parris (right) wears a salmon pink top and has long blonde hair

Greg Jenner (Historian)@gregjenner· Jul 10

NEW EPISODE! This week’s ‘You’re Dead To Me’ is about the cult of saints in Medieval Europe — we chat martyrs, ascetics, miracle workers, pilgrims, shrines, and hilarious relic heists! With expert historian Dr Simon Yarrow and comedian Rachel Parris Listen on BBC SOUNDS or watch on iPlayer

• 56 mins | Available for over a year
Released on: 10 Jul 2026

Greg Jenner is joined in medieval Europe by historian Dr Simon Yarrow and comedian Rachel Parris to learn all about the cult of saints and their relics. The veneration of saints still plays an important role in the lives of Catholics all over the world, but what did the cult of saints - and especially devotion to their relics - play in medieval Europe? This episode explores all aspects of the topic: who became a saint, and how the canonisation process changed over the centuries as the papacy tried to more tightly control it. What sorts of signs and miracles proved someone's sanctity. What relics are, and how medieval churches acquired them, both legitimately and illegitimately.
What people in the Middle Ages thought saints could do for them, and the pilgrimages they took to their tombs in search of aid. And it asks whether everyone believed in the power of saints' relics - and the gruesome fate awaiting some sceptics.

If you're a fan of marvellous miracle stories, the fascinating history of the Catholic Church, and the odd gory martyrdom, you'll love our episode on medieval saints.
If you want more from Rachel Parris, listen to our episode on Eleanor of Aquitaine. And for more on the history of Catholicism, check out our episodes on the Early Medieval Papacy, Medieval Ghost Stories and Benedetta Carlini.
You're Dead To Me is the comedy podcast that takes history seriously. Every episode, Greg Jenner brings together the best names in history and comedy to learn and laugh about the past.

Hosted by: Greg Jenner
Research by: Lily Tidman
Written by: Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Dr Emma Nagouse, and Greg Jenner Produced by: Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner
Audio Producer: Steve Hankey
Production Coordinator: Gill Huggett
Senior Producer: Dr Emma Nagouse
Executive Editor: Philip Sellars

Greg Jenner (Historian)@gregjenner· Jul 4

Happy 250th birthday, USA! — I know it’s not *ideal* conditions to celebrate, but come have a laugh about the US War of Independence with me, the brilliant @pattonoswalt.bsky.social , and historian @frankcogliano.bsky.social Listen wherever you get your podcasts podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/y...

Greg Jenner (Historian)@gregjenner· Jul 3

New episode of Youre Dead To Me now on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds Its about the father of Eugenics Francis Galton, with our guests Subhadra Das (former curator of the Galton collection) and comedian Desiree Burch It’ll go on YouTube/other pod apps in 28 days time www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

Greg Jenner (Historian)@gregjenner· Jul 2

Hi! I’m doing a FREE family event in #Chester Town Hall on Saturday at noon — I’ll be talking about Roman Britain and signing books, so please do come along if you’re nearby! festivalofideas.chester.ac.uk/event/chaos-...

Greg Jenner (Historian)@gregjenner· Jun 30

The French subs bench is ludicrously well-stocked

Greg Jenner (Historian)@gregjenner· Jun 27

You’re Dead To Me is back for series 12! And you can now watch entire episodes on BBC iPlayer (or on YouTube in 1 month) Our first episode is about Homer’s Odyssey & Iliad, with Dr Emily Hauser and Kiell Smith-Bynoe Listen now on BBC SOUNDS for audio only podcast

Greg Jenner (Historian)@gregjenner· Jun 27

Important comedy news — Larry David’s new historical sketch show about 250 years of America launches this week

Lite, Larry and The Pursuit of Unhappiness - on HBO Max, out today

Timed to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, this new series sees the inimitable Larry David and bring his giddily misanthropic comedic style - and reliable stream of faux pas - to sketches about the US's past.

Greg Jenner (Historian)@gregjenner· Jun 26

If you’re in the UK, you can now watch our You’re Dead To Me series opener about Homer’s Odyssey & Iliad on BBC iPlayer!! Or you can listen to the podcast as usual I’m joined by Kiell Smith-Bynoe and classicist Dr Emily Hauser www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis... On global YouTube & pod apps next month

Greg Jenner (Historian)@gregjenner· Jun 26

Clippedy-doo-dah! Clippedy-ay! You’re Dead To Me’s back, With a visual display

Greg Jenner (Historian)@gregjenner· Jun 26

Look, mum, I’m on the telly!! www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

Greg Jenner (Historian)@gregjenner· Jun 26

🎺😁👋You’re Dead To Me is back!! We begin series 12 with an episode about Homer, the Iliad, and the Odyssey 🏛️🗡️🎭 With our fantastic guests: Kiell Smith-Bynoe in Comedy Corner and Dr Emily Hauser in Ancient History Corner Listen now on BBC SOUNDS, or watch the episode on BBC iPLAYER in the UK!!

