Plenty of Americans get their history from fictionalized versions in movies and TV shows. And while screens can convey elements of history, they sometimes adapt the facts to suit the narrative.
Doing the exact opposite is Professor Greg Jackson, a tenured associate professor and senior fellow in National Security Studies, as well as Fellow of Integrated Studies at Utah Valley University. A regular on History Channel documentaries, he completely rejects the idea that history has to be a dry, stuffy subject. In 2017, his belief that straight facts could be incredibly entertaining when the focus is put on people resulted in the creation of his podcast, “History that Doesn’t Suck.”
Jackson launched the podcast out of his basement, and it now reaches more people every week — sometimes in a single day — than he could ever have taught in a long career as a college professor. “Stories let us push past names and dates,” he says. “Simply put, good history doesn’t have to be told in a way that’s boring or divisive, because that 100% sucks.”
He’s passionate about Americans understanding their history, convinced that when we really dig in and seek to comprehend, it helps us understand others in the present, whether we agree or disagree with them. “I learned from the classroom that nothing helps us enjoy and retain these lessons more than relevant stories from the past,” he says. “But they have to be brought to life.”
Jackson traces his love of history to a high school history teacher named Mrs. Berry. Sitting in the second row of her class, he recalls listening to her describe how during the Napoleonic Wars, French soldiers filled their Russian POWs’ heads with the ideas of the French Revolution. Those ideas made their way back to Russia and simmered for a few generations before contributing to 20th-century uprisings.
That was when it clicked for him. He didn’t see names and dates or abstract thoughts, but instead saw people exchanging ideas, sharing their humanity even across national lines in the midst of war. “I saw the story in history, and while I tried to entertain other courses of study and career paths as I got older, I just couldn’t,” he recalls. “I was too captivated by the stories of our predecessors, and how as they faced their challenges with all the same fears, trepidations, and uncertainty we feel now, they also shaped our world today.”
Not long after the solitary years of the pandemic, Jackson was looking for a way to bring people together in real life. He hit on the idea of taking his passion for history on the road with a live “History that Doesn’t Suck” event separate from the podcasts. On Jan. 11, that show rolls into the Broadberry.
Just don’t expect a lecture or to ever hear the stage show on his podcast. The live experience crafted for the stage is called “The Unlikely Union” and tells the story of the struggle and triumph of a young nation to form, define and reform itself. “It’s the first 100 years of American history told in 100 minutes,” says Jackson. “It’s a storytelling spectacle with drama and humor to make the facts more entertaining and memorable.”
He’s aware of a sense among many today that the Republic might not weather its present storms, which motivates him to remind Americans of the nation’s resilience despite unimaginable challenges since the very beginning.
In just over an hour and a half during the show, Jackson takes the audience on a storytelling odyssey from the Declaration of Independence through the Republic’s decades of challenges and full-blown existential crisis as demonstrated by the devastation of the Civil War. “Nothing we’re experiencing today compares to the history of our birth in 1776 and near death in 1860,” he insists. “Those two events alone are compelling lessons in disunity vs. unity, and we persevered with the latter.”
The live “History that Doesn’t Suck” experience uses music, lights and video to make its points. Musicians play live with backing tracks from an original full orchestral score that adds cinematic drama to the storytelling. “Music makes everything better — everything,” says Jackson. “For the Richmond show, I’ll play guitar along with two other live musicians on violin and cello respectively.”
Video is used to display images of historical documents like The Constitution, but also lesser known or seen artifacts like The Olive Branch Petition and The Emancipation Proclamation. Text is also used so that people can appreciate the powerful words when Jackson recites a famous speech. “It’s kind of like watching your favorite Netflix show with subtitles and your mind is dazzled by the language,” he says. “When we get to the Civil War, we actually have powerful photographs to convey the sacrifice born by so many, and the leadership you can basically see in the eyes of certain figures.”
This is American history for everyone. You don’t have to be a listener of the podcast or even a history buff to enjoy the live “History that Doesn’t Suck” show. In fact, that’s Jackson’s entire point: it’s entertainment that just happens to teach history.
“History that Doesn’t Suck” with Professor Greg Jackson will be held on Sunday, Jan. 11 at 8 p.m. (doors 7 p.m.) at The Broadberry, 2729 W. Broad Street. Tickets.
