My first experience with history, must have been my own story. I was tasked with mapping my family tree in school, and I remember so clearly the excitement and interest I had. Having my mom tell me the stories of the people who had come before me, and how they had lived so very differently then I had. I couldn’t get enough.
The Reckoning
But then I got older, and school history changed from cute little assignments, to hour long lectures instead. I realized history had gotten boring. And it killed me inside! Especially knowing it didn’t have to be like that. Knowing it could be engaging and fun to learn of the past. So, I decided to study it more in depth.
I went to the University of Southern Denmark, and I studied history and religion (another topic which has gotten severely neglected). And here I realized, that what made history so interesting to me, was the aspect of choice. The choice to dive into exactly the part of history, that spoke to you!
Funnily enough my choices fell completely outside what we were being taught most days, but I managed. Enough of our curriculum sparked my curiosity to keep me passionate. But not enough! It still felt like it could be better.
The Realization
I realized the books we had to read, had only been reviewed by other historians, and most were very inaccessible to regular people. I wanted to change that. Not by nessercerly writing them myself, but by making it easier to find accurate and accessible titles.
Then I started listening to podcasts, like Dan Harlans Hardcore History, and I was amazed and fascinated by his storytelling. But the podcasts were several hours long! There had to be a better way! And so, I stumbled upon Lore, a different history podcast. The episodes are short, story driven and so, so good! I wanted to do that!
And so, the thought of Notoriously Boring was born!
