Episode 51: Race & Racism in Ancient & Medieval Studies, Part One: the Problem

The Odyssey, translated by Emily Wilson

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Episode 50: Translating the Odyssey, with Emily Wilson

Mark Sundaram January 3, 2018

We interview Emily Wilson, whose new translation of the Odyssey for Norton was published in November to great acclaim and critical praise. She tells us about some of her choices in the areas of metre, vocabulary, register, and more, and we discuss the very concept of 'choice' in translation, the notion of a 'faithful' translation, the complicated question of heroic women, and 70's blaxpoitation films!

Show Notes

Merchandise (CafePress Site)

Episode 49: Stocking Stuffers & Christmas Treats

Aven McMaster December 20, 2017

This year's holiday podcast looks back at last year's Christmas video, Stocking, and we talk about the Christmas treats our families enjoy, their history, and their etymology. All you could ever want to know about plum pudding and tourtiere, along with the story of St Nick himself. (PS: since the recording, I've seen indications that the 'mincepie ban' by the Puritans may be a myth, but Christmas celebrations in general definitely were banned, and mincepies and plum puddings were strongly associated with observances of the holiday, so were presumably included.)

Show Notes

Reindeer video

Stocking video

Gerry Bowler, The World Encyclopedia of Christmas

Bruce David Forbes, Christmas: A Candid History

Desmond Morris, Christmas Watching

Andrea Broomfield, Food and Cooking in Victorian England: A History

Kaufman, Cathy. “The Ideal Christmas Dinner.” Gastronomica, vol. 4, no. 4, 2004, pp. 17–24.

Leach, Helen. “Translating the 18th Century Pudding.” Islands of Inquiry: Colonisation, Seafaring and the Archaeology of Maritime Landscapes, edited by Geoffrey Clark et al., vol. 29, ANU Press, 2008, pp. 381–396.

History of shortbread.

Canadian Encyclopedia "Tourtière"

Lemasson, Jean-Pierre. "The Long History of the Tourtière of Quebec's Lac-St-Jean", in What's to Eat? Entrees in Canadian Food History, edited by Nathalie Cooke, McGill-Queens UP, 2009.

Episode 48: Talking Teaching with Mythtake!

Aven McMaster December 6, 2017

Alison & Darrin from MythTake Podcast dropped by Sudbury -- and sat down with us for a chat about teaching myth, literature, and more. Make sure you check out their podcast for great discussions about myth and Greek literature.

Show Notes

Mythtake Podcast

Bakkhai at Stratford

Introduction to Mythology from Oxford UP

Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton

Monday, Dec. 4, 2017 at Newtonville Books in Boston, MA

Episode 47: Why Bob Dylan Matters, with Richard Thomas

Mark Sundaram November 22, 2017

We talk to Prof. Richard Thomas about his new book about Bob Dylan and the Classics, discussing Latin poetry, intertextuality in music and literature, Dylan's similarities to Catullus and use of Virgil and Ovid, and the unexpected connections between Classical scholarship and research into folk music archives.

Show Notes

Why Bob Dylan Matters

Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017 at the University of Tulsa, in Tulsa, OK

The History of Rome Podcast

Episode 46: Mike Duncan & The Storm before the Storm

Aven McMaster November 8, 2017

We talk to podcaster and author Mike Duncan about his book, podcasting, Roman history, and more. Thanks to Mike for joining us -- and everyone, go get his book, it's great!

Show Notes

Revolutions Podcast

The Storm before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic

The "gens togata": Changing Styles and Changing Identities

Episode 45: Costumes & the Language of Fashion

Aven McMaster October 27, 2017

Our Hallowe'en themed episode this year is about costumes -- and etymologies and origin stories of a whole bunch of iconic items of clothing. We talk about the semiotics of fashion, the many varieties of the toga, and hats that caused fainting fits, and finish off with a couple of spooky Roman stories! Also, check out this year's Hallowe'en video, on words for Ghost.

Show Notes

#2PodsADay

Werewolf Cocktail recipe

"Costume" video

"Jack o'Lantern" video

Ep 22: Jack o'Lantern podcast

Justin Trudeau in Canadian Tuxedo (Source)

Article about Trudeau

Portrait of Lady Hamilton as Bacchante, by Romney

Petronius Satyricon vol 2 chpt 62 werewolf story

Pliny the Elder werewolf passage

Full transcript of this episode

Episode 44: "Us" & "Them" in the Ancient & Early English Worlds

Mark Sundaram October 13, 2017

What words did the Greeks, Romans, and early medieval English use to talk about different groups of people? What differences did they think were important? How do those compare to modern conceptions of ethnicity, national identity, or race? We try to give some basic background on this complicated question, starting with the etymology of the vocabulary and addressing some of the ways differences were conceptualized.

