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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: 2017
Dec 20, 2017

The story of Cicero’s career is an epic tale, filled with courtroom dramas, corruption, conspiracy, greed, and Cicero’s own enduring hope for a better future.

Episode 47 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-47-quiz

Episode 47 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-047-o-tempora-o-mores

Episode 47 Song: "First Catilinarian Rap"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDvjHnY6e9Q

Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content

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

Dec 9, 2017

Cicero (106-43 BCE) was the undisputed master of the Latin language. During his first thirty years, he witnessed events that heralded the Republic’s end.

Episode 46 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-46-quiz

Episode 46 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-046-the-republic-at-twilight

Episode 46 Song: "Roman Senate Barbershop"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWgg9aMq7gs

Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content

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

Nov 16, 2017

Lucretius (c. 94-53 BCE) is our most important source for Epicurean philosophy, perhaps the most misunderstood school of thought from the ancient world.

Episode 45 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-45-quiz

Episode 45 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-045-the-uncuttables

Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content

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

Oct 20, 2017

The Roman playwright Terence (c. 184-159 BCE) produced a string of brilliant comedies in the 160s BCE. His masterpiece, The Brothers, continues to astonish us today.

Episode 44 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-44-quiz

Episode 44 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-044-homo-sum

Episode 44 Song: "Would You Like to Be My Son?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdwb60Hn1-8

Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content

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

Sep 29, 2017

Plautus (c. 254-184 BCE) was a prolific comedy writer. His late play, The Rope, captures the dizzying changes sweeping Rome after the Second Punic War.

Episode 43 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-43-quiz

Episode 43 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-043-on-the-move

Episode 43 Song: "Let's Write a Romantic Comedy"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsrdUFmhiUI

Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content

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

Sep 17, 2017

Roman literature grew slowly from Greek traditions during the 300s and 200s BCE. Learn about its earliest figures, and how they paved the way for the Age of Cicero.

Episode 42 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-42-quiz

Episode 42 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-042-the-beginnings-of-roman-literature

Episode 42 Song: "Stupid Puns About Rome"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OPNayS4wJ8

Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content

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

May 3, 2017

A retrospective of everything L&H has covered so far, plus some special announcements.

Episode 41 Exam:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-41-quiz

Episode 41 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-041-everything-so-far

Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content

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

Apr 24, 2017

The Hellenistic period – 330-30 BCE, saw Alexander’s successor kingdoms rotting away in the east, the rise of Rome, and the birth of modern consciousness.

Episode 40 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-40-quiz

Episode 40 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-040-hellenism-and-the-birth-of-the-self

Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content

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

Apr 4, 2017

Apollonius’ Jason and the Argonauts, Books 3-4. Mesmerizing Medea takes center stage at the Argonautica’s end, dominating the epic’s events.

Episode 39 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-39-quiz

Episode 39 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-039-medea-and-the-argonauts

Episode 39 Song: "Jason's Power Ballad"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BqyO8XFT5U

Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content

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

Mar 22, 2017

Jason and the Argonauts, Books 1-2. Journey with Jason to find the Golden Fleece, and learn about the Greco-Egyptian writer, Apollonius of Rhodes.

Episode 38 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-38-quiz

Episode 38 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-038-the-epic-anti-hero

Episode 38 Song: "The Golden Moby-Dick Fleece"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BRSbaaK-i4

Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content

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

Mar 3, 2017

Menander’s Old Cantankerous (316 BCE), produced during the New Comedy period, shows theater beginning to take on its modern form.

Episode 37 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-37-quiz

Episode 37 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-037-the-new-comedy

Episode 37 Song: "Alexander the. . .um. . .Great"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc2BYWLWtLw

Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content

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

Feb 22, 2017

Aristophanes’ Lysistrata, with all of its nudity, sex, and explicit language, was nonetheless his most powerful salvo against the Peloponnesian War.

Episode 36 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-36-quiz

Episode 36 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-036-war-and-peace-and-sex

Episode 36 Song: "Lysistrata in Three Minutes"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaJxAK0HAxU

Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content

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

Feb 7, 2017

Aristophanes’ The Clouds is a dazzling satire on Athenian philosophy, showing a very different Socrates than Plato’s.

Episode 35 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-35-quiz

Episode 35 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-035-the-great-thundercrap

Episode 35 Song: "Aristophanes Barbershop"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhAbkjs9HWA

Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content

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

Jan 24, 2017

Euripides’ The Bacchae, one of the darkest  and bloodiest works of Ancient Greek tragedy, is about the spread of cult religions during the late Peloponnesian War.

Episode 34 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-34-quiz

Episode 34 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-034-the-traditions-of-our-forefathers

Episode 34 Song: "Interview with Dionysus"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nxd0jATUZ-s

Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content

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

Jan 5, 2017

Euripides’ Medea is Ancient Greece’s most famous play. But what did it mean to the Athenians in 431 BCE who watched it on the Acropolis?

Episode 33 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-33-quiz

Episode 33 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-033-woman-the-barbarian

Episode 33 Song: "She Will Never Backing Down"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EaIXjT4uw0

Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content

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

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