Summary: "Should Historians Be Celebrities?"

History Extra Podcast – Preview Episode
Release Date: October 3, 2025
Host: Matt Alton
Panelists: Hannah Skoda and Rana Mitter

Episode Overview

This preview episode from the new podcast series History Behind the Headlines explores the phenomenon of the "celebrity historian," taking as a launching point David Olusoga's forthcoming appearance on the BBC reality show Celebrity Traitors. The discussion considers whether historians should become celebrities, examines precedents for public-facing historians in the past, and interrogates the tensions between historical accuracy and public appetite for entertainment.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Celebrity Historian: Historical Precedent

• Hannah Skoda reflects on the long-standing tradition of popular historians gaining prominence (03:55–08:17):
  • She cites Harrison Ainsworth, a 19th-century historical novelist more popular than Dickens in his time, who galvanized public interest in heritage sites through vivid and accessible writing.
  • Ainsworth’s novel, "The Tower of London" (1841), was cited as directly encouraging public investment and increased visitors to the Tower, due to "extremely detailed architectural descriptions" and sensational gothic elements.
  • Skoda notes that 19th-century interest in history often "had a sort of Gothic flavour"—with ghost stories, horrors, and romance dominating public imagination.
  • She points to problematic elements, like how much of the "gory torture paraphernalia" displayed to Victorian visitors was fabricated to match expectations—the infamous "thumbscrew," for example, was largely a 19th-century invention:

    “A lot of these torture instruments were pretty much invented in the 19th century… They weren’t actually used in the Middle Ages.”
    — Hannah Skoda, 07:37

• This history illustrates the persistent tension between history as entertainment and history as integrity.

The Tensions of Historical Popularization

• Skoda raises the dilemma for today’s historians (08:00–08:17):
  • There is a “fine line” between making history engaging for the public and maintaining fidelity to “historical realities.”
  • Modern presentations, especially in heritage and education, must balance sensitivity to victims and accuracy, rather than distorting for spectacle:

    “It's not okay to distort things in order to make things more entertaining. So historians are always treading this really fine line and it's a tension that I think remains really current.” — Hannah Skoda, 08:12

Is Celebrity Status in Historians' Hands?

• Rana Mitter addresses whether historians should or even can become celebrities (08:17–09:26):
  • Argues celebrity is mostly outside individual historians’ control—more a matter of "the fickle finger of fate" and timely relevance of a historian’s specialty.
  • Topics can become suddenly relevant due to world events, and historians in those fields may be thrust into the spotlight "serendipitously."
  • Mitter notes, however, that there is sometimes broader benefit ("greater public good") when historians gain a platform—he signals an intent to argue in favor of this, at least in certain cases:

    “If we're saying should in the sense of, you know, is there some greater public good that comes for it? I'm going to try and make a case for yes, and I'll explain why.” — Rana Mitter, 09:08

The Broader Implications

• The preview episode teases further exploration of:
  • How celebrity can be both a blessing and a challenge for historical accuracy.
  • The potential educational value of public historian figures.
  • The risks of sensationalism when historians become personalities.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Victorian sensationalism:

  “In the 19th century, they really went for it in terms of the entertainment dimension.”
  — Hannah Skoda, 08:06

• On the modern challenge:

  “Historians are always treading this really fine line and it's a tension that I think remains really current.”
  — Hannah Skoda, 08:12

• On the unpredictability of fame:

  “…a combination of the fickle finger of fate and also some questions like, you know, such as the, the timeliness of the topic…”
  — Rana Mitter, 08:21

• On the possibility of positive influence:

  “Is there some greater public good that comes for it? I'm going to try and make a case for yes, and I'll explain why.”
  — Rana Mitter, 09:08

Important Timestamps

• 01:49–01:59 – Official start of content, show and host introductions.
• 03:06–03:19 – Introductions of regular panelists Hannah Skoda and Rana Mitter.
• 03:19–03:55 – Setting up the episode’s central question: "Should historians be celebrities?"
• 03:55–08:17 – Hannah Skoda’s deep dive into the history and complications of historical celebrity.
• 08:17–09:26 – Rana Mitter on the nature of celebrity and its unpredictability for historians.
• 09:26–09:44 – Episode wrap-up and link out to full episode.

Tone and Style

The conversation keeps an engaging, accessible tone—balancing anecdotal stories and deeper academic insights. Both panelists show respect for the complexities of public history while injecting personality and humor (e.g., Skoda’s enthusiasm for “Gothic horror” in Victorian public history, Mitter’s sardonic take on fate and fame).

Takeaway

Should historians be celebrities? The debate remains open:

• There’s rich precedent for historians stimulating public interest and contributing to broader understanding, but also significant risks if entertainment’s pull leads to misrepresentation or distortion.
• Modern historians juggle the pressures of making history compelling while protecting its integrity—an old dilemma in a new media landscape.
• The full episode promises deeper dives into both the opportunities and perils of the historian-as-celebrity.

For a nuanced and provocative discussion, listeners are encouraged to subscribe to the full "History Behind the Headlines" podcast.