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A show that proves no matter how long you've been dead, it's never too late to have haters. Join historian Claire Aubin and a new expert every week to pull back the scholarly curtain on the world’s worst guys and gals. From the widely beloved to the relatively unknown, no historical figure is safe, and every episode reminds listeners that the best part of understanding the past is criticizing it. New episodes every Thursday — free episodes bi-weekly, and access to all episodes (ad-free!) at ...
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Emmy-winning writer and producer Gavin Purcell talks to interesting people about the subjects they’re currently obsessed with outside of their everyday lives. Then, an expert in that subject matter joins the conversation to answer all their questions. Way Too Interested is a podcast about curiosity, discovery, creativity, and, most importantly, pursuing those little things that get stuck in your brain & end up being way more fascinating than you ever expected. Learn more at WayTooInterested. ...
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Marie de France with Dr. Sarah-Jane Murray
1:04:44
1:04:44
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Claire and Dr. Sarah-Jane Murray flip the script on one of the world’s first French poets with our inaugural This Guy Rocked episode. Guest Our guest Dr. Sarah-Jane Murray is a Professor of Great Texts and Creative Writing at Baylor University and the founder of The Greats Story Lab. Follow her on Twitter and visit her website. To learn more about …
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Carl Schmitt with Dr. Jonathan Fine (Patreon Preview)
17:07
17:07
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Claire and Dr. Jonathan Fine build a case against the vice president’s favorite philosopher in the court of public opinion. Guest Our guest Dr. Jonathan Fine is a Germanist specializing in Comparative Literature and Intellectual History. Follow him on Twitter @jonathanbfine and on Bluesky @jonathanbfine, or visit his website. Sensitive Themes & Top…
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Claire and Dr. Erik Baker set out on an intrepid journey deep into the heart of darkness itself: Harvard Business School. Guest Our guest Dr. Erik Baker is a historian of labor and lecturer at Harvard. His new book Make Your Own Job: How The Entrepreneurial Work Ethic Exhausted America is out now with Harvard University Press. Follow him on Twitter…
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Cesare Lombroso with Dr. Matt Lodder (Patreon Preview)
16:15
16:15
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Claire and Dr. Matt Lodder discover why being born left-handed and a woman mean they missed out on their real calling: a life of crime. Guest Our guest Dr. Matt Lodder is a Senior Lecturer in Art History and Theory at the University of Essex. His newest book Tattoos: The Untold History of a Modern Art is now out with Yale University Press. Follow h…
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Mid-Century Liberals with Dr. Andrew Hartman
58:04
58:04
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58:04
Claire and Dr. Andrew Hartman discuss Marxism, labor movements, and why everybody’s favorite presidents might’ve made things a whole lot worse. Guest Our guest Dr. Andrew Hartman is a professor of history at Illinois State University. His newest book Karl Marx in America, is available for pre-order from University of Chicago Press. Follow him on Tw…
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Henry Dundas with Dr. Asheesh Kapur Siddique (Patreon Preview)
9:44
9:44
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Want to hear the rest of this episode? Hear the full conversation only on Patreon Claire and Dr. Asheesh Kapur Siddique attempt to answer an age-old question: what’s Scotland’s whole deal? Guest Our guest Dr. Asheesh Kapur Siddique is an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. His book The Archive of Empire: Know…
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Claire and Dr. Matthew Gabriele go on a holy crusade to figure out what’s up with Charlemagne the Actually-Not-That-Great. Guest Our guest Dr. Matthew Gabriele is a professor of medieval studies at Virginia Tech. His new book with David M. Perry, Oathbreakers: The War of Brothers That Shattered an Empire and Made Medieval Europe is available here. …
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Samuel Cummings with Dr. Drew McKevitt
1:03:37
1:03:37
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Claire and Dr. Drew McKevitt go to the gun range. Not really, but there are definitely some shots fired. Guest Our guest Dr. Drew Mckevitt is a professor of History at Louisiana Tech. His book Gun Country: Gun Capitalism, Culture, and Control in Cold War America, is available here. Follow him on Twitter @drewmckevitt and Bluesky drewmckevitt Sensit…
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Jerry Lee Lewis With Dr. Robert Komaniecki
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48:14
