I came across this podcast in preparation for our trip to France. I love it! The stories are told with passion and humor. I love the enthusiasm! I've learned so much. Thank you.

It’s great for a brief overview of something you want to do a deeper dive into on your own. Dr. Janega’s book is great but her podcast presence can be a bit much. She sometimes doesn’t leave much space for her guest and that can be frustrating (also it’s ok to it’s the English pronunciation of France!!) The real problem is all the ads- I’m fairly certain they’re designed as some kind of psy-op/crime against humanity. I’ve truly never heard more obnoxious/bordering on enraging ads.

Great pod with interesting content. Janega really gets on my nerves, though.

I listen to this podcast every week. I have learned so much. I wish you guys would cover the Scottish royal families.

Very England focused

The episodes hosted by Matt Lewis are usually very good, but ever since Eleanor Janega joined, it’s become pretty insufferable. Her attitude toward any Christian person is insulting. Interesting that other religions are treated with respect. I don’t agree with her approach to history at all and her delivery also lies bed much to be desired.

Since the arrival of Eleanor Janega, I only listen sometimes. I enjoy Matt Lewis and listen to most of his episodes. I am so disappointed to discover that an episode covering a topic in which I am very interested is hosted by Eleanor. I skip those episodes because I find her silly banter and the harshness of her voice to be unbearable. I miss Cat Jarman.

I skip any episode that Dr Janega hosts. Her style is off putting to me but other than that, a good history podcast!

The Renaissance episode was so painful to listen to, it compelled me to write a review. I understand it is entertainment more than education but the competitive ineffectual comedy was like a bad snl skit

I’ve enjoyed Gone Medieval since its start. With the arrival of Dr. Janega it has improved upon itself. Bring on more! Explain the Husserites!! More about the Hapsburgs. Jane in Seattle

I’ve decided to stop listening. Cat Jarman was a wonderful host with a lot of insight, and she was really good at prompting the guests to talk about interesting things. I highly recommend her episodes. Matt Lewis has always been pretty good and quite personable, though I tend to listen to his episodes less often than Cat’s because my interests and his overlap less. Eleanor Janega’s episodes are so bad though. As an American I’m not one to hate on American accents (or on Americans who borrow British slang, as she apparently does), but she demonstrates an appalling lack of charity for those whose belief systems are different than hers, to the point that it’s offensive to modern Christians and condescending to those whose stories she’s supposedly trying to tell. I did appreciate the one guest who kept pushing back on the rampant condescension, but pretty often she’d talk over her anyway. And Eleanor does the majority of the most interesting topics now!

I thoroughly enjoyed this show every week but the latest with Dr. Ada Palmer went to a whole other level. It was great! Combining lots of new information about then"Renaissance" with an hour of some of the funniest content in any realm. Dan Snow or Goalhanger you need to snap Dr. Palmer up.

I really like this podcast I found it last year and I really enjoyed listening to it keep up 😊💙

Always a Really Good Listen

The hate toward Dr Janega for the crime of having a personality is extremely weird and misogynist. It's often paired with the word "woke" which tells you all you need to know. Yuck. Both hosts are excellent and their passion for the topics is contagious. I love their humor, and especially Dr Janega's wit, charm, insight, and deep knowledge of the topics discussed. As a fellow woman with a personality, she seems like she'd be fun to hang with! Dear hosts, please ignore the weirdos and keep being awesome!

It’s usually fairly funny, and mildly instructive.

I could not listen to this episode because the beginning, discussing periodization, just insults every listener. They were 5 minutes in and just explaining to us why historians do this. Dr Janega should work on her tone and not dumb it down like this. I had to turn it off even if I was interested in why the early Middle Ages matter.

Interesting pod on Agincourt. Thanks!

but when Dr. Janega is the host, I immediately skip that episode. It’s not about her credentials or the topics she covers, it’s her delivery and tone. It does not fit the content and the audience expectations for academic discussion of nuanced historical topics. She is better suited for History Hit youtube content which is aimed at a broader more entertainment-focused audience.

Dr. Janega is one of my favorite history hosts! I love history podcasts and read a lot of history. I appreciate Dr. J’s humor and style in this show. I especially enjoy the episodes on women’s history.

Listened to one incredibly campy episode and never subscribed. Sadly now I get this trash in my feed. I have confirmed I'm not following yet it still shows up.

