Today’s guest needs absolutely no introduction (unless you’ve been living under a rock). I am so excited to bring
to The Tudor Notebook to answer a bunch of questions about podcasting and writing. Anyway, I will shush and get on with it, enjoy!
Not that you need any introduction, but, tell us a little about yourself
I’m Matt! Somehow, I’m lucky enough to get to do history as a job. I work as Senior Presenter at History Hit, where I co-host the Gone Medieval podcast, host Echoes of History, the podcast attached to the Assassin’s Creed games, and present documentaries, mainly on medieval history. I’ve written a few books, including The Survival of the Princes in the Tower (spoiler if there’s any questions on that later!), a biography of Richard III, and one of his dad Richard, Duke of York.
Can you tell us about your podcast? How long have you been podcasting?
I’m involved in two podcasts now. Gone Medieval has been going since 21 April 2021. There are two episodes a week, on Tuesday and Friday (a day earlier if you’re a History Hit subscriber). I have the Friday episode, and the Tuesday episode was originally hosted by Cat Jarman and is now in the hands of Eleanor Janega. Gone Medieval covers around 1,000 years from about 500AD to 150AD, give or take a bit at either end. I pitch it as the greatest millennium in human history, and we try to cover aspects from around the globe and through the layers of society. There are big hitters, on kings and castles, but also episodes on food, music, and pretty much anything else that makes a good story.
Echoes of History is part of a partnership between History Hit and Ubisoft. It’s attached to the Assassin’s Creed franchise. The podcast has been around for a while as a seasonal thing, but Ubisoft wanted to make it every week, and History Hit were their chosen partner to make it happen. I was asked about potential hosts and given the age range they were looking for. I complained (loudly, with tears!) that I was too old to host it, but when they mentioned my over-the-top response to Ubisoft, it turned out the lead on the project there is a big Gone Medieval fan! Echoes is usually one episode a week, though we’ve just done a special series for the recent release of Assassin’s Creed Shadows which was an extra episode for five weeks. On Echoes, we cover history connected to the games, so I get to look beyond the medieval world and learn loads about all sorts of history I don’t know well. The idea is that it’s great for history fans and can supplement the experience of gamers by giving them a handle on the history they’re surrounded by in the games.
What influenced you into starting a podcast?
The offer of getting paid to do a podcast. That sounds really bad, doesn’t it? I’d dabbled with doing one myself years ago on the Wars of the Roses and Richard III but didn’t stick with it. I wanted to do it then because it’s a great way to tell history. Gone Medieval was a chance to do it with History Hit, but the reasons (beyond getting paid) are the same. It’s a great way to tell stories, explore bits of history that don’t get much attention usually, introduce people to historians, subjects, and books they might not otherwise come across. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had to apologise for adding to people’s bookcases. It’s a pain I feel too, so I’m never really all that sorry.
A podcast is a chance to get history into someone’s pocket and then pour it directly into their ears. I’m frequently amazed anyone would want to listen to me waffle on. Then I remember that’s why we have guests. Eleanor is great to work with and brings real passion and depth of knowledge to her episodes.
What is the best thing about what you do?
I guess it’s that old thing that if you do a job you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. I’ve had plenty of terrible jobs. I’m not a trained historian. My degree was in law and doing a law degree made mem realise I didn’t want to work in the law. I’ve had jobs in printing, despatch, customer service, IT. Some of those jobs I enjoyed, some I really did not. Somehow, I’ve ended up working in history, literally getting to do my hobby as a job.
One of the best things about what I’m lucky enough to do is getting to go places and see documents, or parts of buildings that people don’t usually get to see. I’ve seen Richard III’s Book of Hours, the 1460 Act of Accord in the Parliament Rolls at the National Archives and been in a cell at Bamburgh Castle where prisoners were kept that isn’t open to the public. If there’s a downside, it’s often that those visits are flying ones, and there’s little time to stop and enjoy and explore the places we go. I’ve got a long list of places I’ve been but need to go back to with my camera to see at my own pace.