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Claire and Dr. Robert Komaniecki ask an important question: was Jerry Lee Lewis a gigantic jerk to everyone, about everything? Their answer will absolutely not surprise you. Guest Our guest Dr. Robert Komaniecki is a lecturer in music theory and music history at the University of British Columbia. Follow him on Twitter @Komaniecki_R and on Bluesky …
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Claire sits down with Dr. Eleanor Janega to talk Candide-ly (get it?) about the guy who ruined medieval studies. Guest Our guest Dr. Eleanor Janega is a medieval historian and host of the podcast We’re Not So Different and History Hit TV’s Going Medieval. Her book, The Once and Future Sex, is available here. Follow her on Twitter @GoingMedieval and…
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This Guy Sucked is a history podcast for haters, by haters. Join historian Dr. Claire Aubin and a new expert every week to pull back the scholarly curtain on the world’s worst guys and gals - from the beloved to the relatively unknown. No historically-significant dead person is safe, and every episode proves that the best part of understanding the …
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Hi everyone! Hope y'all have been doing good in the two years since I last updated this feed with a podcast. I *adored* doing Way Too Interested and I'm so thankful to all of my guests but at the time it turned out to be too much for me to do on a weekly basis. However, I'm not giving up on the idea of doing it again in the future! F…
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SNEAKER CULTURE with Heather Anne Campbell and Michael Sykes
58:48
58:48
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On today's episode of Way Too Interested, writer/comedian Heather Anne Campbell, the co-host of the gaming podcast Get Played, talks with Gavin Purcell about her obsession, sneaker culture. Heather also talks about how she started doing live comedy when she was 14, why she no longer believes her interests and hobbies are totally in her control, and…
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FLY FISHING with Paul Bae and Stan Ulanski
51:01
51:01
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On today's episode of Way Too Interested, screenwriter and "The Black Tapes" creator Paul Bae talks with Gavin Purcell about his obsession, fly fishing. Paul also talks about his circuitous path to being the creator of a hit podcast, why his grandmother flew into a rage upon being told that he had become a comedian ... and the time his stand-up com…
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THE CONCEPTUALIZATION OF SEX with Dr. Eleanor Janega and David Halperin
1:10:26
1:10:26
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1:10:26
On today's episode of Way Too Interested, medievalist Dr. Eleanor Janega talks with Gavin Purcell about her current obsession: The conceptualization of sex. She explains how her field of study has been distorted in the popular imagination, how medieval people thought about sex, and the surprisingly similar way modern internet communities are talkin…
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INTERSTATE HIGHWAYS with Anil Dash and Dan McNichol
1:19:58
1:19:58
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1:19:58
On today's episode of Way Too Interested, writer/podcaster/Glitch CEO Anil Dash talks with Gavin Purcell about his fascination with America's interstate highway system, which started with his father — a civil engineer given a "genius visa" to immigrate from India to help build America's highways and bridges. Anil also talks about his personal histo…
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CREEPYPASTA with Chuck Wendig and Lucia Peters
1:03:42
1:03:42
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On today's episode of Way Too Interested, author Chuck Wendig talks with Gavin Purcell about the many types of apples you've never tasted, the state of Twitter in 2022, and his obsession with creepypasta, an online cousin to urban legends. Chuck also talks about the real-world impact of these spooky tales and how they have evolved in the transition…
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BROADWAY with Cliff Bleszinski and Hunter Arnold
1:24:41
1:24:41
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Cliff "CliffyB" Bleszinski, the lead designer on the "Gears of War" video games, talks with Gavin Purcell about his years in the gaming industry, how he discovered a passion for the theater in high school, and his main obsession outside of games: Broadway. This passion led him to become a co-producer of the hit show Hadestown, which won eight Tony …
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KOTA IBUSHI with Spencer Hall and Chris Charlton
1:12:13
1:12:13
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Sports writer and Channel 6 co-founder Spencer Hall, formerly a contributor to SBNation and the founder of Every Day Should Be Saturday, joins Gavin Purcell on today's podcast to talk about his obsession with Japanese wrestling! And specifically, Spencer is way too interested in one athlete from the New Japan Pro Wrestling circuit: Kota Ibushi, who…