Show Notes

#2PodsADay

Video on the Anglo-Saxon Invasion, collaboration with Jabzy

Ethnicity in Herodotus--The Honest Entry

How is the Ancient Mediterranean Diverse If Everyone There Is "White"?

“Black Odysseus, White Caesar: When Did "White People" Become "White"?” James H. Dee. The Classical Journal. Vol. 99, No. 2 (Dec., 2003 - Jan., 2004), pp. 157-167

“Did ancient identity depend on ethnicity? A preliminary probe” Erich Gruen. Phoenix. Vol. 67, No. 1/2 (2013), pp. 1-22.

Were Medieval People Racist?

“Medieval and Modern Concepts of Race and Ethnicity” Robert Bartlett.

Caitlin Green’s blog, for general evidence of diversity in Britain

Race and Ethnicity in Anglo-Saxon Literature. Stephen Harris, Taylor & Francis, 2003.

Where the the term "White People" come from?

Colorlines in Classical North Africa

Episode 43: Hercules the Much-Filmed

Mark Sundaram September 27, 2017

Time to talk about the greatest hero of them all! Why are there so many movies about Hercules? Why do they all have lions and snakes in them, but no journeys to the underworld, and only a sprinkling of family murder? Who's the most Herculean Hercules, and how did Mr. Universe do in the role? And, most importantly, how much virtue is in every part of the mighty Hercules???

Show Notes

The Atlas Cocktail

Movies discussed:
Hercules, 1957, Steve Reeves
Hercules in New York, 1969, Arnold Schwarzenegger
The Adventures of Hercules, 1985, Lou Ferrigno
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, 1995-1999, Kevin Sorbo
Hercules, 1997, Disney, Animated
Hercules, 2005, Paul Telfer
Hercules, 2014, Dwayne Johnson
The Legend of Hercules, 2014, Kellan Lutz

Wyke, Maria. “Herculean Muscle!: The Classicizing Rhetoric of Bodybuilding.” Arion: A Journal of Humanities and the Classics, vol. 4, no. 3, 1997, pp. 51–79. JSTOR

History of English Podcast

Episode 42: Bugging Out!

Aven McMaster September 13, 2017

We discuss the murky origins of the word 'Bug', some Latin & Greek words for insects, ancient notions of authorship, medieval guild secrets, and the history of patents. Also, sacred geese, burglar alarms, and a Latin mock-epic about a heroic gnat!

Show Notes

Song Exploder podcast Jóhann Jóhannsson

Grose’s slang dictionary

The Gnat and other Minor Poems of Virgil translated by David R. Slavitt

Lexicon Valley Podcast -- Arrival episode

Episode 41: Arrival, Linguistics, & Time

Aven McMaster August 30, 2017

We're declaring this the first episode of Season 3 of the podcast! In this episode, long after everyone else has talked about it, we review the movie Arrival and discuss the linguistic and philosophical issues that it raises, including of course the infamous Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. Oh, and check out our attempt at creating a theme cocktail!

Show Notes

Arrival

Talk the Talk Podcast -- Arrival episode

Lingthusiasm Podcast -- Arrival episode

LingSpace -- Arrival video

Episode 40: The Cottage, Language, & Poetry

Mark Sundaram August 17, 2017

We're back at the cottage, and this time we're talking to Ian and Susan McMaster about language, computer programming, poetry, music, theatre, and more, as we chat about the serendipitous connections that led to careers, performances, and relationships. Along the way we play a few tracks of Susan McMaster's poetry, more of which (both texts and recordings) can be found at her website. Susan's recent publications include Crossing Arcs: Alzheimer's, My Mother, and Me and Lizard Love: Artists Scan Poems.

The three works included in the podcast are "Shadowless" from Pass This Way Again (Underwhich Editions), the beginning of "The Pleasure of Lusting" from Geode Music & Poetry, and "Science Song #1" from Dark Galaxies.

Show Notes

Susan McMaster's website (with links to poems & list of publications)

Episode 39: From Fossil Hunters to Mammoth Cheese

Aven McMaster July 19, 2017

We talk about the early history of paleontology and geology, the first fossil hunters, the Bone Wars, and the possible ties between fossils and Greek myth. Also, a bonus poem about a mammoth cheese!

Show Notes

"Fossil" video

"Canuck" video

The Recipes Project

“Ancient Fossil Discoveries and Interpretations”, Adrienne Mayor, The Oxford Handbook of Animals in Classical Thought and Life, Edited by Gordon Lindsay Campbell

Mayor, A. (2011), The First Fossil Hunters: Dinosaurs, Mammoths, and Myth in Greek and Roman Times (2nd revised edition of The First Fossil Hunters: Paleontology in Greek and Roman Times (2000)), Princeton, Princeton University Press.

