Ancient History Fangirl

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We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to bring you this brilliant crossover episode!

Our very own Genn McMenemy made a guest appearance on Liv Albert's Let's Talk About Myths, Baby! to interview the co-authors of the BRAND NEW CAMP HALF BLOOD BOOK: Camp Half-Blood: The Wild Zone!

In this episode, Rick Riordan and Annabelle Oh share their mythical inspirations, what's going on at Camp Half Blood in the new series, and more.

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This is an episode about a plague that killed up to 100 million people by the time it was done—as many as 60% of its victims. It’s the first documented occurrence of a pandemic that we have, and it’s the first documented outbreak of the deadlyYersinia pestis. No, we're not talking about the Black Death of Medieval Europe. We're talking about the Plague of Justinian.

The Plague of Justinian was just one part of the fallout of the global volcanic eruption of 536 AD. Three eyewitness accounts have survived--and, in the grand tradition of this podcast, we decided to read them to you whilst Yule-level drunk. Buckle up. It is a wild, plague-tastic ride.

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This episode was brought to you by Vinted. Download the Vinted app for free, sell clothes you no longer wear, and keep everything you earn.

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

⁠⁠⁠⁠Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon!

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.

Sponsors and Advertising

This episode is brought to you by Vinted. Download the Vinted app for free, sell clothes you no longer wear, and keep everything you earn.

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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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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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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