Why does Dr. Janega have to speak like a teenage girl? I am trying to listen to the Joan of Arc episode and I cannot get through it. She uses “like” way too often and even said “word” (as in word up). Her style of speaking makes it very hard to take her seriously or even believe she is intelligent. Is she trying to attack a younger crowd? Clearly the podcast is doing well and since she’s not on every episode, it really can’t be helping. Please, for the love of everyone listening, stop speaking like a valley girl.

Presenters very knowledgeable. Exaggerated voice and speaking style by Eleanor is a bit much to have to sit through. Clearly intellectual but just not a presenter one wants to sit through

I really love this podcast. It’s exciting. It’s always new and they’re more geeky than I am about history stuff. Truly is a gem of a podcast.

This series is like two different podcasts. The shows hosted by Matt Lewis are usually awesome. But the ones hosted by Eleanor Janega are horrible. The topics are interesting, and the guests are interesting, but her presentation and tone and approach are just so appalling that I can hardly stand to listen to her. She is obviously intelligent, but just really does not present well at all. She has this jokey, laughing style that can charitably be described as adolescent. The recent episode on the murder of Thomas Beckett is an example. It is so interesting to look behind the general mythology of the murder — that perhaps Beckett knew the murder was coming, and was preparing himself for it, in the hope of being sainted. But her snorting laughter about his wearing a hairshirt and general “hoo haw, this is just hilariously funny stuff” attitude toward a serious subject are so offensive. Even if it occurred in the long distant past, the subject is still one of violence and murder. Would we countenance this presentation for a description of a recent murder? I had to stop listening. Really wish the producers would pay attention to the generally negative comments about Dr. Janega and how the subject matter in this show is being presented. Her style is perhaps suitable to an audience of teenagers — but is that really the audience here? For the record, I am an American woman, and do not object to an American accent or the fact that Dr. Janega is a woman. I would feel the same about an English male presenter.

I like th jingle and music. There are alot of ads and extra stuff. In a 50min show you can expect 10-15 min of ads or them talking about nothing. Every chance they get they take a woke leftist view on the past and apply modern culture war filter. It's pretty annoying. I don't want to mis ten to medieval history and be lectured on the injustice of modern society. Can we get a break from.this please and just stick to the actual topic you are covering. It's too much.

Interesting show about burials.

There are some very interesting guests and topics. But much of the time it is lost by. Dr. Eleanor Janega’s horrific fake transatlantic accent, and her pompous condescension. There is something of a 1990s Ruby Wax in her presentation and style, which is good for a variety show but not so much for history. Her strange arrogance eclipses the substance from time to time, and the listener is too often subjected to her own personal political opinions, which are utterly irrelevant to the subject matter being discussed. In fact, she often rushes through important points, skipping over details she might consider inconvenient, to make determinations based on her personal beliefs, rather than evidence or nuance.

Great show, bravo!

I don’t know why Dan Snow is connected to this program. It is woke revisionist propaganda.

Janega drips of condensation. Sophomoric. That’s being kind. Bye to this podcast.

I love this podcast but I don't like how you are mocking the Bible in the recent episode. It's fine to have an opinion but there are Christian's that listen to this. Just a thought. I will continue to listen to Matt’s episodes but not Eleanor’s.

Gone Medieval was quickly becoming my favorite History Hit podcast! Matt Lewis and Cat Jarman are so professional and knowledgable and bring “the greatest millenium in history” to life. They never aim to focus the content on “them.” Enter Dr. Janega, who loves nothing more than to steer the topic toward her (“well, for ME..”) and her sophomoric notions about serious history. The forced adolescent lexicon and delivery, desperate to be seen as “cool”, might qualify her as a public middle school history teacher, but not for a podcast geared toward adults. For a time period when most people were Catholic, she displays such little knowledge of the Catholic Church, which is shocking for a Medieval scholar. It is obvious that she’s not a Christian, which is not required, but her condescending and sneering commentary about them overshadows and distorts events and people that were driven by the church, amidst its faults. Her trite summarizations of events leave me feeling dumber for having listened to her episodes and terribly disappointed in the wayward direction of this podcast. Too bad, because she’s assigned such great topics. HH, please rethink this tragic miscasting! Until then, I’ll be happy to skip her pod episodes.

