History That Doesn’t Suck Now Doesn't Suck Even More

Lehi, UT: Monday, May 25th, the popular American history podcast History That Doesn’t Suck (HTDS) debuts its 65th episode, but its first in partnership with production company Airship, and with a brand new sound. After the amicable departure of Josh Beatty, founding member and sound designer of the podcast, Greg Jackson, host and creator of HTDS, sought advice from Lindsay Graham (no, not that Lindsey Graham), host and producer of several hit history shows. The two quickly saw opportunity in elevating the podcast’s production values and broadening the reach of the Airship network.

“Greg and I met at Podcast Movement in Orlando last summer,” Graham says. “It was one of those chance encounters that conferences like that are so good at creating. I think we both felt we were aligned in our missions: teaching history through entertaining narratives.”

“I called Lindsay at first just to ask for advice,” Jackson remembers. “I told him; ‘our sound designer is leaving, what should I do?!’ But by the end of the call, we had reached a partnership. Airship will begin the production and sound design of HTDS, bringing with them the expertise demonstrated on shows like American History Tellers and American Scandal.”

In partnership, HTDS and Airship will cross-promote, share ideas and resources, and begin to pursue the advantages of scale larger networks enjoy.

“When you look at the success of networks like Wondery, you see not only good shows, but good marketing” Graham says, who has six podcasts, all on the Wondery network. “I’m hoping that by bringing on History That Doesn’t Suck, and other shows in the future, Airship can build out the production, operational and marketing capabilities to reach a broader audience. Scale is the key; I know I’m not alone in wishing I didn’t have to wear all these hats, do all these things you’re supposed to do, to get your show not only made, but heard.”

“Airship brings that last element to History That Doesn’t Suck that my team and I simply couldn’t provide. My team and I are historians by training,” says Jackson, a university professor with a Ph.D. in history. “While I’m quite proud of the work and sound design we’ve done in the past two years, there’s just no substitute for expertise; I was genuinely moved as I previewed Airship’s work on our first episode together. I’m very excited about this partnership and our future with Airship.”

Fans of HTDS will hear the new production touches immediately. In addition to providing a deeper, more immersive sound design, Airship has rearranged and re-recorded the podcast theme song with musicians from the touring orchestra of Broadway hit Hamilton, created an evocative palette of custom-composed music, and is mastering the show to industry standards for clear, intelligible, and enveloping sound.

“Lindsay is a musical genius,” says Jackson. “I love the original theme song, and labored over it, but the new instrumentation, the key change—it simply epitomizes what Airship brings, and not only because of its professionalism. I was impressed with the way Lindsay kept the raw ‘feel’ of initial composition. I think that’s what’s so great about working with Lindsay and his team. Airship isn’t changing or taking over HTDS in any way, he’s very sensitive to that; Airship is polishing what we do and enabling us to hit our full potential.”

About History That Doesn’t Suck

History That Doesn’t Suck is a bi-weekly podcast that teaches US history through entertaining stories. Greg Jackson founded it in 2017 with the goal of making history more accessible by merging academic rigor with entertainment in free-to-access podcasts. He serves as the show’s host/professor. The episodes are researched and written by him and his co-author, Senior Researcher & Writer, Cielle Salazar.

About Airship

Airship is an audio production and podcasting company based in Dallas, TX. Since its founding in 2017, Airship has produced the hit shows American Scandal, The Mysterious Mister Epstein, American History Tellers, American Elections: Wicked Game, Tides of History, Imagined Life, the audio dramas 1865 and Terms, and contributed sound design, production and editorial assistance to many others. Every month, Airship podcasts are downloaded over four million times.