The Tape Recorder Trilogy

Send us Fan Mail ( 644 - 656 CE · Egypt, Palestine, & Arabia)  The Narrator recounts how Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab and later Caliph Uthman were assassinated, the differences between their lives and deaths, and how the community of Muslims was shaped by these events.  Based on Chapter 3 of End by Geoff Micks . Enjoying the show? Tell us a little about yourself, submit a comment, and/or ask a q...

Send us Fan Mail ( 633 - 644 CE · The Holy Land, Arabia, & Egypt)  The Narrator serves as personal secretary to Amr ibn Al-As and takes part in the Arab conquest of Egypt, which happened despite the objections of Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab.  Based on Chapter 2 of End by Geoff Micks . Enjoying the show? Tell us a little about yourself, submit a comment, and/or ask a question through this short...

Send us Fan Mail ( 2015 CE · Northern India & 600 - 633 CE · The Holy Land  & Arabia)  Emotionally scarred after surviving a pandemic and exhausted by Christianity's internal turmoil and schisms, the narrator meets Amr ibn Al-As, who inspires him to become a Muslim  as that new faith is first expanding out from the Arabian Peninsula.  Based on the Intro and Chapter 1 of End by Geoff M...

Send us Fan Mail Here's a Q&A Mailbag episode to bridge the gap between Seasons Two and Three!  We received questions through the Typeform link in every episode's show notes, as well as via Bluesky, Facebook, LinkedIn, Reddit, and by email. There were so many great topic ideas and discussion prompts, in fact, that there is another ~30-minute 'bonus of the bonus' episode ava...

Send us Fan Mail An end-of-season extra episode offering some updates on the podcast, background on the history behind the content, and also some much-deserved credit to the people who helped make Season Two and the book it was based upon possible.  Enjoying the show? Tell us a little about yourself, submit a comment, and/or ask a question through this short survey . For more, visit my podcast web...

Send us Fan Mail  ( ~541 - 542 CE · Constantinople, Egypt, & the Waters Between & 2015 CE · Northern India) The Narrator is living a happy life as the dutiful husband of a devout Christian woman in Constantinople when an apocalyptic plague sweeps across the known world killing millions.  Based on Chapter 15 of Middle by Geoff Micks . Enjoying the show? Tell us a little about yourself, subm...

Send us Fan Mail ( ~79 - ~540 CE · Gades & Rome) The Narrator's great project in the heart of downtown Rome evolves and changes over time, just as the Roman Empire does too. From dizzying heights, the decline and fall happens both slowly and seemingly all at once. By the time this particular story ends, there is almost no one still living in Rome to mark the occasion.  Based on the second...

Send us Fan Mail ( ~55 - ~79 CE · Gades & Rome) The Narrator has a reoccurring dream of a statue that moves and changes its face. While discussing it with a charlatan posing as a soothsayer, he decides on what his next great adventure must be. Though he hates the place, he needs to go to Rome at the peak of her Imperial power.  Based on the first half of Chapter 14 of Middle by Geoff Micks . E...

Send us Fan Mail ( 60 BCE · Gadir/Gades, Rome, & the Sea Between) The Narrator sails someone from Further Spain to Rome in under sixteen days. As a result, that man went on to become arguably one of the most famous people who ever lived.  Based on Chapter 13 of Middle by Geoff Micks . Enjoying the show? Tell us a little about yourself, submit a comment, and/or ask a question through this short...

Send us Fan Mail ( 216 - 202 BCE · Carthage) The Narrator describes the rest of the Second Punic War, including the battle of Zama, the fall of Carthage, and the aftermath.   Based on Chapter 12 of Middle by Geoff Micks . Enjoying the show? Tell us a little about yourself, submit a comment, and/or ask a question through this short survey . For more, visit my podcast website and personal website ....

Send us Fan Mail ( 220 - 216 BCE · Carthage) The Narrator recaps the first half of the Second Punic War to set the scene for when Mago and Marco brought news of Hannibal's great victory at Cannae back to Carthage.  Based on Chapter 11 of Middle by Geoff Micks . Enjoying the show? Tell us a little about yourself, submit a comment, and/or ask a question through this short survey . For more, vis...

Send us Fan Mail ( ~330 - ~220 BCE · Western Europe, Northern Africa & Southern Spain) The Narrator offers a brief summary of the First Punic War from the Carthaginian perspective to prepare listeners for the story of how he first met and became the patron of the Spanish bandit Marco, a man forgotten by history but destined for greatness. Based on Chapter 10 of Middle by Geoff Micks . Enjoying...

Send us Fan Mail A mid-season extra episode giving insights into how the stories of the Tape Recorder Trilogy were conceived and collected, as well as exploring some of the roads not taken. Enjoying the show? Tell us a little about yourself, submit a comment, and/or ask a question through this short survey . For more, visit my podcast website and personal website .   Follow me on Bluesky .   Follo...

Send us Fan Mail ( 2015 CE · Northern India) The Narrator meets the woman whose visit has haunted his dreams. Based on Chapter 9 of Middle by Geoff Micks . Enjoying the show? Tell us a little about yourself, submit a comment, and/or ask a question through this short survey . For more, visit my podcast website and personal website .   Follow me on Bluesky .   Follow me on Substack . Join my Faceboo...

Send us Fan Mail ( ~330 BCE · Sardinia, Marseilles, & the Sea Between) The Narrator survives a terrible shipwreck in a storm at sea, only to be rescued by a man named Pytheas who should be included among history's greatest explorers, but sadly his name is only remembered at all because so many geographers called him a liar.  Based on Chapter 8 of Middle by Geoff Micks . Enjoying the show?...

Send us Fan Mail ( ~590 - 332 BCE · Carthage & Tyre) The Narrator remembers with deep regret how Alexander the Great destroyed the ancient city of Tyre  whose royal women had once made a safe and happy home for an immortal wanderer. Based on Chapter 7 of Middle by Geoff Micks . Enjoying the show? Tell us a little about yourself, submit a comment, and/or ask a question through this short survey...

Send us Fan Mail ( ~804 - ~590 BCE · The Known World, & Parts Unknown) The Narrator recounts his three-year journey leading a joint Phoenician-Egyptian expedition to circumnavigate Africa on the orders of Pharaoh Naku, or Necho II as he is remembered today. Based on Chapter 6 of Middle by Geoff Micks . Enjoying the show? Tell us a little about yourself, submit a comment, and/or ask a question...

Send us Fan Mail ( 825 – 804 BCE · Tyre, Cyprus, Zembra, & Carthage) The Narrator tells how Elishat —remembered by some as Dido— founded and nurtured the great city of Carthage, and what she did to maintain its independence from King Iarbas of Numidia. Based on Chapter 5 of Middle by Geoff Micks . Enjoying the show? Tell us a little about yourself, submit a comment, and/or ask a question throu...

Send us Fan Mail ( 848 – 825 BCE · Tyre) The Narrator remembers the early life of Elishat of Tyre, a great woman all but forgotten today who was almost murdered in her bed one dark night years before she became a legend in her own time. Based on Chapter 4 of Middle by Geoff Micks . Enjoying the show? Tell us a little about yourself, submit a comment, and/or ask a question through this short survey...

Send us Fan Mail ( ~870 - ~848 BCE · Tyre, Israel, & Parts Further East ) The Narrator talks about Jezebel, the Phoenician princess who married King Ahab of Israel, how she came into conflict with the prophets Elijah and Elissa, and how her story differs from what is remembered in the Bible. Based on Chapter 3 of Middle by Geoff Micks . Enjoying the show? Tell us a little about yourself, submi...

Send us Fan Mail ( ~895 to ~870 BCE · Tyre) The Narrator shares how the royal women of Tyre kept the secret of his immortality, and in return he became their most trusted servant from generation to generation. Based on Chapter 2 of Middle by Geoff Micks . Enjoying the show? Tell us a little about yourself, submit a comment, and/or ask a question through this short survey . For more, visit my podca...

Send us Fan Mail ( 2015 CE · Northern India & ~930 to ~895 BCE · Tyre) The Narrator remembers how he started perhaps the happiest time of his life. As with so many things, it began badly. A little girl with a perfect memory for people's faces grew up to be first the Queen then the Queen Mother of  the great Phoenician City of Tyre, and she took a special interest in a man who never grows...

Send us Fan Mail In 2015, a man who has been alive since the last Ice Age bought a tape recorder. Over the course of three days he dictated his life story as fast as he could while waiting for a woman to visit who he believes will finally be the death of him. In Season One of The Tape Recorder Trilogy Podcast we followed our narrator from his first life in Paleolithic Wales, across Mesolithic and...

Send us Fan Mail An end-of-season extra episode offering some updates on the podcast, background on the content, suggestions for additional reading material, and also some much-deserved credit to the people who helped make Season One and the book it was based upon possible.  Enjoying the show? Tell us a little about yourself, submit a comment, and/or ask a question through this short survey . For...

Send us Fan Mail ( ~1170 BCE - ? · The Eastern Mediterranean & Parts Unknown & 2015 CE · Northern India) The Narrator remembers one of the darkest times of his life when he was enslaved for many decades by all-but-forgotten raiders remembered as 'The Sea Peoples' during the Bronze Age Collapse. Meanwhile, the young woman he fears will finally be the death of him gets off her trai...