We're Not So Different

folks, we are back for part 2 of this woefully short series on Medieval military evolution in the Old World and it's time to talk about gunpowder. probably the single most important invention ever but it didn't follow the normal formula for these things, instead sitting on the shelf as a elixir for eternal life before being adopted for military application by increasingly desperate Chinese states....

folks, we don't talk about military history all that much on the show except as an aspect of the overall narratives and histories we tell. however, we do sometimes have to talk about it specifically because it is both interesting and necessary to understanding things. it's not the end-all, be-all, most important thing ever as it is sometimes portrayed but, ya know, you can't fully enforce your pol...

folks, we have referenced it a couple of times but now it's finally time to focus on the Mesopotamian Afterlife, including their underworld and ghosts. we talk about how they formed their conception of the afterlife, what it looked like, the bizarre and unfair punishments received depending on how you die, leaving milk and cookies out for Gilgamesh, the quite beautiful and tender reception that ba...

folks, just as the ancient prophecies foretold, we're back for a second September mailbag episode. we dive back into the patrons questions again to talk about the 90's comedy Sister Act, treatments for very small injuries, the survival of the Hungarian language, pipe smoking in the Old World, Medieval home decor, what constitutes a colony, and more! cover image is a promotional image for the 1992...

folks, we are back with another mailbag episode for your enjoyment! we take patron questions about source survival, Tolkien as a medievalist, mercenaries, old primary sources, world peace, and more! cover image is a bottle of Costco's Kirkland's Signature branded Chateauneuf du Pape, 2023 vintage I found online

(00:00:00) Intro - A tales of 2 online interactions (00:06:32) What is hegemony, what does it mean for a Church to be hegemonic? (00:14:29) Hegemony can't override individual interpretations of the Bible (00:29:02) The Gregorian Reforms and the blunders that led to the crackdowns (00:40:00) When the Church changed on: clerical celibacy, just war theory, enslaving other Christians, Pagan and Muslim...

folks, the new movie Uprising, starring Andrew Garfield, is supposed to be released in a week and yet, the film's entire marketing scheme was thrown into chaos when a seemingly unauthorized trailer linking the film to Robin Hood was published online. the production company has since confirmed that the film is based on Wat Tyler and the Peasant's Uprising of 1381 but that has still led many to ques...

(00:00:00) Cold Open - Civ 7 and more ghosts (00:10:07) Patron questions - Weird Italian perverts and Papal naming conventions (00:24:05) Intro (00:26:05) Viking Textile Industries (00:31:57) Central Europe had 16 catastrophic floods in 2 years (00:40:29) Bayeux Tapestry returns to England (00:47:07) Alchemy is totally vindicated (01:04:39) Death by Trebuchet folks, there's recently been a spate o...

folks, some of our patrons requested that we do tier list rankings of the popes and we are so happy to oblige, you have no idea. however, we can't do all 267 at once or even in a row but we can start with some smaller chunks and so we decided to rank the seven popes of the Avignon Papacy and the two antipopes in Avignon during the Western Schism. see where we rank them all from S down to F and let...

folks, today we tackle longtime frenemy of the podcast: Peter Abelard. he's a very interesting historical figure for his positively cutting edge ideas in numerous fields of study and is singled out and oppressed by the Church and clergy but he's also most famous for an extremely problematic relationship with his lifelong love, Heloise, a probably underage girl and definitely his student and underl...

folks, we're back with our monthly mailbag episode wherein we answer questions from our patrons. this time, we talk about what happens if you are shipwrecked in the Middle Ages, depictions of Jesus, Medieval crocs–the shoes, not the giant creatures, though they were around–slaves at the end of empire, noble views on chivalry, getting cut off at the Medieval pub, the worst name I’ve ever heard for...

folks, it's time to review Christopher Nolan's film adaptation of The Odyssey, which just came out a couple of weeks back. we talk about the good and bad choices Nolan made in his adaptation, his handling of the source material, the stellar production values, Zeus's Law, our Age of Bronze collapsing, the spectacle, Rob Pattinson's masterclass, forgetting how to read, and so much more. enjoy!