The other great thing about what I get to do is the people I meet. From great historians on the podcast, including people I’ve admired for years, to the brilliant team at History Hit, I’ve made some great friends doing this. If you ever enjoy the podcast or a documentary or YouTube film, there’s a whole massively talented team behind the scenes that make it look and sound so good.
What is the worst/hardest thing?
That’s it. That’s my answer.
Not really.
I’m struggling to think of a bad thing. I’m a terrible home body – my wife and kids and grandkids are my world. I’d never had a job before that required working away, so going off for a few nights to film was new, and I don’t like it. I don’t mean to be ungrateful for the opportunities it brings to go to new places – we went to Ireland for almost a week to film some castles there and it was amazing, but I hated being away from my wife and children (who aren’t, they will remined me, children anymore, but I stand by it anyway). How’s that for a first world problem?
Can you tell us your most memorable moment relating to your podcast?
I remember a guest speaking about Welsh medieval poetry recited a passage with the ‘c’ word in, written by a 15th century female Welsh poet, and I was wondering how we were going to get that through the edit. Whenever I do episodes with Eleanor, we end up having so much fun they overrun and we kind of forget we’re recording.
I’m struggling to think of a single stand out moment because the whole thing is such a complete pleasure to be involved in. Maybe I’d have to go for the episode we recorded with Philippa Langley when the results of the archival searches by The Missing Princes Project were revealed. We managed to schedule the episode to go out the minute the embargo lifted and there was a huge amount of attention on the news. It was cool (especially for a Princes in the Tower nerd like me) to be wrapped up in all that.
Am I allowed to go to wider History Hit stuff? That’s easier, because a highlight would have to be filming at the Tower of London during lockdown. We had the whole place to ourselves for an entire day – just us and the Beefeaters. It was surreal and a mind-blowing experience for me. It was hard work – it was actually my first filming trip with History Hit and we made two films on one day, so I didn’t have all that much time to just enjoy it, but I’ll never forget that experience.
Do you find being an historian and author helps with podcasting?
I’m as much a fan as an author or historian when I’m recording the podcast. I try to be the audience. I’m not a trained historian, so I try to ask the questions I’d like to know the answer to. I don’t mind asking what a technical term means if I don’t know or don’t think the audience will know. We can all be guilty of using the language of our trade and forgetting not everyone speaks it.
If it does help, maybe it’s in finding the right angle to try and interest the Gone Medieval audience. They’re giving up maybe up to an hour of their valuable time and we need to give them something that makes that feel worthwhile. A good story, a new insight, breaking research, or just a good fact to take to the pub and bore amaze your friends with. I think my job as host is to facilitate the conversation between the guest expert and the listener. Hopefully I manage to do it sometimes.
What do you think is a common misconception about podcasting?
That it’s easy, or that it’s hard. It’s harder than it sometimes looks, but easier than it might seem. That’s nonsense but bear with me. Anyone can start a podcast. You need a good idea or format, but that’s only the beginning. It’s not even just about getting the right kit and the best space to record, or the right software. Do you do it in person, or remotely? If the latter, what software will you use? If the former, where’s the money coming from to hire studio space? Then there’s the discipline. The algorithms, to which we are all in thrall, like predictability. That means publishing episodes on a set schedule so it can expect your episode and push it.
I’ve mentioned the team behind Gone Medieval and Echoes of History. There is a Senior Producer, producers, editors and a whole machine behind History Hit’s podcasts. Having said that, if you really want to make one, a bit of discipline, some reasonable kit and good idea will get you a long way.
Are there other eras of history you have an interest in? If so which and would you expand your podcast or writing to include it?
I’m from Wolverhampton, which was a wool town (now a city, though we’re still waiting for our cathedral!), but which now incorporates some areas of the Black Country. My dad’s family are from Willenhall, which is one of the Black Country heartlands. Also, there was a Viking Age Battle of Willenhall. Anyway, industrial Revolution history has always been around me. We took the kids to the Black Country Museum and Blists Hill, so that’s always been an interest of mine.
