ISAC Podcast

The Epigraphic Survey and Chicago House Celebrating Emily Teeters new book, Chicago on the Nile: 100 Years of the Epigraphic Survey Emily Teeter, ISAC (Retired) In 1924, an Egyptologist, an artist, and a photographer—the staff of the University of Chicago’s new Epigraphic Survey—began the task of recording the scenes and inscriptions carved on the walls of the enormous, 3,000-year-old temple of Ph...

OI Podcast Episode 16 Afrofuturism: Ancient Egypt in Speculative Fiction Ytasha Womack Time as a web, weaved in storytelling to offer a remix of narratives exploring who we are and how we got here. Author Ytasha Womack, "Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture," joins us for a discussion that examines the Black Speculative Arts Movement in general and the roles that ancient Egy...

OI Podcast Episode 15 Egyptian Influences/Contemporary Music Andrew List Ancient Egypt offers a feast of inspiration. From the mammoth carved temples to the intimate, painted tombs, visitors to these sites often daydream a fantasy of what life must have been like. Earlier this year, composer Andrew List, Berklee College of Music, reached out to the OI for permission to use translations from the Bo...

OI Podcast Episode 14 The Lyre Ensemble, Part 2 Playing the Gold Lyre of Ur Contemporary music played on an ancient Lyre. The Lyre Ensemble continues a discussion on the recreation of the Gold Lyre of Ur, focusing on both the possibilities and trappings of creating music on an ancient replica. Andy Lowings, Jennifer Sturdy, Mark Harmer, and Stef Conner sit down with the OI for a look at their proj...

OI Podcast Episode 13 The Lyre Ensemble, Part 1 Recreating the Gold Lyre of Ur What might ancient Mesopotamian music sound like? Inspired by both this question and the 2003 looting at the Baghdad Museum, harpist Andy Lowings set out to recreate a playable replica of the iconic Gold Lyre of Ur. Andy, along with his friend Jennifer Sturdy, enlisted the help of academics, students, artisans, and musi...

OI Podcast Episode 12 Demons in Ancient Egypt Rita Lucarelli From Pazuzu to Baphomet, demons in modern pop culture are figures of dark terror and fear. In the ancient world, the concepts of demons weren't always so simple. The OI's Steven Townshend sits down with Rita Lucarelli, University of California, Berkeley, for a podcast that explores the many different roles and natures of demons in the an...

In the Wake of the Phoenicians: Makers of the Mediterranean Presented by David Schloen, OI From olive oil to the alphabet, the Phoenicians left a lasting mark on the Mediterranean. The OI's David Schloen guides us through exciting new research into this ancient civilization and anticipates future excavations of Phoenician colonies in coastal Spain. In the Wake of the Phoenicians: Makers of the Med...

OI Podcast Episode 11 Who Is Medjed? Ilaria Cariddi An obscure Egyptian deity has exploded into Japan's popular culture. Who is this mysterious marshmallow? And why is it becoming more popular than Isis and Osiris? The OI's Steven Townshend sits down with Ilaria Cariddi, research fellow at the University of Florence, to try and make sense of this this enigmatic creature. A video version of this di...

Truth or Consequences: The Public Display of Things from the Holy Land Presented by Morag M. Kersel, DePaul University When museums place items on display they take on multiple roles as custodians of sacred relics, shapers of public interpretation, fiduciary institutions, and educational establishments. The public counts on the museum to tell the truth, to act ethically, and to be responsible and...

OI Podcast Episode 10 Plague Prayers of the Ancient Hittites Part 2 Theo van den Hout Early in the 14th Century BCE, the Hittites faced a twenty year plague. How did these ancient Anatolians deal with pandemics? While the methods may be different, not much has changed. Join Theo van den Hout, the Arthur and Joanne Rasmussen Professor of Anatolian Languages and Cultures, OI, for part two in the dis...

OI Podcast Episode 9 Plague Prayers of the Ancient Hittites Theo van den Hout Early in the 14th Century BCE, the Hittites faced a twenty year plague. How did these ancient Anatolians deal with pandemics? While the methods may be different, not much has changed. Join Theo van den Hout, the Arthur and Joanne Rasmussen Professor of Anatolian Languages and Cultures, OI, for a discussion on plague pray...

Uncovering History Episode 8 Searching the Hittite Skies Emily Smith PhD student in Hittitology, OI Just in time for summer stargazing, Emily Smith joins Steven Townshend for a discussion on comets, eclipses, and other celestial occurrences in the ancient skies. To support this and all of our research, become a member of the Oriental Institute. To explore the benefits of joining, please visit: oi....

