Against the Lore

In which we go behind bars to speak to prison learners who studied an ancient history course - the first ancient history course ever taught in a prison. We hear from the prisoners, the professors, and the prison staff about how the course transformed the inmates' communication skills, proving that a classical education goes far beyond Latin and Greek.

The second episode in our double bill celebrating the publication of Caroline Lawrence's Pantheon. In this episode, we talk about our favourite heroes and heroines - and our least favourite. Who's your favourite hero or heroine from Greek mythology?

To celebrate the launch of Caroline Lawrence's new book, we've created this special two part series! Today, Caroline joins us as we all discuss our favourite gods and goddesses. Don't forget to order Caroline's new book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pantheon-Illustrated-Handbook-Greek-Goddesses/dp/1781579490/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1LNKO27CS5QBW&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.QTJetO5ZMX2RMX_ToDAHWl...

In which we revisit our favourite things from all of our eight seasons - because this will be the last of our regular content for the foreseeable :'( We'd like to say a huge thank you to all of our lovely listeners and supporters and we hope that you'll look out for some of the other outreach projects we have in the pipeline! It's not the end of Against the Lore - just the end of t...

In which we are joined by Dr Kate Cook and Dr Jane Draycott, experts on classical videogames! Flo, Kate and Jane pitch their favourite videogames set in the ancient world to Meg and Zenia, who are totally new to gaming.

In which Zenia, Meg and Barney pitch Flo their favourite music video that includes classical references! We start with surprise Icarus in a BTS MV, followed by Lil Nas X and Lizzo putting their spin on classical antiquity, while Barney breaks down Katy Perry's Dark Horse...

In which we pitch Flo our favourite documentaries about the ancient world. For Zenia and Meg, these documentaries were genuinely life-changing, setting them on the path that has led all the way up to Against the Lore! But for Barney, the world of documentaries is changing, and not in a good way...

In which Meg, Zenia and Barney pitch Flo their favourite TV drama series set in the ancient world. Zenia puts forward ITV's Plebs and HBO's Rome and Barney fast follows with Starz's steamy series Spartacus, and pitches Gilgamesh as a mini-series. Meg brings two BBC dramas, Atlantis and Troy: Fall of a City, but also pitches a Glee-style series around the City Dionysia. What's your...

In which Zenia, Barney and Meg pitch to Flo their favourite movies set in the ancient world. From Gladiator to Troy, from Prince of Egypt to Gods of Egypt, we go against the lore on thumbs down and the eye of Horus.

In which we welcome special guest Dr Mai Musie to talk about novels, both ancient and modern, set in the ancient world! Mai tells us about novels written in the Roman Empire, which are rollicking tales of love and magic and adventure - and even science fiction! Barney brings an Egyptian Robinson Crusoe to the table, while Meg pitches the queer icon Mary Renault's books and Zenia goes with a cl...

In which we each pitch our favourite children's books set in the ancient world to Flo! Zenia continues fangirling for Caroline Lawrence, Meg is onto a winner with Vesuvius Poovius, while Barney stans Horrible Histories.

In which we pitch our favourite retellings of ancient myth to Flo and she chooses her favourite. From poetic Achilles to sponge adventures to Zeus Behaving Badly, we explore all sorts of Greek myth retellings!

In which we introduce the theme for series eight - the ancient world in modern popular culture! Each episode, we're going to bring our favourite examples of ancient history in popular culture, whether that's books, films, TV shows, videogames, brand names...there's a lot of ancient stuff out there. And Flo will judge the best examples of this 'classical reception'.

What's Classical Reception? Find out in our next series...

In which we are joined by the Titan of Classics, Edith Hall, to talk about classicists from underprivileged backgrounds. From Isobel Cotton the blacksmith's daughter to Hormuzd Rassam to Freya Stark, these ordinary people defied social expectations and class limitations to make their mark on the history of Classics.

In which Caroline Lawrence joins us again to talk about storytelling in the ancient world. Of course, the great epics are the protagonists in this episode, but the key to how these stories were passed down was the incredible memorisation techniques that the ancients used on a daily basis.

In which we learn about the Mesopotamian goose-god of the earth, the Roman intersex (?) god(dess?) of the earth, and the Greek primordial quartet.

In an episode that is straight fire, Barney tells us that the ancient Egyptians thought the sun was made of poo, while Meg brings some beautiful poetry, ancient and (more) modern, to the hearth. Zenia tells the tragic story of the Great Fire of Rome and describes the super-stylish uniforms of ancient Rome's firefighters.

In which Meg begins a 'not all aqueducts' pipe positivity movement, Barney tells us about Hapi the Egyptian intersex idol, while Zenia tells the story of syncretism in Roman Bath.

In which we learn about the Romans who toppled statues, Egyptians who cached mummies, and Greeks who had a grand old time...!

In which we are joined by Professor Arlene Holmes-Henderson to talk about classics teaching and education today. If you're interested in any of the resources mentioned in the podcast, check out our public post on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/againstthelorepodcast

In which we compare power structures across the ancient world - from the 'big men' (otherwise known as loo girls) in the ancient Near East, to democracy in ancient Greece, to Roman kings and emperors.

In which we discover the dolphin coins of Ancient Greek colonies, Ancient Egypt's cheap gold and Ancient Rome's horrendous inflation.

In which we hear Sappho's version of Teenage Dirtbag, Enkidu's entry to civilisation and Caesar, Queen of Bithynia...

In which we play Saturnalia and Flo takes over being the ancient history expert! Listen out for the Easter Eggs in our QI-style buzzers...