• 59 mins | Available for over a year
Released on: 26 Jun 2026
Download: 64 MB

Greg Jenner is joined in ancient Greece by historian Dr Emily Hauser and comedian and actor Kiell Smith-Bynoe to learn about the epic poems the Iliad and Odyssey. Traditionally attributed to the poet Homer, these works tell parts of a legend that has fascinated us for centuries: the story of the Trojan War.
Featuring a cast of unforgettable characters - Achilles, Odysseus, Paris, Helen, Hector and Agamemnon - the war between ancient Greece and Troy has inspired writers, artists and filmmakers for over a millennium. But the Iliad and Odyssey only recount episodes of this much bigger story. The Iliad, focusing on the hero Achilles, takes place in the closing stretches of the war. And the Odyssey tells the tale of Odysseus's perilous voyage home after the Greeks have triumphed. In this episode, we

the Greeks have triumphed. In this episode, we trace the origins of the poems in the 8th century BCE, looking at whether Homer really wrote them and how these originally oral tales came to be written down, before exploring the fantastical tales they tell. Along the way, we also look at whether or not the Trojan war really happened, how the ancient Greeks defined heroism, and examine the role of gods and monsters in the poems and the lives of their heroes.
If you're a fan of fantastical myths and legends, heroes behaving badly, and ancient Greek culture, you'll love our episode on the Iliad and Odyssey.
If you want more from Kiell Smith-Bynoe, listen to our episode on Viking explorer Leif Erikson. And for more historical epics, check out our episodes on the Legends of King Arthur, and the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh.

You're Dead To Me is the comedy podcast that takes history seriously. Every episode, Greg Jenner brings together the best names in history and comedy to learn and laugh about the past.

Hosted by: Greg Jenner
Research by: Auréliane Perrin
Written by: Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Dr Emma Nagouse, and Greg Jenner Produced by: Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner
Audio Producer: Steve Hankey
Production Coordinator: Gill Huggett
Senior Producer: Dr Emma Nagouse
Executive Editor: Philip Sellars

Greg Jenner (Historian)@gregjenner· Jun 25

Played football in 32 degree heat, and it was fun! 🤩 Gianni will be pleased to know we had two hydration breaks

Greg Jenner (Historian)@gregjenner· Jun 25

I loved this new book by philosopher @daisydixon.bsky.social — Depraved is an accessibly thoughtful deep dive into the problem of dangerous art & artists It covers paintings, sculpture, literature, video games, horror movies, heavy metal, pornography, and more! www.audible.co.uk/pd/B0GKG8R4Y...

DEPRAVED: the story of
DANGEROUS ART

By Daisy Dixon

Greg Jenner (Historian)@gregjenner· Jun 25

How hot is it? Scottish councils are deploying gritter lorries to drop sand, not salt, to stop the roads melting EVEN THE ROADS ARE MELTING!! 🫠

'If you see the gritters, it's not the council being daft'

As Scotland prepares for what could be its hottest day of the year so far, one council is sending out its fleet of gritters to treat the roads.
Scottish Borders Council says that instead of salt, the lorries will be spreading a fine layer of sand to stop the road surface melting.

The authority's chief executive David Robertson said some parts of the region could see temperatures reach 31C.

Greg Jenner (Historian)@gregjenner· Jun 22

Played guitar for 90 minutes instead of having lunch, and possibly regretted forgetting there’s no air con in my garden studio — I am 97% sweat and hair

Greg Jenner (Historian)@gregjenner· Jun 20

I’m at the Tower of London tonight (luckily I’m not in the King’s bad books) for the Inspiring History Teaching awards ceremony — very much looking forward to celebrating some wonderful history teachers from around the UK

Greg Jenner (Historian)@gregjenner· Jun 19

Spurs’ fixtures are out… and let’s hope we’re not in a relegation battle in May, because look at these games! 😬

Greg Jenner (Historian)@gregjenner· Jun 18

Happy publication day to Dr Daisy Dixon! Depraved is a fantastic philosophy book exploring how to think about dangerous art made by very bad people — I highly recommend it (and scan the QR code for the accompanying playlist)

Greg Jenner (Historian)@gregjenner· Jun 17

Half time analysis

Greg Jenner (Historian)@gregjenner· Jun 17

Delighted to say You’re Dead To Me returns on June 26th! And there are some exciting changes afoot… In the meantime, if you like my style, check out the Audible series I made in 2021 about the surprising history of sitting down: sounds niche, but it was super interesting!

A Somewhat Complete History of Sitting Down by Greg Jenner

4.7 stars from 199 reviews

Greg Jenner (Historian)@gregjenner· Jun 15

Had a great night at Dr Daisy Dixon’s book launch — Depraved is a fantastic philosophy book about the ethical conundrum of art made by bad people: covering books, movies, videogames, music etc I highly recommend it, a very accessible and stimulating read

Greg Jenner (Historian)@gregjenner· Jun 15

For more on the Suffragettes and their bombing campaigns, read @drfernriddell.bsky.social’s Death In Ten Minutes

Greg Jenner (Historian)@gregjenner· Jun 10

Very much looking forward to reading this lovely new book from the excellent @rentravailer.bsky.social — I loved her award-winning book Courting India

THIS LITTLE WORLD:
A NEW HISTORY OF TUDOR AND STUART ENGLAND
By Nandini Das

“Beautifully written and impeccably researched
A ground-breaking masterwork”
William Dalrymple

Greg Jenner (Historian)@gregjenner· Jun 7

Saw this delightful weighing scale on display in the GWR Steam museum in Swindon — rather than fat-shaming you, this scale rewarded you with chocolate!