Thank you for doing a great job on medieval history. I’m enjoying the many topics to listen too.

Dr. Janega I love your topics but please stop pronouncing it “Frawnce.” Just say France it sounds so phony and affected and distracts from your otherwise great content.

Whoever the broad is that they have on that talks about Vikings, needs to get her daddy issues fixed. If you want to hear some liberal idiot talk about her feelings this is the slop for you.

This might as well be named the viking podcast. Literally all they discuss.

The information is really interesting. Loved learning about Viking Women. Was about to send to several family members as we have a rich Scandinavian history……but then got to the part where she makes a joke about “stealing a bunch of stuff from Christians”. Why, girl? Why did you have to ruin it by making it very clear that you dislike Christians? You realize that makes you an intolerant bigot, right? So tired of hearing about racial and religious intolerance from a group of highly bigoted people….”Dr” Eleanor.

I listened regularly to each episode and it helped me relax and wind down at night. I stopped when Dr. Eleanor arrived. I avoid her episodes, even if I find the topic interesting. I can’t explain what it is about her voice and tone, it’s just not the same. I do still listen to the Matt Lewis episodes and enjoy it, so I’m giving 4 stars.

“He’s got a knife!” “Of course he had a knife, we ALL have knives. It’s 1183 and we’re BARABARIANS!” 😃

The unprofessional, casual and rude attitude of Eleanore cannot be carried by the also unbearable vocal fry.

I see a lot of comments disparaging Dr. janega I’d encourage everyone to ignore them and give this pod a chance! Love that there’s a wide range of topics covered, and while not all may appeal to me I can always count on finding something to learn about today

The hosts (Matt and Eleanor) make listening to Gone Medieval feel like a fun chat with friends. They make history accessible and entertaining and I look forward to new episodes each week. This is legit my fave podcast I can’t recommend it enough!

This is a podcast hosted by two extremely knowledgeable, down to earth, well spoken, and (I can just tell) open hearted people. Matt Lewis’ love for the “greatest millennia in history” is simply infectious and his way of distilling history into succinct bits during his interviews is a rare gift. Eleanor Janega’s way of describing historic events in a way that take me back in time. She makes history so relatable. I love her insights into human behavior and do not get me started on how downright funny she can be! In short I can’t recommend this podcast enough!

Listened to most of the Pope and the Emperor episode and it was not great. The way the investiture crisis was discussed weirdly veered between assuming one knows nothing or next to nothing about the topic and then acting like we can just hit some highlights and giggle about them. I learned about the story from listening to the British History Podcast where some of the key events were discussed as Pope Gregory, his reforms and his conflict with Henry intersected with William the Conqueror’s actions on the continent. I was hoping to get more detail on this podcast but honestly think I had gotten more detail on BHP. My criticism would be that first we have to catch everyone up on who the main protagonists, as it were, are, what their bullet point histories were and what they did. But the episode confusingly threw in dates 2/3rds of the way in, mentioned key elements off handedly and was just a jumbled mess.

I have to agree with other reviewers who commented on Dr. Janega’s presentation style. She is so sophmoric and jokey as to be unlistenable. I suppose she thinks she is funny, but I don’t find her so. Matt is great. I just skip the Tuesday episodes.

Her delivery for a history podcast is laughable and immature. Her opinions are ridiculous. She would be better suited on an entertainment podcast talking gossip. She is ruining this show and it is apparent as the hosts work together on Henry II.

The topics are so varied, the hosts are so knowledgeable, engaging and their curiosity is infectious. An incredibly enjoyable podcast.

Started reading the comments to this podcast (one of my favorites) and was astonished at the negativity toward Dr. Janega. Her substantive knowledge is encyclopedic and her presentation style is modern, and refreshing. You go, girl! PS Matt Lewis is great too, and it is certainly telling that few people comment on him.

*** Updating again once I saw there’s a series on Thomas Becket that I sadly can’t enjoy. I wish Dr. Janega’s presentation style matched her obvious intelligence and originality of contribution to the field of medieval studies. Unfortunately, her style comes off more as dying-comic-at-open-mic-night, and I’ve skipped some very intriguing episodes as a result. I was formerly a consistent listener. ** Updating my review to express my disappointment in having to avoid interesting topics when I read that Dr Janega is hosting. Producers, please consider retiring her from the podcast. Unlistenable.