The Endless Knot

It’s time for us to talk about plagues — ancient, medieval, literary, etymological, and psychological! We’re joined by Moxie from Your Brain on Facts for a very fun — if slightly disturbing — discussion of many aspects of historical plagues. Transcript of this episode Your Brain on Facts Gardner, H.H. Pestilence and the Body Politic in Latin Literature . 2019. Episode 44: "Us" & "Them" in the...

In an episode that was recorded in late May before the protests started, we took a break from COVID talk to give our thoughts on the final movie in the Star Wars saga. We discussed how it was similar to or different from ancient epic, medieval romance, and Icelandic sagas, but mostly we talked about the ways it failed to bring together the many threads of the Star Wars story. Given current events,...

We take a look at the history of runes and their connection to early alphabets and Germanic culture. Then we take a trip back to the Phoenician and Egyptian origins of the modern English alphabet, and talk about some of the earliest examples of Greek writing, in inscriptions, epic poetry, and myth. Also, introducing Lyceum , a new platform for educational podcasting! Transcript of this episode The...

We trace the etymologies and development of the words “sex” and “gender”, as well as words for women and men in Greek, Latin, and English, touching on Roman, Greek, and medieval English ideas about gender. Then we discuss the grammatical term “gender” and how it differs across languages around the world. Transcript of this episode The History of Sex Podcast The “Pink Lady” cocktail This episode on...

This year’s holiday episode is all about festivals and feasts — and in particular, midwinter celebrations, the solstice, and the seasons. And we read a couple of Latin poems about drinking — and explore the odd connection between them and a tire company! The Christmas Cake cocktail Hesiod’s Works and Days in English Horace’s Odes in Latin Horace Odes 1.37 in English Feast video This episode on You...

This bonus episode contains two talks we gave at our university in November. Mark spoke about “The ‘Anglo-Saxon’ Problem: Language and Racism in Medieval Studies” and Aven spoke about “Defining ‘Race’ in the Ancient Mediterranean and Today”. Google ngrams for collocations of “Anglo-Saxon”: All English Texts American English British English Our Patreon page This episode on YouTube This podcast is...

Crossover time! We’re joined by Scott Lepisto, of the Itinera Podcast , in a conversation at the SoundEducation podcasting conference in Boston. We talked about the conference itself, the use of podcasting in classrooms, and the importance of public-facing scholarship in Classics and Medieval Studies. And please check out Scott’s podcast, in which he interviews classicists about their work and the...

Happy Halloween! This year we’re talking about the origins of “Magic”, the differences between religion and magic, Greek and Roman spells and curses, and some rather bizarre tales about Virgil & Aristotle. Our “Magic” video Cocktail: Black Magic Religion in the Roman Empire , James B Rives, 2007 Arcana Mundi ,Georg Luck, 2006 Our Patreon page This episode on YouTube This podcast is licensed un...

We speak with Dr. Liz Gloyn about her new book, Tracking Classical Monsters in Popular Culture . We talk about Hercules: the Legendary Journeys , the Odyssey , the problems with Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey pattern, and more! Liz Gloyn Classically Inclined blog Tracking Classical Monsters in Popular Culture Facebook Page for Tracking Classical Monsters Our Patreon page This episode on YouTube...

We talked to Winston Black about his new book, The Middle Ages: Fact & Fiction , which addresses the most common myths and misconceptions about the Middle Ages. And we touch on video games, D&D, and Game of Thrones in the process! The SoundEducation Conference page The Middle Ages: Fact & Fiction Winston on Twitter Our Patreon page This episode on YouTube This podcast is licensed under...

The Fates have decreed that it’s time for us to talk about the word “Weird”! We discuss its etymology, the concept of fate in the ancient and medieval world, whether mythical women really do usually appear in threes, and Shakespeare. Twist of Fate cocktail Weird Sisters Blood & Hand Punch Shakespeare Not Stirred book “Weird” video “Does English have a future tense?” video “Arrow” video “As We...

While at VidCon this year, we sat down and chatted with a few of our fellow educational YouTubers: The Cynical Historian , Knowing Better , 12tone , and Step Back History . This is a compilation of our discussions about their channels, their reasons for making videos, and their experience of VidCon and its educational companion event, EduCon. If you don’t already watch their videos, we strongly re...

