Literature and History

Literature

This podcast is an introduction to Anglophone literature, from ancient times to the present, done by a Ph.D. with lots of books and musical instruments. A typical episode offers a summary of a work, or part of a work of literature, followed by some historical analysis. The episodes include original music, some comedy songs, and goofy jokes. You can listen to the shows in any order, although from time to time, episodes will make brief mention of previous or upcoming ones.

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Location:

United States

Description:

This podcast is an introduction to Anglophone literature, from ancient times to the present, done by a Ph.D. with lots of books and musical instruments. A typical episode offers a summary of a work, or part of a work of literature, followed by some historical analysis. The episodes include original music, some comedy songs, and goofy jokes. You can listen to the shows in any order, although from time to time, episodes will make brief mention of previous or upcoming ones.

Twitter:

@lahpodcast

Language:

English

Episodes

Episode 100: Late Have I Loved You (Augustine's Confessions, Books 9-13)

12/30/2022
Augustine’s Confessions, Part 2 of 2. The second half of Augustine’s Confessions contains some of the most famous theology in Christian history. Episode 100 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-100-quiz Episode 100 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-100-late-have-i-loved-you Bonus Content: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Duration:02:01:22

Episode 99: The Boy Who Stole Pears (Augustine's Confessions, Books 1-7)

12/10/2022
Augustine’s Confessions, Part 1 of 2. The first half of Augustine’s Confessions tells of his wayward early years, his intellectual journey, and his spiritual awakening. Episode 99 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-99-quiz Episode 99 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-099-the-boy-who-stole-pears Bonus Content: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Duration:01:53:49

Episode 98: The Life and Works of Saint Jerome

11/11/2022
Polyglot Jerome (347-420) had a gigantic impact on all subsequent Christian history, leaving behind a huge body of works, including the Latin Bible. Episode 98 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-98-quiz Episode 98 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-098-the-life-and-works-of-saint-jerome Bonus Content: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory Ancient...

Duration:02:09:41

Episode 97: Blood and Ivy (Nonnus' Dionysiaca, Books 25-48)

5/8/2022
The Dionysiaca, Part 2 of 2. The last surviving Greek epic of antiquity draws to a close with Dionysus fighting wars far to the east, in India. Episode 96 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-97-quiz Episode 96 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-097-blood-and-ivy Bonus Content: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Duration:02:32:11

Episode 96: The Last Pagan Epic (Nonnus' Dionysiaca, Books 1-24)

10/31/2021
The last epic from Greco-Roman antiquity that survives in full, Nonnus’ fifth-century Dionysiaca tells of the wine god Dionysus’ journey eastward, to India. Episode 96 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-96-quiz Episode 96 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-096-the-last-pagan-epic Bonus Content: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Duration:02:13:57

Episode 95: Rutilius Namatianus

10/17/2021
In 417 CE, the Roman poet Rutilius Namatianus journeyed from Rome back to his homeland of Gaul, not knowing whether there was a home to return to. Episode 95 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-95-quiz Episode 95 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-095-rutilius-namatianus Bonus Content: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Duration:02:02:47

Episode 94: Ausonius

9/12/2021
One of the later Latin poets of the Empire, Ausonius’ expansive body of work gives us a window into the changing world of fourth-century Roman culture. Episode 94 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-94-quiz Episode 94 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-094-ausonius Bonus Content: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Duration:01:53:15

Episode 93: Severus' Life of Saint Martin

8/17/2021
Sulpicius Severus’ (c. 363-425) life of St. Martin is one of the great hagiographies – a portrait of a timeless saint, but also of a human being and working bishop. Episode 93 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-93-quiz Episode 93 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-093-severus-life-of-saint-martin Bonus Content: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Duration:01:57:49

Episode 92: Athanasius' Life of Antony

8/8/2021
Athanasius (c. 297-373) wrote a wildly popular biography of the desert hermit St. Antony, touting the ideals of asceticism and triumph over demonic temptation. Episode 92 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-92-quiz Episode 92 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-092-athanasius-life-of-antony Bonus Content: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Duration:02:06:19

Episode 91: The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity

7/25/2021
In Carthage, in 203 CE, a Roman noblewoman and her retinue were butchered in an amphitheater. Learn her story, and the earliest history of Christian martyrs. Episode 91 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-91-quiz Episode 91 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-091-the-passion-of-perpetua Bonus Content: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Duration:02:12:14

Episode 90: Ante-Nicene Catholicism

7/4/2021
Learn the documentary history behind how the Catholic Church was founded and set up as an organization, together with some of the works of the earliest church fathers. Episode 90 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-90-quiz Episode 90 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-090-ante-nicene-catholicism Bonus Content: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Duration:02:04:21

Episode 89: The Aethiopica of Heliodorus

6/19/2021
Heliodorus of Emesa (3rd/4th century CE) wrote the longest novel to have survived from antiquity, an adventurous romance that reemerged into Europe in the 1500s. Episode 89 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-89-quiz Episode 89 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-089-the-aethiopica-of-heliodorus Bonus...

Duration:02:12:28

Episode 88: Ancient Greek Sci-fi

5/21/2021
In roughly the 160s CE, the Greek satirist Lucian of Samosata wrote A True History, one of history’s earliest surviving novels, with strong tinges of what we’d call science fiction. Episode 88 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-88-quiz Episode 88 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-088-ancient-greek-sci-fi Bonus...

Duration:01:55:57

Episode 87: Lucian of Samosata

5/7/2021
The satirist Lucian (c. 125-180) was popular in his own time and during the Renaissance, among other things probably being the first author of science fiction. Episode 87 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-87-quiz Episode 87 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-087-lucian-of-samosata Bonus Content: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Duration:01:42:05

Episode 86: An Introduction to Late Antiquity

4/25/2021
Once pervasively described as a period of fall and decline, today Late Antiquity is often understood as a period of cultural flowering and economic revolution. Episode 86 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-86-quiz Episode 86 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-086-an-introduction-to-late-antiquity Bonus Content: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Duration:02:22:54

Episode 85: River

4/4/2021
A primer on Biblical canon formation, retrospective on what we’ve covered so far, and introduction to the upcoming season. Episode 85 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-085-river Bonus Content: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Duration:01:56:25

Episode 84: Manichaeism

3/14/2021
After 300 CE, Manichaeism spread quickly from its origins in modern day Iraq and Iran. Recent archaeological discoveries have finally allowed us to learn about it firsthand. Episode 84 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-84-quiz Episode 84 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-084-manichaeism Bonus Content: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Duration:01:58:31

Episode 83: Gnosticism

2/28/2021
The Nag Hammadi Library, Codex Tchacos, and Berlin Codex, as they came to light in the twentieth century, radically changed our understanding of early Christianity. HarperOne Nag Hammadi Scriptures https://harperone.com/9780061626005/the-nag-hammadi-scriptures/ Episode 83 Quiz https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-83-quiz Episode 83 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-083-gnosticism Bonus...

Duration:02:15:34

Episode 82: Zoroastrianism

1/31/2021
Learn the basic tenets and early history of Zoroastrianism, one of the most important and widespread religions in the ancient world, and possibly earth’s oldest living monotheism. Episode 82 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-82-quiz Episode 82 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-082-zoroastrianism Bonus Content: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Duration:02:19:25

Episode 81: Revelation

1/10/2021
One of the most spectacular pieces of writing in the world’s religious texts, Revelation influenced generations of writers and theologians. Episode 81 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-81-quiz Episode 81 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-081-revelation Bonus Content: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory Write Large Podcast: https://www.writlarge.fm/

Duration:02:17:58

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