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POKER with Aaron Dworkin and Phil Gordon
1:07:32
1:07:32
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1:07:32
Performing artist, social entrepreneur, professor, and author Aaron Dworkin joins Gavin Purcell on today's podcast to talk about his obsession with poker! He also talks about how diversity has defined his life and passions, and how he uses a "lottery test" and a "death test" to decide what new projects to pursue. Then, they're joined by star player…
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THE SUPPLY CHAIN with John August and Peter S. Goodman
1:06:13
1:06:13
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Today, on an unusually topical episode of Way Too Interested, screenwriter and Scriptnotes co-host John August joins Gavin Purcell to talk about how his experience selling a custom deck of playing cards — the Writer Emergency Pack — awakened him to the complex and fascinating world of the supply chain. He also talks about his writing habit and the …
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MOSS with Helen Rosner and Annie Martin
1:16:07
1:16:07
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New Yorker staff writer Helen Rosner joins Gavin Purcell to talk about how visiting Japan awakened her interest in moss, why "at least three-quarters of my job is internet stalking," and why we focus too narrowly on careers when we talk about our passions. Then, they're joined by Annie Martin, a.k.a. "Mossin' Annie," a moss expert from North Caroli…
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RUBBER STAMPS with Tim Schafer and Roberta Sperling
1:06:27
1:06:27
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On this episode of Way Too Interested, video game designer Tim Schafer (Psychonauts, Grim Fandango) joins Gavin Purcell to talk about his obsession with rubber stamps. They also discuss how Tim got into game design and how his young mind was blown by the digital "rubber stamp" tool on early Macintosh computers. Then, they're joined by Roberta Sperl…
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ANIMAL NAVIGATION with Zito Madu and David Barrie
1:13:07
1:13:07
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On this episode of Way Too Interested, writer Zito Madu joins Gavin Purcell to talk about poetry, being a voracious reader, and his interest in how animals like homing pigeons and monarch butterflies navigate around the world. Then, they're joined by David Barrie, the author of the books Sextant — about human navigation — and Supernavigators: Explo…
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WOLVES with Dani Fernandez and Garrick Dutcher
57:48
57:48
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Actor and writer Dani Fernandez joins Gavin Purcell to talk about the deep connection she feels with wolves, and how the symbol of the wolf has guided her through personal and mental health challenges. Then, they're joined by the research and program director of the non profit Living with Wolves, Garrick Dutcher, who talks about the inaccurate ster…
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DEEPFAKES with Rex Sorgatz and Henry Ajder
1:13:44
1:13:44
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1:13:44
Writer and web designer Rex Sorgatz (The Encyclopedia of Misinformation) joins Gavin Purcell to talk about his obsession with deepfakes, why he's less worried about them now than he used to be, and why he believes a dead actor will win an Oscar someday. Then, deepfakes and synthetic media expert Henry Ajder joins to explain whether we should be wor…
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BIBLE STORIES with Felicia Day and Dr. Malka Simkovich
1:09:10
1:09:10
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1:09:10
Actor and writer Felicia Day (The Guild, Embrace Your Weird) joins Gavin Purcell to talk about her obsession with religious mythologies and, specifically, the origins of Bible stories. Then, they're joined by Dr. Malka Simkovich — the director of the Catholic-Jewish Studies Program at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago — to talk about the hi…
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PUZZLES with Roy Wood Jr. and Steve Richardson
1:02:11
1:02:11
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Comedian Roy Wood Jr. (The Daily Show, Roy's Job Fair) joins Gavin Purcell on the first-ever episode of Way Too Interested to talk about his obsession with jigsaw puzzles. Then, Stave Puzzles co-founder Steve Richardson joins to talk about the handmade wooden puzzles that Stave crafts for jigsaw enthusiasts. Please follow or subscribe to Way Too In…
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About the show Way Too Interested is a new podcast where we talk to interesting people and ask them about a subject they’re currently obsessed with outside of their everyday lives. Then, the two of us talk to an expert in that subject matter and do a deep dive. It’s a show about curiosity, discovery, creativity, and, most importantly, pursuing thos…
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