By day, Jason Kingsley is the CEO of Rebellion, an independent video game developer that’s been cranking out hits since the '90s. But in 2017, he noticed a shift in the media landscape. YouTube - once a bastion of cat videos and reaction vlogs - was emerging as a destination for longform educational content.

Jason’s obsession with medieval history, background in raising horses, and love of fantasy role-playing games compelled him to start Modern History TV, a channel with rigorous and delightful video essays about life in medieval Europe.

But instead of talking into a webcam and cutting in b-roll, Jason actually suits up in real armor, dusts off the jousting lance, and tastes the food that graced the hearths of medieval peasants

His channel has grown to nearly 1 million subscribers, and his wildly popular videos about weapons, taverns, and guilds reach far more. His work has informed countless writers, dungeon masters, and plain ol' curious minds.

Jason joins Matt to discuss why insignificant things become important through the lens of history, his focus on the lives of regular medieval people, YouTube Learning vs. Book Learning, his favorite videos, curfews for pigs, and that time he chatted with King Charles about jousting.

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