Claire Aubin is a National Geographic Explorer. Now, with her groundbreaking storytelling podcast, “This Guy Sucked,” she’s shaking up the world of historical analysis. Aubin’s research focuses on the United States’ post-World War II relationship with Nazis who immigrated to the US after the war ended. Friedman dives deep into the legacies of these complicated founding fathers. Her podcast unapologetically centers the men who have died. Perhaps most importantly, it exposes the absurdities and hypocrisy in their behavior. Aubin’s poetic work serves as an important clarion call to a modern audience. Best of all, it challenges them to rethink their perspectives on historical legacies.
Aubin emerged as a powerful force as an instructor within UC Davis and San Francisco State University’s history departments. Her academic career has been characterized by creating these transformative learning experiences. She is about to take up a new, full-time postdoctoral fellowship at Yale and deepen her legacy in this exciting field of research. Her podcast, This Guy Sucked, features her fascinating conversations with talented, comedic historian guests. These intrepid scholars have spent their lives investigating the great bad guys such as Henry Ford, Voltaire, Plato, and Jerry Lee Lewis.
"There are people that have had a profoundly negative impact on your life, so it’s important to add them back into the story," Aubin asserts.
And the podcast really is a deep dive into each of its subjects. It dives deeper than the basic overview you might expect on places like Wikipedia, providing listeners in-depth context and compelling stories. Aubin goes deep into the life of Jerry Lee Lewis. He lingers on outrageous moments, like the time Lewis hit Janis Joplin in the face during a scuffle. In like manner, the podcast looks at Voltaire’s complicated legacy—he was an opponent of slavery but made money off the slave trade.
Aubin’s project does more than name the toxic legacy of systemic oppression. It critiques the ways we’ve recorded and remembered that history. She argues that most of these men were uncritically lionized by the public upon their deaths.
"These people are specifically responsible for the way they were largely accepted uncritically by the public after their deaths," she states.
The podcast's approach is both scholarly and critical, offering a nuanced view that respects the wholeness of a person's legacy. Aubin makes the case that to hate or critique these historical figures helps get more Americans interested in learning about our history.
"Disliking someone or having a problem with their historical legacy is worth talking about, and brings more people into learning about history," she notes.
Aubin’s podcast hosts esteemed guest historians who bring to life the great historical personages lives and times. This living policy guarantees inclusive, thoughtful, and data-driven conversations. Yet, her subjects are not arbitrary; they are purposely selected to highlight larger themes of human rights and societal injustice throughout the ages.
"The bar is subterranean when it comes to 18th-century people and the concept of human rights," comments Eleanor Janega, a guest historian on the podcast.
Aubin is quick to stress that her podcast isn’t about trying to cancel people from history. Rather, it’s about figuring out their legacies in a comprehensive way. She thinks it’s important to get a full picture, the good and the bad, of these people’s lives. This is how we get the full and honest picture of history.
"They have nothing to gain from canceling them. What they do have to gain is a respect and dedication to talking about history in a way that is holistic, that understands legacy as something that encompasses both positive and negative, and the wholeness of a person," Aubin explains.