I love the pod! And both of the hosts, despite what some of the mean reviewers say. But the filler words, uhhhs, and awkward silences could so easily be edited out. I know criticizing the way people talk is rude but you’re PODCASTERS for crying out loud. Editing is crucial to making an IRL conversation enjoyable to listen to from the outside. Between the uhhhs and the obnoxiously loud and weird gambling ads (I’m sure the hosts have little control of their sponsors to be fair) this pod has become way too unpleasant and stressful to listen to. :( But thank you for instilling in me a love of medieval history!

I love Eleanor. She is intelligent and charming. Luke seems like a nice guy but the constant “Uhs” and “likes” from Luke really stress me out. I would rather have moments of silence, while Luke figures out what he wants to say, than the Uhs and likes. Also Luke sounds like he is reading from cue cards much of the time, which really take me out of the flow of the show. It makes interesting subjects boring. Please work on the delivery, Luke. I’m not trying to be a jerk, but what I’m saying is true.

Love this show!

Eleanor is great. She’s smart, knowledgeable, enthusiastic. Her cohost, however, is unlistenable to me. He doesn’t speak in complete sentences, says like excessively, and doesn’t really come across as very sharp or informed—even though he very well may be! Also, bro, don’t eat while recording. It sounds disgusting. Would make it through more episodes if editing were a bit sharper.

the historical materialist perspective is excellent but the second hand embarrassment i get from listening to eleanor use aave so much is more than i could tolerate

The dude rattling off the facts and dates in his boring tone is exactly why people think history is boring. I do not expect historians be charismatic speakers, but I do expect that of my podcasters. If I wanted a dry recitation of history, I would take a college lecture, not listen to a podcast

Love love love a leftist perspective on history. Especially enjoyed the historical materialism series, for obvious reasons. Eleanor, please chill with the AAVE

Very interesting view on a time period I know little about. The hosts are engaging. And I wish I was also a failed lawyer.

Really enjoy whenever Eleanor has the mic, but the other host makes this podcast unlistenable. The filler words, long awkward pauses, and lack of anything relevant to say are rough.

The lady professor sounds really hot so what more could you ask for

Always enjoyable and educational simultaneously 👍🏻

In-depth, educational, and well-structures. Had to stop listening once and for all though. the professor’s addiction to words like homie and other aave slang isn’t so much offensive as it is annoying and crimge

Great show!

Love listening to Luke and Dr Janega talk about history! Even if they can’t do french accents oui oui 5/5

Keep saying “umm,” Luke, live your truth.

Interesting history, great host chemistry. Silly and vulgar, but doesn’t shy away from heavy historical ideas

Are you kidding? Luke should be banned from every speaking into a microphone. His speach pattern is so difficult to listen to ..."Uhhhh, Like, Ummmm..." every other sentence. Eleanor however is more interesting. Luke- please stop...you CANNOT host a podcast.

Great Episode. I love the movie. I love the podcast in general. The informal approach to history is very fun.

I love the content and I think the hosts have a good style and dynamic. Really interesting topics. My three critiques are: Eleanor and Luke deliver at different volumes and it must not be adjusted during editing. So if you’re in a car you have to turn it up and down a lot, and so sometimes you get blasts of loud sound. Eleanor’s sound in particular is quite uneven. Eleanor relies too heavily on AAVE and general slang. I get that it’s a common tactic with professors to try and make the content relatable, but it needs to be reeled back a bit Personally I don’t need 15 minutes of irrelevant chatter before the episode kicks off. Let’s get to the content

Luke and Eleanor’s great conversational vibe in this podcast feels like friends in a pub nerding out about medieval history and it’s fantastic. Eleanor’s expertise is enlightening and endlessly inspiring. For any fans of medieval/fantasy stories and games look no further than this podcast if you want to discover and demystify the Middle Ages. We are truly not so different. Favorite Episode/Series: London and Paris

I love this podcast! It’s truly a fresh take on history which is difficult in this kind of saturated space. Both hosts are likable and knowledgeable! The one thing that is super distracting is the overuse of the word “like” and “homie.” Aside from that, amazing content and pod!

Luke Waters and Dr. Eleanor Janega are a blast. Listening to them is like listening to your nerdiest friends talking medieval history over drinks. I have been binging this podcast for days.

