This Guy Sucked

Claire, Nicole Hemmer, and Kevin Schultz play some games and answer the easiest question in the world: are all of the American presidents bad? **THIS UNLOCKED EPISODE WAS RECORDED LIVE AT THE CHEERFUL EARFUL PODCAST FESTIVAL IN OCTOBER 2025** Guest Nicole Hemmer is a professor of History at Vanderbilt University and Director of the Carolyn T. and Robert M. Rogers Center for the American Presidency...

Claire and Gautham Rao get into why, exactly, this guy is often ranked the worst president of a country with a lot of truly awful presidents. Guest Our guest Gautham Rao is an Associate Professor of History at American University. His newest book, White Power: Policing American Slavery is available here . Follow him on Bluesky @gauthamrao , and on Instagram @rao__gautham , or visit his website her...

Claire and Prof. Catherine Fletcher take a (metaphorical) trip to the gun range, except it’s in Italy and the people are wearing funny pants. Guest Our guest Catherine Fletcher is a Professor of History at Manchester Metropolitan University. Her new book The Firearm Revolution: From Renaissance Italy to the European Empire s is available here . Follow her on Bluesky @catherinefletcher or visit her...

Claire and Prof. Andrew Wender Cohen confirm that you really, really, really did not want to be alive in the 19th century. Guest Our guest Andrew Wender Cohen is a Professor of History at Syracuse University. His new book Gangster of New York: A Violent Life in 19th Century America , is available here . Sensitive Themes & Topics Racial violence, domestic violence and child abuse, sexual violen...

Claire and Eli Yudin ponder the long-term negative effects of poisoning everybody you’ve ever met. Guest Our guest Eli Yudin is a comedian, writer, and host of What A Time To Be Alive . Watch his new stand-up special Humble Offering here . Follow him on Twitter @eliyudin , Bluesky @eliyudin , Twitch @pig_dog and Instagram @yahootoolbar , or visit his website . Sensitive Themes & Topics Murder,...

Claire and Prof. Peter Mancall remind listeners that all those places were named after a real guy, who might still be alive since we don’t technically know what happened to him. Guest Our guest Peter Mancall is a Professor of History, Anthropology, and Economics at the University of Southern California. His newest book Contested Continent: The Struggle for North America c. 1000-1680 is available h...

Claire and Devin Thomas O’Shea come up with a series of incredible drag names and talk about a Confederate soldier/secret society founder a little bit. Guest Our guest Devin Thomas O’Shea is a writer and lecturer at Saint Louis University. His book The Veiled Prophet: Secret Societies, White Supremacy, and the Struggle for St. Louis is available here . Follow him on Twitter and Bluesky , or visit...

Claire sits down with two Mark Twain experts for a live discussion of his memory and misdeeds. In his own home. Guests Matt Seybold is an Associate Professor of American Literature and Mark Twain Studies at Elmira College and the host of The American Vandal , and Erin Bartram is a historian and the Associate Director for Education at the Mark Twain House and Museum. Visit Matt’s website here , and...

Claire and Dylan Gottlieb do some introspection on their brie and Pellegrino habits. Guest Our guest Dylan Gottlieb is an Assistant Professor of History at Bentley University and the host of Who Makes Cents . His new book Yuppies: The Bankers, Lawyers, Joggers and Gourmands Who Conquered New York , is available here . Follow him on Twitter and Bluesky , or visit his website . Sensitive Themes &amp...

We’re excited to share a preview of a new podcast we think you’d enjoy:  No Such Thing No Such Thing is a show where three best friends and journalists settle their dumb arguments — and yours — by actually doing the research. Hosts Manny Fidel, Noah Friedman, and Devan Joseph start each episode with an argument using just their gut feelings. Then they go out into the world, investigate, talk...

Claire and Matthew Gabriele talk medieval kingship, TikTok expertise, and why all historians are basically just sword guys. Guest Our guest Matthew Gabriele is a professor of medieval studies at Virginia Tech and the host of American Medieval . Follow him on Bluesky and Instagram , or visit his website . Sponsors Talkiatry is a 100% online psychiatry practice that provides comprehensive evaluation...

Claire and Patrick Wyman build whatever the opposite of a monument is for this guy. Guest Our guest Dr. Patrick Wyman is a historian and podcaster. His book Lost Worlds: How Humans Tried, Failed, Succeeded, and Built Our World , is available here , and his podcast Past Lives is available here . Follow him on Bluesky , Twitter , and Instagram . Sensitive Themes & Topics Slavery, warfare and des...

Claire and Prof. Kristin Grogan serve some poetic justice to the literary world’s favorite fascist. Guest Our guest Kristin Grogan is an Assistant Professor of English at Rutgers University. Her book Stitch, Unstitch: Modernist Poetry and the World of Work is available here . Sensitive Themes & Topics Torture/imprisonment, antisemitism Credits - Host & Executive Producer: Claire E. Aubin....

