The Endless Knot

This episode, we travel to Calgary, Alberta for a conference, and try some very questionable "ancient" potables! Aven takes a microphone on the road, and chats with a bunch of classicists about Roman beer, barley water, Homeric kykeon, conference papers, social media, and more! Matt Gibbs' article in The Conversation The slides & papers & resources from the Public-Facing Scholarship panel...

We sail the high seas and surf the interwebs for this episode all about the etymology of pirate-related words and the coinage of a new term for stealing videos. We also cover the development of copyright law, the reasons pirates say "Arrrr!", and what Julius Caesar did to his kidnappers. Show Notes Bumbo cocktail recipe "Freebooting" video The Maritime History podcast The Academic Podcast by Sam M...

We have the great pleasure to be joined by Megan & Carrie from the Vocal Fries podcast to talk about linguistic discrimination: what is it, why is it bad, what is its history, and how can we combat it? Show Notes The Vocal Fries Podcast Our Patreon page iTunes link Stitcher link Google Play Music link This podcast episode on YouTube This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution...

In part two of our miniseries on pets, we cover cats, monkeys, birds, and more. Find out the surprising origins of the word for parrot, what medieval people named their cats, and what bird was symbolic of the Virgin Mary.  Show Notes @AllEndlessKnot on Twitter Medieval Pets by Kathleen Walker-Meikle "Greek and Roman Household Pets", Francis D. Lazenby Animals for Show and Pleasure in Ancient...

What makes an animal a pet? Who kept pets in the ancient and medieval worlds? What kinds of animals were they? And why are all the words for pets in English of (mostly) unknown origin?! We start a mini two-part series with a general discussion of ancient and medieval pets, and then some great stories about some Very Good Dogs. Show Notes @AllEndlessKnot on Twitter Medieval Pets by Kathleen Walker-...

We head back to the Endless Knot Cocktail Bar to talk about the history of the Mai Tai, the Tiki craze, Polynesian mythology, cultural appropriation, and World's Fairs. And then we turn to Rome's relationship to Greece, and discuss whether Horace wrote the Exotica music of the ancient world! Show Notes Mai Tai Video @AllEndlessKnot on Twitter Mai Tai Recipe Polynesian Lexicon Project Online Wallac...

In part two of our discussion about racism, we talk about ways to respond to the problems in the field, in teaching, scholarship, and more. Thank you to Katherine Blouin, Damian Fleming, Usama Ali Gad, Rebecca Futo Kennedy, Asa Mittman, Dimitri Nakassis, Helen Young, and Donna Zuckerberg for their generous contributions of time and thoughtful discussion of these difficult subjects. Please join in...

What are the problems surrounding race and racism in the fields of Classics and Medieval Studies today? Where did these fields come from, and how does that affect the way we think about the past, and how we construct the present? For this episode (and the next) we interviewed eight scholars and put it together into an exploration of these unfortunately timely topics. Thank you to Katherine Blouin,...

We interview Emily Wilson, whose new translation of the Odyssey for Norton was published in November to great acclaim and critical praise. She tells us about some of her choices in the areas of metre, vocabulary, register, and more, and we discuss the very concept of 'choice' in translation, the notion of a 'faithful' translation, the complicated question of heroic women, and 70's blaxpoitation fi...

Reindeer video Merchandise (CafePress Site) Stocking video Gerry Bowler, The World Encyclopedia of Christmas Bruce David Forbes, Christmas: A Candid History Desmond Morris, Christmas Watching Andrea Broomfield,  Food and Cooking in Victorian England: A History Kaufman, Cathy. “ The Ideal Christmas Dinner .”  Gastronomica , vol. 4, no. 4, 2004, pp. 17–24.  Leach, Helen. “Translating...

Mythtake Podcast Bakkhai  at Stratford Introduction to Mythology  from Oxford UP Eaters of the Dead  by Michael Crichton Our Patreon page iTunes link Stitcher link Google Play Music link This podcast episode on YouTube

Why Bob Dylan Matters Monday, Dec. 4, 2017 at Newtonville Books in Boston, MA Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017 at the University of Tulsa, in Tulsa, OK Our Patreon page iTunes link Stitcher link Google Play Music link

We talk to podcaster and author Mike Duncan about his book, podcasting, Roman history, and more. Thanks to Mike for joining us -- and everyone, go get his book, it's great! Show Notes The History of Rome Podcast Revolutions Podcast The Storm before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic   Our Patreon page iTunes link Stitcher link Google Play Music link This podcast episode on Y...

Our Hallowe'en themed episode this year is about costumes -- and etymologies and origin stories of a whole bunch of iconic items of clothing. We talk about the semiotics of fashion, the many varieties of the toga, and hats that caused fainting fits, and finish off with a couple of spooky Roman stories! Also, check out this year's Hallowe'en video, on words for Ghost . Show Notes #2PodsADay Werewol...

What words did the Greeks, Romans, and Anglo-Saxons use to talk about different groups of people? What differences did they think were important? How do those compare to modern conceptions of ethnicity, national identity, or race? We try to give some basic background on this complicated question, starting with the etymology of the vocabulary and addressing some of the ways differences were concept...

We talk to Laura Carlson from The Feast Podcast about recreating historical recipes, the many meanings of food, and what exactly defines a 'recipe'. This is part of The Recipe Project's Virtual Conversation: What is a Recipe? and you can join in the conversation by leaving a comment here or by checking out the hashtag #recipesconf on Twitter and Instagram.

We discuss how the recent Guy Ritchie movie King Arthur: Legend of the Sword fits into the history of adaptations of the Arthur legend. What kind of Arthur does it present, how does it interact with the Arthurian tradition, and what themes does it explore? And who has the biggest...er...elephants?

We're getting saucy with a discussion about the etymology and history of condiments -- from Roman garum to Worcestershire sauce, through Escoffier and seasonings, to the global implications of ketchup.

We discuss the origins of the Gimlet cocktail, the stories about its name, and its connection to the treatment of scurvy; then we talk about some of the other diseases tied to the early era of European expansion and colonialism, including the classical history of malaria in Greece and Rome. Also featuring conversation about gin, the pronunciation of quinine, and a cameo appearance by Alexander the...