folks, everyone has Odyssey fever these days, so we decided to do a little episode talking about Homer, the Iliad, the Odyssey, what they mean, a weirdo named Heinrich Schliemann, the real Fall of Troy, and what it all has to do with the Bronze Age Collapse and the enigmatic Sea Peoples. Tune in next time when we review Christopher Nolan's recently released Odyssey film.

folks, we start out book club series on Christopher Buehlman's 2012 Medievalist fantasy horror novel, Between Two Fires. we briefly introduce the author and the book and then jump right into the action. we talk plague, a magic kid, a broken man, a Dark Souls boss fight, a few miracles, and an angel named Sock. enjoy!

folks, we are back and diving into our monthly episode of patron mailbag questions. this time, we talk about grain storage, the university at Bologna, Medieval fiction writing, the Greek language, new D&D classes, and more. enjoy!

folks, today we talk about the Mediterranean Sea. you know it, you love it. we discuss how it just looks like a really cool place to set a fantasy series, where we would setup our fictional empire, why it was so conducive to civilization and empire formation, how it served as a conduit for trade, travel, cultural influence, religious syncretism, and more. oh, and how it's always so wine dark and p...

folks, we are back with another mailbag because we are behind on patron questions. this time, we talk about everything from donkeys to postal services, gendered work to seasoning pans, Hungary to myths and folklore, and even a whole block of questions about peasants running away to the cities and obtaining their freedom by staying for a year and a day. enjoy! cover image: frontispiece from Gustave...

folks, the World Cup is once again upon us in all of its glory and terror. so we take a look back at sports in the Middle Ages. we talk Medieval football, crossbow competitions, jousts and melees, chariot racing, the Mesoamerican ballgame, and more. we also talk about how sports has always been at the intersection of politics, culture, religion, and communal life for both the regular folks and the...

folks, we're back and diving into the patron mailbag once again. this time, we answer questions about a host of topics, including: height differences, Aurora Borealis, best Medieval turlet, Traditional Chinese Medicine, battlefield name changes, othering, and spectacular Medieval wizard battles! check it out! cover image is of Aurora Borealis, taken from space.com

folks, back in January, we brought on Logan Weimer to talk about the unfolding situation in Minneapolis but she was originally supposed to come on the show to talk about her deep interest in the life, death, and afterlife of Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford, lady in waiting to four of Henry VIII's wives and sister-in-law to Anne Boleyn. we cover a whole range of topics, including coerced testimon...

folks, this is a long one. Luke talks about his Roman Empire: the Chicxulub Asteroid that killed the dinosaurs. it's a scripted episode (don't get used to it) chronicling 3 separate stories: the asteroid impact and its aftermath that killed the dinosaurs, the lives of some of those dinosaurs 66 million years ago, and the modern story of how the asteroid impact hypothesis became scientific consensu...

folks, we finish up our series on Premodern Iran by looking at Greater Iran from the arrival of the Mongols in 1219 until the fall of the Timurid Empire and the Rise of the Safavids in 1501. we talk internal Mongol civil wars, the Ilkhanate, the Timurid Renaissance, the strains of apocalyptic thought amongst the peasantry, the Iranian Golden Age, and the final vindication of a nearly 900 year old...

folks, we are back with part 3 of our series on Premodern Iran. this time, we get into the long, dark years for Iran and its peoples between the Muslim conquest and the Mongol invasions (651-1221 CE). we talk about how the idea of Iran survived even when the Persian language and Zoroastrianism were both suppressed, how the concept of Iranian identity formed into a real ideological project, why we...

Welcome to the Crusades: The Second Crusade coming Summer 2026 this is just a special bonus episode we recorded with Danny and Derek from American Prestige. there will be a regular weekly episode out, the third part of our series on Premodern Iran, the week of May 11. in order to celebrate Mother's Day and the announcement that Welcome to the Crusade is coming back to do the Second Crusade this su...

folks, we continue the series on Premodern Iran by picking up with the Sasanid Empire, which swept the Arsacid dynasty away in the 3rd century. we discuss the waxing and waning fortunes of the Sasanids, their wars with Rome, the great heights of Khosrow I, and the long legacy they would leave in their wake after being destroyed by the Arab-Muslim conquest of Iran. we then talk about exactly how an...