Jackson van Uden - Henry VIII and Donald J. Trump: Is History Repeating?

From his eating habits to his politics, from his wives to his advisors Henry VIII has always demanded our attention, and we have always given it! However, we have very rarely thought about what we would do if someone similar emerged on the world stage, but since the emergence of Donald J.

Trump’s political career we’ve no longer had to imagine.

Join us as we discover what makes these two men more similar than we might believe, and the scary differences that prevents history from repeating! Jackson van Uden (27) is a historian and political commentator who specialises in power, tyranny, and dictators across history and the modern world.

He is currently a History PhD student at Royal Holloway, University of London, where he is researching the authoritarianisation of the US executive under Donald J.

Trump.

In 2021, Jackson set up his history platform, History with Jackson, with the aim of making history more accessible and digestible for everyone through books, articles, podcasts, and video content.

Since setting up History with Jackson, he has worked with many leading historians such as Kate Williams, Alice Loxton, Richard J.

Evans and Anthony Scaramucci and historical institutions such as Historic Royal Palaces, The Royal Armouries, and Yale University Press; leading to his content being watched by millions of people.

Jackson has also spoken on the history of tyranny and his work in public history across the world, speaking to students at the University of Manitoba, the Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History at the University of Luxembourg and Challke History Festival.

He has also made frequent BBC Radio appearances, and his work has appeared in a wide range of history publications, such as All About History Magazine and History of War Magazine.

He has also featured on many top history podcasts, such as History Rage and Talking Tudors.

Additionally, Jackson is one of the Festival Directors and the Talks Curator behind the Katharine of Aragon Festival in Peterborough, and he has also worked very closely with Chalke History Festival on the Chalke Introduces Programme and as their online Chalke Talks Host.

In 2024, he was named in BBC History Extra’s 30 Under 30 list, and on the 2025 Chalke Introduces Programme, positioning him as one of the best young historians in the country.

Jackson would love to grow his career as a historian, presenter, interviewer and commentator and gain more media experience using his knowledge and skills to better contextualise the historical and political issues that impact the world today.

Jacksons’ website can be found here: https://historywithjackson.co.uk/