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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: Page 2
Sep 25, 2020

Possibly the most influential theologian in history, Paul codified and clarified Christianity as it emerged into the diverse world of the Eastern Mediterranean.

Episode 79 Quiz:
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-079

Episode 79 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-079-the-pauline-epistles

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

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

Sep 11, 2020

The story of Christianity’s first missionaries is a sweeping , intercontinental narrative, filled with danger, strange encounters, and the hope for a better future.

Episode 78 Quiz:
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-078

Episode 78 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-078-the-book-of-acts

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

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

Jun 30, 2020

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are the heart of the New Testament. And today, historians and Biblical scholars know more about them than ever before.

Episode 77 Quiz:
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-077

Episode 77 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-077-the-gospels

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

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

Jun 7, 2020

The Roman client king Herod (c. 73-4 BCE) ruled Judea for thirty years. Learn about his rule, and the political and religious climate of Judea just before the birth of Christ.

Episode 76 Quiz:
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-076

Episode 76 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-076-judea-under-herod

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

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

Apr 25, 2020

A retrospective on the material we’ve covered thus far as we head into Early Christianity and Late Antiquity, plus some announcements.

Episode 75 Quiz:
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-075

Episode 75 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-075-dusk-and-starlight

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

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

Mar 14, 2020

Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations shows an intelligent emperor coping with the realities of an empire buckling under its own weight.

Episode 74 Quiz:
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-074

Episode 74 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-074-marcus-aurelius

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

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

Feb 29, 2020

Apuleius’ The Golden Ass is Ancient Rome’s only novel to survive in full – a strange, often disturbing fairytale that had a huge influence on posterity.

Episode 73 Quiz:
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-073

Episode 73 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-073-the-golden-ass

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

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

Feb 14, 2020

Juvenal’s Satires, produced some time in the decades around 100 CE, mercilessly mock some of the more colorful aspects of Roman life.

Episode 72 Quiz:
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-072

Episode 72 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-072-bread-and-circuses

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

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

Jan 29, 2020

Statius’ Thebaid, Books 7-12. Six hundred years after Aeschylus, Statius once again brought the Theban epic to a thunderous conclusion.

Episode 71 Quiz:
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-071

Episode 71 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-071-the-gods-depart

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

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

Sep 9, 2019

Statius’ Thebaid, Books 1-6. This epic is hardly ever read or taught these days, but in 100 CE, it was as famous as anything in the Roman world.

Episode 70 Quiz:
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-070

Episode 70 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-070-romes-forgotten-epic

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

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

Aug 26, 2019

Petronius’ Satyricon is a contender for history’s first novel, a picaresque filled with sex, misadventures, and details about daily life.

Episode 69 Quiz:
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-069

Episode 69 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-069-romes-comic-novel

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

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

Aug 5, 2019

Seneca’s Phaedra (c 50s CE) is the story of an illicit passion, a stoic cautionary tale and simultaneously vivid character study.

Episode 68 Quiz:
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-068

Episode 68 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-068-love-means-sin

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

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

Jul 17, 2019

Seneca’s Thyestes, probably written around the 50s CE, is one of the most horrifying and influential plays ever written.

Episode 67 Quiz:
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-067

Episode 67 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-067-jaws-dripping-blood

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

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

Jun 26, 2019

Stoicism, starting with Zeno in 300 BCE, was a popular philosophy by the lifetime of Seneca, perhaps even making its way into the New Testament.

Episode 66 Quiz:
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-066

Episode 66 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-066-stoicism-seneca-st-paul

Episode 66 Song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Azc7u5st9jo

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

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

Mar 30, 2019

Seneca the Younger (c 1 BCE-65 CE) practiced the philosophy of stoicism over the course of several volatile, and very different imperial reigns.

Episode 65 Quiz:
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-065

Episode 65 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-065-seneca-and-the-julio-claudians

Episode 65 Song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW4K7Ij-5fE

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

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

Feb 23, 2019

For mysterious reasons, in 8 CE, Ovid was exiled from Rome. Ovid’s last works were composed an ocean away from Italy, on the western shore of the Black Sea.

Episode 64 Quiz:
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-064

Episode 64 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-064-ovids-exile

Episode 64 Song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bj3nfzO2ZHM

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

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

Feb 8, 2019

Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Books 11-15. The vast Metamorphoses draws to a resonant conclusion as Ovid brings his great poem to Rome itself.

Episode 63 Quiz:
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-063

Episode 63 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-063-all-is-in-flux

Episode 63 Song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMGX0cwIV2A

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

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

Jan 27, 2019

Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Books 6-10. In the middle portion of Ovid’s great poem, psychological transformations become as gripping as physical ones.

Episode 62 Quiz:
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-062

Episode 62 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-062-a-curious-passion

Episode 62 Song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXZIl6DL-gY

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

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

Jan 14, 2019

This book influenced thousands of years of later literature, and remains one of our best source texts on classical mythology.

Episode 61 Quiz:
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-061

Episode 61 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-061-changes-of-shape

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

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

Dec 10, 2018

Ovid’s Art of Love is ancient Rome’s manual of seduction – a record of the steamier side of the Augustan Age.

Episode 60 Quiz:
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-060

Episode 60 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-060-how-to-make-love-to-a-roman

Episode 60 Song:
https://youtu.be/kfx-sjGorVM

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

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

Nov 13, 2018

The love poetry of Ovid (43 BCE-17 CE) was standard Latin curriculum for hundreds of years, but it was also the product of a very specific historical moment.

Episode 59 Quiz:
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-059

Episode 59 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-059-early-ovid

Episode 59 Song:
https://youtu.be/vE1jkidRthY

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

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

Oct 10, 2018

Propertius (c. 50-1 BCE) took the Latin elegiac form to new heights of complexity and passion, even weaving subtle satire throughout his work.

Episode 58 Quiz:
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-058

Episode 58 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-058-she-caught-me-with-her-eyes

Episode 58 Song:
https://youtu.be/BHEYVxqdztE

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

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

Sep 1, 2018

Virgil’s Aeneid, Books 10-12. The end of Rome’s great epic is about something Romans of Virgil’s generation knew very well indeed. War.

Episode 57 Quiz:
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-057

Episode 57 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-057-the-world-grows-dim-and-black

Episode 57 Song:
https://youtu.be/WRZbUYwdTR0

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

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

Aug 13, 2018

Virgil’s Aeneid, Books 7-9. Aeneas’ arrival in Italy begins auspiciously enough, but soon things take a turn for the worse.

Episode 56 Quiz:
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-056

Episode 56 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-056-i-shall-release-hell

Episode 56 Song:
https://youtu.be/bjqsZbGL8oM

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

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

Jul 6, 2018

Virgil’s Aeneid, Books 4-6. The story of Dido and Aeneas, and his subsequent journey to the underworld, is the heart of Rome’s most famous poem.

Episode 55 Quiz:
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-055

Episode 55 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-055-among-the-shades

Episode 55 Song:
https://youtu.be/Uybu1B2qq9o

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

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

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