The Endless Knot
We discuss etymology, history, literature, science, and language, and the connections between them.
We spoke with Dr. Anne Curzan about her new book, “Says Who? A Kinder, Funner Usage Guide for Everyone Who Cares about Words”. We talk about language change, inner grammandos, the benefits of learning the rules of texting from one’s students, and of course, surprising connections!
Also, please check out the Defeat Depression fundraising event, and the Sudbury Walk/Run on May 25.
This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Buried deep under volcanic ash lie hundreds of burnt scrolls containing texts from the first century. A new project is driving the work to try to read these chunks of carbon, to uncover new works and open new doors into the past. We spoke to one of the leaders of this project, Dr. Stephen Parsons, about the Vesuvius Challenge, the technical aspects of ‘virtual unrolling’, the possibilities of new classical texts, the development of new ways of doing scholarship, and more.
Also, please check out the Defeat Depression fundraising event, and the Sudbury Walk/Run on May 25.
This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
We talked to Dr. Karen Carr about the global history of swimming — in myth, folktale, and history. Who swam, who didn’t, and how do the stories different cultures told reflect these patterns? We also talked a bit about Dr. Carr’s next book, all about silver, women, and textiles.
Dr. Carr’s history website and blog, Quatr.us
This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
We talk to Melanie Racette-Campbell about her new book, “The Crisis of Masculinity in the Age of Augustus”, and discuss why Roman elite men were particularly vulnerable to a societal transformation that changed their role in the state. What did it mean to be a good man in ancient Rome, and how and why did that change?
Melanie’s book is available here
Tiber Island, picture by Jenny Muslin
© Martin Szillat
We spoke to Dr. Valerie Fridland about her new book, “Like, Literally, Dude!” and talked about the fascinating role that many ‘errors’ in English speech actually play in communication. We discuss the never-ending changes that English has gone through, the surprisingly sophisticated rules behind our use of ‘um’ and ‘uh’, and much more.
Dr. Valerie Fridland’s website
This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
In this bonus episode, we answer questions from viewers and listeners during a livestream on our YouTube channel, as part of #LingFest23.
Apologies for the sound quality, which isn’t great.
Also, sorry that we didn’t manage a regular episode in February, but we’ll definitely have one in March.
@AllEndlessKnot@toot.community
This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
In this episode we talk to the authors of two new books on Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the Latin epic poem he wrote in 8 CE. Stephanie McCarter has published a new translation of the poem, and Gareth Williams has written a short interpretive introductory work on the epic to go with the Columbia Core Curriculum. We talked with both of them about the way Ovid fits into contemporary society, what considerations there are when teaching this epic, and the joys and difficulties of engaging with Ovid’s poetic brilliance.
Content note for sexual violence and brief description of trauma.
@AllEndlessKnot@toot.community
“Landscape Near Rome during Storm” by Simon Denis
This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
We welcome back Paul Anthony Jones, of Haggard Hawks fame, to ell us about his new book “Why Is This a Question?”. We talk about how his experience of social media has changed since we last interviewed him in 2016, what it was like researching a book covering such wide-ranging topics, the state of the publishing industry, and more.
Our previous interview with Paul (episode 21)
Citogenesis (the Wikipedia citation problem) coined in xkcd comic
This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
We have a very fun conversation with Dr. Natalie Swain about her work on classical reception and the polar regions — the Arctic and Antarctic — science fiction, and comics. And Natalie and Mark find lots of overlaps and connections between their interests!
“Between the Sheets: Reading the Coverlet as Comics in Catullus 64.” Image [&] Narrative 22.2 (2021)
Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics
This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
This episode we have a fascinating conversation with classicist, dramaturg, and translator Emma Pauly about all things Dionysian, Greek tragedy, and their translation of Euripides’ Bacchae. We explore how Emma brings their experience with acting and directing to translating and analyzing Greek literature, and how our understanding of the past changes as we develop our understanding of gender and sexuality.
Emma’s translation of the seventh Homeric Hymn to Dionysus
This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
It’s time for some Old Norse, sagas, and daring Viking explorers! In this episode we talk to author Grace Tierney about her newest book, Words the Vikings Gave Us. We had a ton of fun in this conversation, and we’re sure you will too!
Grace Tierney’s blog, Wordfoolery
Our video on Runes, and NativLang’s matching video
This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
We’re talking about bread again! This time, about ancient Greek bread — its vocabulary, the many types of bread and how they were made, and the economic aspects of bread production. Josh shares his practical experiences of baking along with his research into the classical Greek world.
Josh on Twitter: @jpnudell
Our previous episode on bread, “Loaf”
Thank you to Emma Pauly for editing and transcribing this episode.