The Feast Podcast: A Victorian Dinosaur Dinner & Thomas Jefferson & the Mammoth Cheese of Cheshire

See the end of this blog post for the "Ode to a Mammoth Cheese" poem.

The Wonder Woman Cocktail

Episode 38: Wonder Woman & the Amazons

Mark Sundaram July 5, 2017

We saw Wonder Woman -- and have lots to say about the history of the comic, Amazons, Greek myth, ancient Greek dolls, and more.

Show Notes

The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore

“The lie detector, Wonder Woman and liberty: the life and work of William Moulton Marston” by Geoffrey C Bunn

The Amazons: Lives & Legends Of Warrior Women Across The Ancient World by Adrienne Mayor

"The Real Amazons" by Joshua Rothman (New Yorker)

The Recipe Project: A Virtual Conversation, "What is a Recipe?"

Episode 37: What is a Recipe? with Laura Carlson

Mark Sundaram June 20, 2017

We talk to Laura Carlson from The Feast Podcast about recreating historical recipes, the many meanings of food, and what exactly defines a 'recipe'. This is part of The Recipe Project's Virtual Conversation: What is a Recipe? which started on June 2nd, 2017 and is continuing until July 5th, and you can join in the conversation by leaving a comment here or by checking out the hashtag #recipesconf on Twitter and Instagram.

Show Notes

Transcript

The Feast Podcast

Episode 3: The Medieval Michelin Guide: Finding Food on the Camino de Santiago, 1490

Paul Freedman's Out of the East: Spices and the Medieval Imagination

Pleyn Delit

Richters Herbs

The Classical Cookbook

Anglo-Saxon Invasion video

Episode 36: Looking for the Legend in Guy Ritchie's King Arthur

Aven McMaster June 7, 2017

We discuss how the recent Guy Ritchie movie King Arthur: Legend of the Sword fits into the history of adaptations of the Arthur legend. What kind of Arthur does it present, how does it interact with the Arthurian tradition, and what themes does it explore? And who has the biggest...er...elephants?

Show Notes

"What is the Earliest English Word?" video

History of English podcast episode on the English King Arthur

Episode 35: Season to Taste

Mark Sundaram May 26, 2017

Caesar cocktails with pickled asparagus garnish

We're getting saucy with a discussion about the etymology and history of condiments -- from Roman garum to Worcestershire sauce, through Escoffier and seasonings, to the global implications of ketchup.

Show Notes

Sources for this episode:

Jurafsky, Dan. The Language of Food: A Linguist Reads the Menu
Bober, Phyllis Pray. Art, Culture, & Cuisine: Ancient & Medieval Gastronomy. U of Chicago P, 1999.
Curtis, Robert I. “In Defense of Garum”. The Classical Journal, Vol. 78, No. 3 (Feb. - Mar., 1983), pp. 232-240.
Corcoran, Thomas H. “Roman Fish Sauces”. The Classical Journal, Vol. 58, No. 5 (Feb., 1963), pp. 204-210.

Some history of ketchup, with early English recipes

Episode 34: The Gimlet & the Diseases of Colonialism

Aven McMaster May 10, 2017

We discuss the origins of the Gimlet cocktail, the stories about its name, and its connection to the treatment of scurvy; then we talk about some of the other diseases tied to the early era of European expansion and colonialism, including the classical history of malaria in Greece and Rome. Also featuring conversation about gin, the pronunciation of quinine, and a cameo appearance by Alexander the Great!

Show Notes

"Gimlet" video

"Gimlet" blog post

Gin, Glorious Gin: How Mother's Ruin Became the Spirit of London by Olivia Williams

"The Dead Do Tell Tales", Ethan Barnes, Corinth, Vol. 20, Corinth, The Centenary: 1896-1996 (2003), pp. 435-443. JSTOR

Malaria and Rome: A History of Malaria in Ancient Italy, Robert Sallares, OUP 2002.

"A Note on Alexander's Death", Donald Engels, Classical Philology, Vol. 73, No. 3 (Jul., 1978), pp. 224-228. JSTOR

"The Rhodes Colossus" – cartoon by Edward Linley Sambourne, published in Punch after Rhodes announced plans for a telegraph line from Cape Town to Cairo in 1892.

St. George Terroir Gin (from California)

Article on mealtime terms

Episode 33: Purple, Pink, & Brown

Aven McMaster April 28, 2017

Show Notes

We finish up our colour series (for now!) with a discussion of Purple, Pink, & Brown. From Phoenician shellfish, Virgil's Aeneas,& Propertius's Cynthia, to flowers, beavers, & bears, this episode covers a lot of ground. Let us know what fun colour facts we've missed, and what colourful topics you might like us to cover in the future!

Note: one area of discussion we rather left out is the place of purple in Byzantium/the Eastern Empire... maybe we’ll pick that up in the next episode briefly!

Talk the Talk Podcast

Let’s Talk Talk Podcast