Greg Jenner

Greg Jenner (born 1982) is a British author and public historian with a particular interest in communicating history through pop culture and humour.

Early life
Jenner studied for a History and Archaeology BA and a Medieval Studies MA at The University of York.

Career
Jenner has worked as an historical consultant on the Horrible Histories books and television shows. Jenner has credited the success of Horrible Histories to a non-patronising approach to children’s television.

Jenner has written for GQ magazine and has appeared as a guest on Richard Herring's interview podcasts and on the Art Detective podcast. He also featured on the BBC Radio 4 programme Great Lives, discussing Gene Kelly.

He has appeared more than once as a guest on QI spin-off podcast No Such Thing as a Fish. and has made appearances on the Simon Mayo and the Steve Wright shows on BBC Radio 2.

Jenner featured as an expert on the BBC2 television programme Inside Versailles, as well as for the Independent newspaper, discussing historical accuracy in television programmes.

Jenner has been made an Honorary Research Associate at Royal Holloway, University of London.

Since 2019, Jenner has presented a BBC Sounds podcast, You’re Dead To Me. Each episode sees him talk to both a historian and comedian about a historical figure or time period. As well as the streamed edition, a radio-edit version is broadcast on BBC Radio 4. In February 2023 and 2024 the show won the Best Radio Entertainment Show category at the Comedy.co.uk Awards.

In 2020, Jenner launched Homeschool History, an educational history podcast aimed at children, in response to the Coronavirus lockdown whereby children who were unable to attend school. Homeschool History ran for two series and was broadcast on BBC Radio 4.

In 2021 Jenner launched an Audible Original podcast A Somewhat Complete History of Sitting Down.

Publications
Jenner is the author of several books:


 * A Million Years In A Day: A Curious History of Daily Life, From The Stone Age To The Phone Age (2015) in which he described how routines and habits today had their genesis in the past as well as highlighting contrasts in every day routines through the ages.
 * Dead Famous: An Unexpected History of Celebrity from Bronze Age to Silver Screen was released in 2020.
 * Ask a Historian: 50 Surprising Answers to Things You Always Wanted to Know was released in 2021.
 * You Are History: From The Alarm Clock To The Toilet, The Amazing History of The Things You Use Every Day was released in 2022.
 * Totally Chaotic History: Ancient Egypt Gets Unruly! was released in 2024.

Personal life
Jenner is half French on his mother's side. He is an avid fan of heavy metal and alternative rock, and loves Thrice, the band. Jenner is a supporter of Tottenham Hotspur. He is teetotal.