Ancient History Fangirl

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What can we believe about the Odyssey?

This is the question posed by bestselling author Liv Albert, host of the Let’s Talk About Myth’s Baby! podcast, and author of three books including the brand new The Odyssey: A Modern Retelling. It’s an Odyssey for children, but one which readers of all ages will find it very easy to fall in love with.

Join us as we delve deep into this ancient tale in a wide-ranging conversation spanning gods, goddesses and monsters; Odysseus’ status as a problematic narrator (and self-admitted liar), and just what is it about him that continues to fascinate.

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Mammoths existed on our planet for roughly five million years, and they were perfectly adapted to the ice age world they inhabited. So perfectly adapted that when the last ice age ended, so did they. No woolly mammoths have walked the earth for the last 10,000 years. Or did they?

It turns out that the last mammoths didn’t disappear 10,000 years ago. For thousands of years after their extinction in the rest of the world, a small population still lived on a remote island in the Arctic called Wrangel Island. And in their last days? In the end times? Things got weird.

This is a story about a natural disaster that happened—to mammoths. Let’s dig in.

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Among the poets of early Augustan Rome, Virgil had a niche: nostalgia. He wrote poems about the Roman countryside, farmers, and a mourned, simpler past that may have never existed. And when Augustus came to power, he recognized Virgil’s skill as one he could exploit.

Augustus commanded Virgil to write the Aeneid—an epic poem tying him (Augustus) to an ancient past going all the way back to the Illiad, and elevating his family as descended from Venus and divinely appointed to rule. Virgil’s act of resistance was endlessly writing this poem, never finishing it, and ordering it burned when he died (though Augustus had other ideas).

What happens to an artist’s art when it is used in a way that transcends its creation? And how does an ancient poem connect to the Trump Administration’s war with the Smithsonian?

It turns out one of fascism’s most potent weapons is nostalgia. Join us as we dig into it.

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Short answer: no.

Long answer: no, and they didn't function that well in pluralistic Roman society, either.

Many of the qualities of high-control Christianity--spiritual warfare, fascistic tendencies, the desire to bring on the end times through war in the Middle East, Christian persecution complex, refusal to follow societal norms, demons--were there at the beginning, date to very specific times in the Church's early history, and threatened Roman society in a way surprisingly similar to how they're threatening ours now.

Join us as we attempt to chart the connection between the religious nonsense we're all being tortured with today and its deepest roots in history--with Brad Onishi, scholar of religion, author and co-host of the podcast Straight White American Jesus.

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This podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to advertise on our show? Please direct advertising inquiries to advertising@airwavemedia.com.
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We are thrilled to welcome USA Today bestselling author Eva Leigh to the podcast. Eva has had two recent releases that piqued our interest: The Sea Witch (about a lady pirate who’s also a witch, paired with a hunky navigator) and a wild novella about a woman whose world is rocked by multiple werewolf highwaymen.

Join us as we discuss magic and mythology, the fun and challenge of writing why-choose, and the necessity of centering female pleasure.

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This podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to advertise on our show? Please direct advertising inquiries to advertising@airwavemedia.com.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices