Literature and History

A podcast by Doug Metzger

Categories:

106 Episodes

  1. Episode 86: An Introduction to Late Antiquity

    Published: 25/04/2021
  2. Episode 85: River

    Published: 4/04/2021
  3. Episode 84: Manichaeism

    Published: 14/03/2021
  4. Episode 83: Gnosticism

    Published: 28/02/2021
  5. Episode 82: Zoroastrianism

    Published: 31/01/2021
  6. Episode 81: Revelation

    Published: 10/01/2021
  7. Episode 80: The General Epistles

    Published: 14/10/2020
  8. Episode 79: The Pauline Epistles

    Published: 25/09/2020
  9. Episode 78: The Book of Acts

    Published: 11/09/2020
  10. Episode 77: The Gospels

    Published: 30/06/2020
  11. Episode 76: Judea Under Herod

    Published: 7/06/2020
  12. Episode 75: Dusk and Starlight

    Published: 25/04/2020
  13. Episode 74: Marcus Aurelius (The Meditations)

    Published: 14/03/2020
  14. Episode 73: The Golden Ass (Apuleius' The Golden Ass)

    Published: 29/02/2020
  15. Episode 72: Bread and Circuses (Juvenal's Satires)

    Published: 14/02/2020
  16. Episode 71: The Gods Depart (Statius' Thebaid)

    Published: 29/01/2020
  17. Episode 70: Rome's Forgotten Epic (Statius' Thebaid)

    Published: 9/09/2019
  18. Episode 69: Rome's Comic Novel (Petronius' Satyricon)

    Published: 26/08/2019
  19. Episode 68: Love Means Sin (Seneca's Phaedra)

    Published: 5/08/2019
  20. Episode 67: Jaws Dripping Blood (Seneca's Thyestes)

    Published: 17/07/2019

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With millions of downloads, hundreds of hours of soundtracked content, and an overall emphasis on the cultural history behind famous works of literature, Literature and History is one of the most popular independent podcasts on its subject. Starting with Sumerian cuneiform in 3,100 BCE, Literature and History moves forward in chronological order through Assyriology, Egyptology, the Old Testament, Ancient Greece and Rome, and the birth of Christianity. The show's current season is on Late Antiquity (or 200-700 CE) and the dawn of the Middle Ages. A typical episode (they average about two hours) features a general introduction to a work of literature, then a full summary of that work that expects no prior knowledge, and finally, an analysis of the cultural, biographical, and historical forces that gave rise to the work in question. Original symphonic and ambient background music is woven throughout each show, and all episodes offer free full, illustrated, footnoted transcriptions as well as quizzes for purposes of review. The show has no advertisements, and its host takes pride in a professional approach that avoids chitchat and ephemera and gets straight to the educational content. You can listen to the episodes in any order, although most listeners begin at the beginning and proceed from there, as the podcast itself is chronologically organized. Doug Metzger finished his Ph.D. in literature in 2011. His chief scholarly interest, following his dissertation work, continues to be 19th-century realism and postbellum American philosophy.

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