Gone Medieval wouldn’t stretch that far, though on Echoes of History we cover Assassin’s Creed Syndicate which is set in Victorian London, so we did an episode on the Industrial Revolution for that. I’ve also become obsessed with Sengoku Era Japan. We focused a lot on the unification in the late 16th and early 17th centuries for the release of Shadows. I knew very little about it but found it all utterly fascinating. I don’t know enough to write about either of those things, but I might get there one day!
What piece of advice would you give someone wishing to start a career in history?
Don’t wait. There’s no better time to start than right now. Have you started? Why not?? If it’s your passion and you really want to do it, I’d encourage anyone to go for it. Having said that, a career in history is not an easy thing to come by. My job is pretty unique and I’m under no illusions about how lucky I am to have it.
If you do want to take some first steps, I’d say find your core passion – a person, event, a moment, a movement – anything that you’re completely fascinated by. Then write about it. I started a blog as my first step. It’s free, it’s good practise for writing, and a great shop window. You can refine your art and increase your chances of your work getting seen in your spare time. When you write, try to remember that you’re telling a story. Take the reader’s hand and show them why you love what you love. Read, and think about what you like about the writer’s style and allow yours to evolve. And just keep writing. Even if you think no one is reading it, it’s all practise, and practise makes perfect. No one starts out perfect. Even me. I know, unbelievable, but true!
Is there anyone you would love to interview but haven’t yet? If so, who and why?
I’ve been very lucky to have had brilliant guests on Gone Medieval and echoes of History. Aside from Nathen, Cath Hanley is a joy to speak with and has been on a few times now. Tony Robinson came on to talk about Time Team and Blackadder and his long career with history. David Carpenter is also great to talk to, and getting Helen Caster on was a real pleasure. I’ve admired her work for years and you tend to think people like that won’t want to come on, but they tend to be very nice and friendly. I guess if there’s a dream guest it might be GRR Martin. I’m a massive fan of A Song. Of Fire and Ice and the Wars of the Roses, so I’d love to drill into how he works history into his fiction and builds worlds that feel so real. If they don’t have to be living, it would be JRR Tolkien, all day long.
Are you writing anything at the moment? If so, are you able to spill the beans a little?
My writing is stalled at the moment for a few reasons. I’ve almost finished a novel that I’m planning to pitch as the beginning of a long cycle through the Wars of the Roses. It’s frustratingly close to being done, but I can’t seem to get it over the line. I haven’t written a novel in over ten years now but I enjoyed getting back into it. On the non-fiction front, I have a biography of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick (of Kingmaker fame) waiting to be written too.
Where can people find you?
Does anyone want to find me? If so, I’m around. You can subscribe and listen to Gone Medieval and Echoes of History wherever you get your podcasts. History Hit’s YouTube channel has two releases a week and I sometimes crop up there. If you subscribe to History Hit, you also get a brand new and exclusive documentary every week, some presented by me, others by the incredible historians History Hit works with.
If that isn’t enough, I’m on Substack where you can subscribe to get my posts straight into your inbox, and I’m on social media, mostly Instagram and Facebook, though I’m still trying to be a ray of sunshine in the deepening gloom of Twitter (sorry, Elon, it’s Twitter, and you’ll never convince me otherwise).
Thank you so much to Matt for a great interview with fantastic insight into the world of podcasting. We do hope readers have enjoyed this one. Anyone else excited to hear about a new novel and biography????
PS, You’re a goodlooking chap too. Would go well with doublet and hose.
Sounds fascinating. You must have a theatrical gene in there somewhere as podcasting is acting with the voice. Forget your currents stall. Get on with writing the bio of the Kingmaker. If ever there was a fascinating, convoluted personality it was his. Commonly portrayed as a fairly straightforward, ambitious character, he was far more than that. So, get on with it and thanks for your knowledge and presentations. I am waiting!