Ancient History Podcasts 🎙
For International Podcast Day I want to recommend three of the history-themed podcasts I am regularly listening to for enjoyment and also to learn so I can bring the ancient world to life in a way that somewhat resembles academic research on real life.
The Partial Historians by Dr. Rad and Dr. G
The Partial Historians podcast recounts the history of ancient Rome from the mythical founding of the city in 753 BCE up to the year 400 BCE at the time I am writing this, meaning many highlights of Rome's history are still to come! 🤘
Ancient Greece and ancient Rome are often lumped together but the cultures are definitely not the same, even if the Romans stole share some hallmarks of Greek civilisation like the evil-averting powers of genitalia and the disdain for cunnilingus. In order to understand how the Romans differed from their Greek I am educating myself on Roman history by listening to the delightful duo of Dr. Rad and Dr. G as they recount Rome's history year by year using Roman sources and putting it into perspective for layfolk listeners. Many special episodes spice up the format like the recent episode on Monty Python's Life of Brian, the guest episode with Dr. Jeremy J. Swist on the ancient world in Metal Music or an explanation of Roman naming conventions.
Give The Partial Historians a listen here!
The History of Egypt Podcast by Dominic Perry
Writing Egyptian mythology stories still feels daunting to me but thanks to Dominic Perry's podcast, I feel like I can do a much better job. He explains the world view of the ancient Egyptians very well and the numerous special episodes on specific topics, including love songs and beer, help me feel more confident depicting ancient Egyptian settings.
The History of Egypt podcast, like the Partial Historians, goes through Egypt's history in chronological fashion but takes numerous detours exploring specific topics in more detail.
Of special interest to me were the episodes on Egypts contact with the Minoans and Myceneans, cultures of early Greece, and the Egyptian religious year but I don't think there has been an episode where I didn't learn anything new!
Give The Historcy of Egypt Podcast a try here!
Dirty Sexy History by Jessica Cale
The Dirty Sexy History podcast is more fluid in time and place than the two podcasts above but there are several episodes on the ancient world including this episode on Ariadne, women in the ancient world, how sex work built London's churches in Roman Britain, and the transgender priests of Cybele and, a special interest of mine, contraceptives.
That is not to say that the episodes covering more recent history are anything to snub your nose at. Mythbusting the persistent demonisation of the corset with biological anthropologist Rebecca Gibson or the overview of "female husbands" and other LGBTQ+ unions in Georgian England are well worth a listen.
Learn about Dirty Sexy History here!
What are your favourite podcasts? Which hosts should I lend my ear next?