TGS and Lingthusiasm join forces to think through all the things that can go wrong when you give a grifter too much power over indigenous languages. Guest Our guest Lauren Gawne is an Associate Professor of Linguistics at La Trobe University and the co-host of Lingthusiasm . Follow Lingthusiasm on Bluesky and Instagram , or join their Patreon . Sensitive Themes & Topics Genocide, racism and ra...

*THIS GUY SUCKED WILL RETURN NEXT WEEK* In the meantime, enjoy an introduction to Multitude’s newest show, Dreaming Against The Machine with Adam Becker! Want double the TGS episodes, all ad-free, and other exclusive perks? Join the TGS Patreon . Shop our bookshelf - The Hater’s Library - here . Find Us Online - Website: thisguysucked.com - Instagram: instagram.com/thisguysucked - Bluesky: @thisgu...

Claire and Megan Kate Nelson head west and discuss old-timey journalistic ethics along the way. Guest Our guest Dr. Megan Kate Nelson is a historian of the American West. Her newest book, The Westerners: Mythmaking and Belonging on the American Frontier is available here . Follow her on Bluesky and Instagram or visit her website . Sensitive Themes & Topics Genocide, racism, racial violence, se...

Claire and Oscar Winberg consider whether it might be a bad idea to let television characters run your government. Guest Our guest Dr. Oscar Winberg is postdoctoral fellow at the Turku Institute for Advanced Studies and the John Morton Center for North American Studies. His book Archie Bunker for President is available here . Follow him on Bluesky or visit his website . Sensitive Themes & Topi...

Claire and Prof. Quinn Slobodian remind everyone that no matter how bad things are, some guys have always wanted them to get worse. Guest Our guest Quinn Slobodian is a professor of international history at Boston University. His newest book Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed , is available for pre-order along with his other books here . Follow him on Bluesky . Credits - Host & Executive Produ...

Claire and Dr. Ally Louks shout LOLITA IS NOT A LOVE STORY into the nearest megaphone. Guest Our guest Dr. Ally Louks is a literary scholar, writer, and public academic. Follow her on Twitter, Bluesky , Instagram , and TikTok . Sensitive Themes & Topics Child sexual abuse, pedophilia Credits - Host & Executive Producer: Claire E. Aubin. Find her on Twitter @ceaubin and Bluesky ceaubin , or...

Claire and Manny, Noah, and Devan of No Such Thing try to figure out what’s really up with our freakiest Founding Father. Guest No Such Thing is a weekly podcast finding actual answers to today’s most pressing questions. Go give it a listen and follow the show on Instagram and TikTok . Sensitive Themes & Topics Slavery, genocide Credits - Host & Executive Producer: Claire E. Aubin. Find he...

Claire and Prof. Richard Cole head over to medieval Jerusalem and prove that dysentery is the real mind-killer. Guest Our guest Richard Cole is an Associate Professor of Medieval European History at Aarhus University and host of The Chronicles , from the Centre for Viking and Medieval Studies. Sensitive Themes & Topics Warfare and violence Credits - Host & Executive Producer: Claire E. Aub...

Claire and Prof. Nicole Hemmer take aim at the former vice president and then make him apologize for it afterwards. Guest Our guest Nicole Hemmer is a professor of History and Director of the Carolyn T. and Robert M. Rogers Center for the American Presidency at Vanderbilt University, as well as the host of This Day . Her books Partisans and Messengers of the Right are available here . Follow her o...

Claire and Prof. Curtis Dozier venture back to Ancient Greece to investigate whether politicians have been horrible forever. Guest Our guest Curtis Dozier is an associate professor and chair of Greek and Roman Studies at Vassar. His book The White Pedestal: How White Nationalists Use Ancient Greece and Rome to Justify Hate , is available here . Follow him on Bluesky @curtisdozier and visit his web...

Claire and Prof. Melissa Murray go south of the Mason-Dixon line to put America’s worst jurist on trial. Guest Our guest Melissa Murray is a Professor of Law at NYU and the host of Strict Scrutiny . You can buy tickets for Strict Scrutiny’s Bad Decisions tour here , and Melissa’s new book, The U.S. Constitution: A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader , is available for preorder...

Claire takes Eleanor, Luke, Danny, and Derek on a holy crusade to bring down Peter the Hermit. Guest Today’s guests are Eleanor Janega, Danny Bessner, Derek Davison, and Luke Waters the hosts of American Prestige and American Prestige: Welcome to the Crusades - give them a listen here . Sponsors Talkiatry is a 100% online psychiatry practice that provides comprehensive evaluations, diagnoses, and...