Classical Greece
We're often told that Greece's Classical period lies at the root of "Western Civilization," but what was actually special about that time and place? Why did it produce so many works of literature, art...
18 Apr 202438min
Carthage, Syracuse, and the Battle for Sicily
By 480 BC, the same year Xerxes and the Persians descended on Greece, Sicily had become a battleground for the rising powers of the Central Mediterranean: Carthage, on one side, and the Greek colony o...
11 Apr 202440min
The Archaeology of the Indus Valley Civilization: Interview with Professor Cameron Petrie
Archaeology is changing quickly, and few people are playing more of a direct role in the wave of fascinating new studies exploring the Indus Valley Civilization, South Asia, and Iran than Professor Ca...
4 Apr 202456min
The Rise of Carthage
Carthage is known mostly as Rome's great rival, but it was a fascinating and meaningful Mediterranean civilization in its own right. Today, we track the rise of Carthage from its foundation as a Phoen...
28 Mar 202441min
The Mediterranean World in 500 BC
After our long sojourn in Central, East, and South Asia, it's time to return to a Mediterranean on the cusp of enormous changes. Around 500 BC, Rome was shedding its kings, Carthage was about to becom...
21 Mar 202440min
Why Do Ordinary People Do Terrible Things? Daniele Bolelli and Patrick Discuss
History is littered with terrible deeds and atrocities: conquest, genocide, mass enslavement, forced displacement, crimes of all sorts. Why do people agree to participate in these actions? Daniele Bol...
14 Mar 202451min
The Buddha and His World
The Buddha - born Siddartha Gautama - is one of the most impactful people in human history, founder of a religious tradition that has shaped the world for the past 2,500 years. But the Buddha was also...
7 Mar 202441min
Climate Change and the Fall of the Indus Valley Civilization: Interview with Dr. Alena Giesche
The world's climate isn't stable, but how can we understand climate change in the past? Dr. Alena Giesche is an expert on ancient climates, and she explains both how the field of paleoclimate studies ...
29 Feb 202452min