Really enjoy the show. Dr Janega is so incredibly knowledgeable. I find it interesting that there are a handful of reviews complaining about how she speaks but not a single review about Luke’s usage of ‘like’ every third word (which only intensifies when he goes off on a rant.)

The expert host has the speech pattern and abundant sarcasm of a 15 year old. I hung on for 3 episodes hoping it would get better, but it never did. She also states with great authority incorrect information. The final straw was during the episode on hygiene when she said toothpaste did not work until the 1950s when they put fluoride in it. If she’s wrong about that, what else is she wrong about?

I searched for Eleanor Janega podcasts because I enjoy when she’s a guest on other ones talking about medieval sex. Been binging this one, which is nicely very broad in scope in medieval topics and world regions. Only things I would critique is Eleanor overuse of the word “basically” in her transitions and that Luke slow down reading his write-ups so it doesn’t sound like rote reading. I gravitate to history podcasts that are more dialogue driven by persons/experts that have fully absorbed their subject matter rather than persons that just read from a script.

Love this show! Luke and Eleanor rock! It is like having a glass of wine with two super cool friends who really dig history. It is light hearted, entertaining and I always learn stuff - what could be better? Well, taking an actual history class with Eleanor perhaps! Thanks for all your hard work planning and recording the shows.

I just wish Dr Janega would cut out the AAVE and Twitterspeak. also, the shtick of having one host pretend to be a neophyte is a little played out. but i do appreciate the insight and analysis.

After stumbling on this a couple of months back, I find myself tapping my fingers as I wait for the next episode. History from a fresh perspective presented in a way that both educates and entertains.

If sarcasm is pepper, this dish is way over seasoned . I listened to the first three episodes and Dr Janega gave some interesting tidbits about the period. That said, while at first the light hearted back and forth was fun at first, quickly wore off. It just got annoying to listen to and came off as the Prof trying too hard to be cool. Maybe it’s just me.

Howdy Elenor and Luke! I discovered Elenor from your appearances on WTYP and your lecture style, wit, and humility really captured me. I’m healing from a broken hip and tailbone right now and discovering your podcast proper has really gotten me thru this hard time. I practice and teach pre-industrial building…. Masonry, timber framing, and metal roof tailoring. I want to talk to y’all about the guilds, and how these trades where abandoned during industrialization…. And how they have experienced a revival with the preservation movements. I’m not real good with Twitter but I will send you a message there too so you can find me. -Kurtis Hord

This is literally everything I ever wanted in a history podcast! And it’s about medieval history. It couldn’t get better if they tried harder. Thank you for everything you’re doing! Love every think about this podcast!

Just on the first few eps but I think Luke and Dr Janega have a fun conversational style. I absolutely love Dr janega’s deep dives and the overall nerdiness of the show. Glad I waited a bit to have a backlog to binge.

Well worth a listen.

Eleanor is so great at making history fun to learn. I love her Going Medieval blog and i’m loving this too!

As someone who’s always had a casual interest in medieval history this show is perfect! The two hosts have a great dynamic and complement each other’s styles exceptionally well. And I love Eleanor! She’s so funny and down to earth while also extremely knowledgeable and helps make a potentially dry subject fascinating and engaging. I definitely recommend it to people who want a fun conversational podcast about a complex subject.

Love the casual conversational tone of this show, like if you were out with your friends having a discussion on medieval life. The topic is fascinating and relevant to today’s issues. Keep the episodes coming, please!

Absolutely digging this show. The vibe is very much like a good introductory history seminar - Eleanor is the omniscient but not ultra-pedantic, dry TA, and Luke is like the student who actually does the reading. Coming from the perspective of a PHD dropout who’s used to amateur “popular histories” mangling my area of study - often through no ill intent, but bad methodology and lack of context - I think we are deeply blessed to have a historical podcast that is both scholastically informed and engaging. It takes medieval people and their world seriously without taking itself too seriously, if that makes sense. This show feels like end-of-day at a conference when everyone’s just chilling and casually Big Loving history together. Glad to have it in my feed 🥰

Yes we love medieval history, but the hosts make this pod; anyone leaving bad reviews here is listening to the wrong pod - pls go away and either read some books to get what you want information-wise or make your own pod hah :-p as a history buff (who once managed to get the only A+ on a final exam in a notoriously difficult undergrad medieval history class & was the only non-history major in that class to boot - wo0t yes I’m still so proud of myself lol/littlethings), this pod fulfills all of my needs. I’ve learned some things here that are often not even footnotes in the scholarly history books on my bookshelf, as well as get clarifications on complex topics in layman’s terms my amateur brain can process. Btw, Eleanor is amazing. I finally signed up for her patreon and I highly recommend you do the same as she gives us plenty more medieval history content to dive into while waiting for the next wnsd epi. And her new docu series on HistoryHit is the bomb. She seems to be so busy that I’m starting to worry if she ever sleeps ;-) Anyway, one of my fav new pods, highly recommend, always makes me think as well as laugh, so thank you so much & pls don’t stop anytime soon!

