Afterlife 20: The Hand of God in Chronicles and Maccabees

I have a special treat for you, courtesy of the hosts of the Putchcast show. This is a podcast by Oliver Heuthe and James Bennet about riots, rebellions, revolutions, and the intoxication of power. Th...

27 Maj 39min

A few episodes ago, I mentioned the two distinct literary traditions behind the OT or Tanakh). Most important is the rabbinic Hebrew language tradition, known as the Masoretic tradition. The other tra...

19 Mars 25min

I always thought that the eruption of Mt Vesuvius in Roman imperial times not only destroyed the city of Pompeii, but all its inhabitants. Turns out that quite a lot of people escaped.  In this detour...

8 Feb 23min

This is a reprise of my Epiphany 2019 show (2-33), just in time for Epiphany 2026.  It relates the story of Christmas as told by the gospel of Matthew. In Matthew, the story is told from Joseph's poin...

4 Jan 44min

This is a reprise of my Christmas 2018 show, just in time for Christmas 2025. It relates the story of Christmas as told by the gospel of Luke. With lots of canticles: the Magnificat, the Benedictus, a...

21 Dec 202544min

In this detour episode we go way, way back.  Six thousand years ago, a language was forming that would spawn dozens of descendants, who came to occupy most of Europe and much of Anatolia, India and Ir...

14 Dec 202534min

A little while back, Bernie Maopolski of the Fan of History podcast and I discussed some recent research into the use of hydraulics at the step pyramid of Pharoah Djoser.  Well, lordy lordy, we receiv...

7 Dec 202520min