We discuss a person who had an important impact on both science and language: Erasmus Darwin, grandfather of Charles. In particular, we talk about the use of poetry to explain science, from Hesiod to Lucretius to Darwin to Baba Brinkman, and the new wave of science communicators on and off line. Erasmus Darwin cocktail menu, based on The Loves of the Plants D.G. King-Hele. “Erasmus Darwin, Man of...

We spoke to Carly Silver, an editor and a writer on ancient history and horse racing, about how she connects the past to contemporary issues, the intriguing stories in curse tablets in Roman Britain, murder mysteries set in the ancient world, romance novels, breeding programs for American Thoroughbreds, and more! Carly’s website Carly’s article about Hadrian’s Wall Carly’s article about the sexual...

Happy (?) April Fool’s Day! We talk about the origins of the holiday, its connections to the Tom Collins cocktail, and hoaxes throughout history, from Athenian tyrants to the ‘Scratching Fanny’ ghost to the Da Vinci Code. Tom Collins recipe Podcast episode on Cuckold Podcast episode 7 , with discussion about urban legends Podcast episode on Sublime Bunny Trails episode on ‘wild goose chase’ Herodo...

We talk about names for countries — endonyms and exonyms — and the trade goods named after the places they come from, in a discussion that ranges from Japanese guns to the connection between Wales and roosters to the colour of the phoenix, and much more. If you can make it to the end of the podcast, you’ll never look at porcelain the same way again! Red Dragon Cocktail The Rising Sun Cocktail Jabz...

We talk to Edward Watts about his new book Mortal Republic: How Rome Fell into Tyranny , which covers the history of Rome from the 3rd century BCE to the rise of Octavian to princeps . Our conversation ranges across questions of Roman identity, our fascination with transitional periods, and the connections between Roman history and contemporary politics. Edward Watts Ancient Greece Declassified ep...

Amalia Dillin is an author of mythic fantasy and historical fiction set in the ancient and Viking worlds. Among other books, she’s written the Fate of the Gods trilogy, about Eve and Adam (and Thor and Athena and more!), and the Orc Saga , beginning with Honor among Orcs . She also writes, as Amalia Carosella, about Bronze Age Greece ( Helen of Sparta & sequels, about the love between Helen &a...

Time for a holiday episode! This time we’re talking about how Santa’s reindeer got their names, including some of their classical ties to Roman religion and Greek myth, the Reindeer Rule in US law, and NORAD’s Santa Tracker. And we have a quiz about the animals that bring the winter gift giver around the world! Our video “Who are Santa’s reindeer?” Mark’s Lexitecture episode Our Christmas videos p...

While at the Sound Education conference we had the chance to sit down with Kevin Stroud, host of the History of the English Language podcast . We talked about his passion for language, his experiences with enthusiastic but pedantic listeners, his project to gather a database of accent samples from around the world, and much more. Thank you Keven for chatting with us, it was great fun to meet you a...

From modern words for ghost, to Latin and Greek terms for spirits, to ghost words that haunt dictionaries, we explore some spooky etymologies and tell some ancient ghost stories. Sound Education Green Ghost Cocktail Liquified Ghost Cocktail Ghost video Eidolon online journal Pliny’s letter 7.27 in English VIdeo of a performance of the Latin version of Pliny’s ghost story List of ancient ghost stor...

In this episode we talk about the history of education in Europe, from classical Greece to the 19th century, covering the origins of many education-related words. Then we turn to the history of second-language teaching of Latin, from Roman Egypt to today’s Living Latin movement. DSM (channel about language and etymology) Sound Education Classic Cocktail Education video Learning Latin and Greek fro...

We report on our trips to EduCon, VidCon, Iceland, & England. Lots of museums and historical places, and check out the web page for pictures of some of our favourite artifacts and images. Sound Education podcasting conference We Create Edu community Our Patreon page iTunes link Stitcher link Google Play Music link This podcast episode on YouTube This podcast is licensed under a Creative Common...

The etymology of 'sublime' takes us through a discussion of the Gothic, Neo-Classical, and Romantic periods, the origins of the Romance languages, the roots of romantic love, and more. The Sublime Moment Cocktail Mats Malm “On the Technique of the Sublime”, Comparative Literature , Vol. 52, No. 1 (Winter, 2000), pp. 1-10. Sarah Bond on Polychromy in Ancient Statues Alex Potts, Flesh and the Ideal:...