I’ll be honest, I’ve never left a review on a podcast before but seeing so many obnoxious people with too much times on their hands leave passive aggressive (or straight up just aggressive) reviews has forced my hand. I think the two hosts are fantastic. Eleanor is bright, funny, and obviously incredibly knowledgeable. Eleanor is also really wonderful at breaking down complex and difficult concepts into something a layman can understand. Luke is a fantastic foil for the audience member who is interested in history without the degree of knowledge that a higher academic would have, and makes it feel even more accessible. Their rapport is really fun to listen to and they are both delightfully clever. Also, thanks for the shoutout to asexuals in your recent sex episode. I rarely get to hear podcasts mention ace folks in a positive way so it meant a lot. Keep up the fantastic work!

The new sex episode was fascinating! Love learning new things on this podcast. Since you might do part two on this I’m wondering what the general idea or consensus was about virginity back then. How did they view it or was it as important as we seem to think it was back then? Again great job loving your conversations.

I’m tempted to give a one star review so that you read it on the show. But that would be a lie. I’ve totally enjoyed the colloquial presentation and I’ve loved learning about the times and places adjacent to what was covered in school.

Probably biased as a patron, but I really enjoy this podcast! Love the feeling that you're sitting in a room listening to two friends discuss history and topics they're interested in; makes me miss undergrad! My only complaint on it is that Luke is too hard on himself – as he's essentially the audience stand-in, I'm personally offended xD The premise of the show is great and I look forward to what's to come.

An informative and entertaining podcast that unpacks an infinitely complex and nuanced period of human history. It feeds my mind, heart and soul. Thank you.

Love the podcast! This might be extremely niche but I thought your discussion in the last episode about peasants’ rights was really interesting and I would love an episode on the War of the Remences in Catalonia!

Back in college I double majored in History/Psychology. Thanks to my first year seminar class i was introduced to one of my all time favorite professors and ended up with a psydo Medieval focus on the history end of the degree. This podcast brings me back to those classes and how much of a great time I had in them and I can’t recommend it enough.

I’m mostly leaving this review because I’m annoyed by the poor reviews left so far; you two have great chemistry and approach a dense and broad subject matter in a fun and accessible way. Luke’s armchair academics are a great match for Dr. Janega’s disciplines, and I love the jokes and unapologetic leftism. On a personal note this pod has been a great escape in a rough time so thank you both for the excellent content. - Manu

An entertaining, informative podcast that doesn’t take itself seriously. This isn’t like an academic lecture (there are other podcasts for that if that’s your speed), more like talking at a bar with friends who know their stuff and are happy to talk about it informally.

New title suggestion: Two second-rate pretend academics find a platform to take shots at religion because they have no other place to put their bitterness. I’m very sorry you feel this is an interesting and useful way to disseminate historical knowledge. I’m sure each of you have personal histories with religion and rather than growing up as mature adults you’ve chosen to allow your spite to warp your entire life. That must be an exhausting way to live. Sincerely, A rational atheist

As a student of medieval thought, I am very grateful for the this, one of several recent efforts at rehabilitating the Middle Ages. However, I was hoping for something a little deeper, more focused, and more serious. The conversation only flirted with correcting modern errors regarding the Middle Ages and it was plagued with uninspired profanity. My advice to the hosts is, find ways to bring in more anecdotes to humanize the people of the time, refer to more, and more types of, sources so the listener can conceive a more vivid picture, and, if you’re going to use profanity, make it interesting. Oh, and try not to screw up Catholic doctrine: e.g. unbaptized babies go to limbo, not purgatory - big difference.

started listening because Dr Janega or hiwever you spell it is nice to me on twitter, ended up learning some cool stuff about the medieval era i never knew about and I’m fond of reading about that era, keep up the good work!