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Literature and History

With millions of downloads, hundreds of hours of soundtracked content, and an overall emphasis on the cultural history behind famous works of literature, Literature and History is one of the most popular independent podcasts on its subject. Starting with Sumerian cuneiform in 3,100 BCE, Literature and History moves forward in chronological order through Assyriology, Egyptology, the Old Testament, Ancient Greece and Rome, and the birth of Christianity. The show's current season is on Late Antiquity (or 200-700 CE) and the dawn of the Middle Ages. A typical episode (they average about two hours) features a general introduction to a work of literature, then a full summary of that work that expects no prior knowledge, and finally, an analysis of the cultural, biographical, and historical forces that gave rise to the work in question. Original symphonic and ambient background music is woven throughout each show, and all episodes offer free full, illustrated, footnoted transcriptions as well as quizzes for purposes of review. The show has no advertisements, and its host takes pride in a professional approach that avoids chitchat and ephemera and gets straight to the educational content. You can listen to the episodes in any order, although most listeners begin at the beginning and proceed from there, as the podcast itself is chronologically organized. Doug Metzger finished his Ph.D. in literature in 2011. His chief scholarly interest, following his dissertation work, continues to be 19th-century realism and postbellum American philosophy.
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Now displaying: February, 2016
Feb 12, 2016

Elementals, giants, titans and gods! Hesiod's Theogony chronicles a great war - one which would leave one entity sovereign over the cosmos.

Episode 8 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-8-quiz

Episode 8 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-008-before-orthodoxy

Episode 8 Song: "It Is Time for Zeus to Have Sex"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC91eGoigNg

Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Feb 12, 2016

Before Aristotle, Socrates and Plato, there was a grouchy farmer poet whose Works and Days continues to fascinate us.

Episode 7 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-7-quiz

Episode 7 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-007-hesiod-s-lands-and-seasons

Episode 7 Song: "Hesiod's Bluegrass Biography"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNbxMLMJBWg

Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Feb 12, 2016

Ancient Egypt produced a great deal of proverbs and wisdom literature. Some of it even slipped into the Bible. But how wise is wisdom literature?

Episode 6 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-6-quiz

Episode 6 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-006-the-pros-and-cons-of-wisdom

Episode 6 Song: "Could We Please Dial Down the Misogyny"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlzZi68n7n8

Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Feb 12, 2016

We know about Ancient Egypt's pyramids, temples, and sarcophagi. What about its folktales and stories?

Episode 5 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-5-quiz

Episode 5 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-005-beneath-the-obelisks

Episode 5 Song: "The Eloquent Peasant Rap"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvGM-FzbOpI

Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Feb 12, 2016

In the 3,500 year old Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, we can find the roots of the world's religions.

Episode 4 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-4-quiz

Episode 4 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-004-divine-judgment

Episode 4 Song: "May My Eyebrows Live Forever"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PU9SWp9ZdE

Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Feb 12, 2016

The Epic of Gilgamesh, composed 3,000-5,000 years ago, and translated in the 1860s and 70s, was one of the greatest literary discoveries of all time.

Episode 3 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-3-quiz

Episode 3 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-003-he-who-saw-the-deep

Episode 3 Song: "Don't Fall Off the Roof"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJJurdC3OIg

Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Feb 12, 2016

The Enuma Elish and the Atrahasis, in circulation 3,800 years ago, were Mesopotamia's creation and flood epics, making them 1,000 years older than Genesis.

Episode 2 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-2-quiz

Episode 2 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-002-before-the-flood

Episode 2 Song: "Babylon's Alcoholic Gods"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxED2Xa3R3Y

Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Feb 12, 2016

For thousands of years, cuneiform was the means of transmitting information through space and time in the Ancient Near East. Then, something happened.

Episode 1 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-1-quiz

Episode 1 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-001-the-tower-of-babel

Episode 1 Song "In the Days of Cuneiform":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXGtHWka5mI

Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

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