This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Our hundredth episode! We’re celebrating reaching three digits — and more than 6 years — with a whole bunch of our podcasting friends! These are just some of the amazing creators who make the independent podcasting world so wonderful, and we’re very happy to be connected to them all. Please check out their shows at the links below. We also give you a brief “State of the Pod” update. Thank you to everyone who’s been with us so far, and here’s to the next century (of episodes)!
Thank you to Christine Couisineau for help editing and transcribing this episode.
Let’s Talk about Myths, Baby Podcast
This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
We talked to Jeremy Swist about his work on the reception of antiquity in heavy metal music. He discussed the ways the genre looks to the past for stories and imagery, and the many fantastic songs and albums that have been produced from this mix. We also talked about the problems with racism and white nationalism that can plague the intersection of the ancient world and metal music.
Playlist of the songs Jeremy mentioned
Pour Forth Surquidous track
Heavy Metal and the Ancient World on Facebook
Thank you to Emma Pauly for editing and transcribing this episode.
This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
We speak to Bet Hucks about Roman importation and love of Egyptian art and other cultural material, the importance of thinking about material remains in assemblages and considering the contexts in which they were displayed, and some innovative ways of bringing the physical experiences of the past to modern audiences. Oh, and also, crocodiles!
Bet’s Twitter: @RomanAegyptiaca
Thanks to Emma Pauly for editing and transcription of this episode.
This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
It’s time for a reckoning! Or, to be more accurate, a number of reckonings. We talk to Dr. Stephen Chrisomalis, a linguistic anthropologist who specializes in the anthropology of mathematics and the interaction of language, cognition, and culture, about his new book Reckonings. It’s a fascinating discussion of how we write and represent numbers, and how that’s changed over the years. Why don’t we use Roman numerals any more? It’s more complicated than you might think…
Announcement: Mark will be running another session of his Speakeasy seminar course, The Origins of English: Learning to Think Like an Etymologist, which is open to anyone who’s interested. Registration is now open at Speakeasy.com for the session running on Sunday afternoons (Eastern time) from September 12th October 3rd.
Glossographia (blog)
Twitter: @schrisomalis
Wayne State University faculty page
Reckonings webpage
This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
We talked to Isobel Williams about her fascinating and illuminating new translation of selected poems of Catullus, illustrated with her drawings of the Japanese art of rope binding, shibari. Our discussion ranges over the connections between the world of shibari and the emotional struggles depicted in Catullus’s poetry, the way translation and learning Latin can feel like being tied up in, and untangling, knots, and much more.
Content Note: fetish, sex, brief mention of sexual violence, discussion of enslavement and use of slavery as metaphor
Blog about drawing shibari (Japanese rope bondage): Boulevardisme
Straight blog about drawing: Drawing from an uncomfortable position
Website: Isobel Williams
Twitter: @otium_Catulle
Instagram: @isobelwilliams2525
From Isobel: “For the online book launch, I compiled a video (>20 minutes) of self and others reading in Latin and English from the book. It starts with Sappho in ancient Greek and ends with Shakespeare, to show the continuity Sappho -> Catullus -> Ovid -> Shakespeare (it contains no Ovid). The video is here 'Catullus: Shibari Carmina' - readings and performances - YouTube”
Link to the book for Canada and US: Catullus: Shibari Carmina | Independent Publishers Group
James Methven’s Precious Asses – highly recommended
Irish poet and mediaevalist Bernard O’Donoghue – Poet, Academic, Medievalist and Literary Critic
This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
_-_Napoli_MAN_8558_-_01.jpg)
Wall painting - idyllic landscape with porta sacra and tholos - Pompeii (VIII 7 28 - sanctuary of Isis - ekklesiasterion) - Napoli MAN 8558 - 01. Photo by ArchaiOptix
We talk to Dr. Victoria Austen about Roman gardens. What defines a garden? Where were the gardens at Rome, and what were they for? How did Romans think about gardens and gardening, and what roles did they play in literature, philosophy, and the public relations efforts of emperors?
This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
We speak to Dr. Carolyn Willekes about horses in antiquity: their development and domestication, their use in warfare, their training and breeding, and her many adventures riding horses across Greece, Turkey, Mongolia, and Canada.
This episode is all about Alexander the Great, and especially about his reception by later Greeks & Romans, the middle ages, and modern popular culture. We had the pleasure of interviewing Meg Finlayson who studies Alexander and his reception and shared their knowledge, enthusiasm, and dreams of a new Alexander movie with Colin Farrell playing Philip!
Alexander mosaic
Alexander sarcophagus
Pompey “the Great”
Alexander the Great in his “submarine”
Meg’s twitter @agameganon
This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