Uncovering History Episode 7 Awakening the Dead for Love Part 2 | Robert Ritner, Rowe Professor of Egyptology, and Foy Scalf, OI In this episode Steven talks from home with Robert Ritner, the Rowe Professor of Egyptology, OI, and Foy Scalf, head of the OI research archives to continue the conversation about their recently published, and unique, erotic love spell from ancient Egypt written on papyr...

Awakening the Dead for Love | Robert Ritner, Rowe Professor of Egyptology, and Foy Scalf, OI In this episode Steven talks from home with Robert Ritner, the Rowe Professor of Egyptology, OI, and Foy Scalf, head of the OI research archives to explore their recently published, and unique, erotic love spell from ancient Egypt written on papyrus in Demotic. A video version of this discussion with image...

Joey Cross, PhD candidate in the department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago, presents an at-home lecture that explores the elements of storytelling in the Achaemenid and Hellenistic periods, while shining a light on how scholars reconstruct the world of this art form. Joey is currently writing a dissertation on novellas written in Egypt and Judea during the...

Oriental Institute Membership lecture for Centennial The Rise of Ancient Israel and Other Problematic Entities Ayelet Gilboa, Director of the Zinman Institute of Archaeology This audio recording was originally presented as an illustrated lecture on October 2, 2019. The video of this lecture is available on the OI YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/H1FnyQgFNBE. Our lectures are free and available to...

Exploring the Roots of the Vine: The History and Archaeology of the Earliest Wines Stephen Batiuk Stephen Batiuk examines new archaeological fieldwork and biomolecular chemistry and genetics that are pushing the origins of wine back to the Neolithic period. Batiuk explores how ancient migration possibly led to the spread of wine culture across the Near East and Mediterranean world. This audio reco...

OI Centennial Year Members' Lecture "On Judicial Violence in Mesopotamia: The Problem of an Eye for an Eye" Martha Roth Chauncey S. Boucher Distinguished Service Professor of Assyriology Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations University of Chicago Oriental Institute This audio recording was originally presented as an illustrated lecture on March 4, 2020. The video of this lecture i...

Star Wars and Religion Russell Johnson University of Chicago Divinity School Russell Johnson, University of Chicago Divinity School, uses the core episodes of George Lucas's epic vision to explore several of the worlds religious traditions. This lecture is based on Russell's popular University of Chicago course, Star Wars and Religion. This audio recording was originally presented as an illustrate...

The Marija Gimbutas Memorial Lecture Anatolians on the Move: From Kurgans to Kanesh Petra Goedegebuure Associate Professor of Hittitology Last year Sir Colin Renfrew opened the Marija Gimbutas lecture series acknowledging that she was essentially right when she said that the Proto-Indo-Europeans came from north of the Black Sea and then dispersed east and west. And you may recall that Colin Renfre...

A New Irong Age Kingdom in Anatolia James Osborne Assistant Professor of Anatolian Archaeology Michele Massa British Institute at Ankara, Honorary Fellow In 2019, discoveries made by the Konya Regional Archaeological Survey Project, directed by Michele Massa, and the Türkmen-Karahöyük Intensive Survey Project, directed by James Osborne, brought to light exciting new evidence for a hitherto unknown...

Braidwood Visiting Scholar Lecture What we learned from 25 Years of Research at Catalhoyuk by Ian Hodder Stanford University, Director of the Catalhoyuk Archaeological Project This audio recording was originally presented as an illustrated lecture on December 4, 2019. The video of this lecture is available on the OI YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/o70A1VqrxEQ Our lectures are free and available...

Seven Brides with Seven Stingers: The Scorpion Wives of Horus Presented by Robert Ritner, Professor of Egyptology, University of Chicago A lectured delivered on October 9, 1996, in Breasted Hall of the Oriental Institute, introduced by William Sumner. This audio recording was originally presented as an illustrated lecture on May 1, 2013. A video of this lecture with recreated slides is available o...

The OI in Iraq McGuire Gibson Professor of Mesopotamian Archaeology This lecture was live streamed on Wednesday, November 6, 2019 at 7 PM Central Time. This audio recording was originally presented as an illustrated lecture. The video of this lecture is available on the OI YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/83dfycHdDYA Our lectures are free and available to the public thanks to the generous support...

David A. Kipper Ancient Israel Lecture Series: How Ancient Israel Began: A New Archaeological Perspective David Ilan, Hebrew Union College; Director, Tel Dan Over the last 100 years , a number of models have been proposed to explain the origins of ancient Israel. Join us as David Ilan examines a new proposal: that Egypt itself instigated Israelite settlement. This lecture was live streamed on Wedn...