Ancient History 101

Ben Paites, curator extraordinaire, is here to tell us exactly what happens behind the scenes to make museums work. How do museums acquire exhibits, who decides what gets displayed, and are museums always benignly ethical? Ben gives Alexandra answers to all these questions and more.For Ben's book 50 LGBTQ+ Finds, click here to go to our UK bookshop, and here for the United States.Make sure to click ‘subscribe’ so that you never miss an episode; we have a new topic every Wednesday!Find Ancient History 101 on social media and our website, where you can learn more about our expert guests.We have merch available at our RedBubble shop, or you can help support the podcast by buying history books and translations we’ve hand-chosen for you at our online bookshop in the USA or UK.Or you can buy us a ko-fi! However you choose to support the show, we appreciate it!Ancient History 101 is a proud member of the Mnemosyne Memory Collective  

This week we have battles, oracles, and a towering pile of ostraka - it can only be a life of Themistocles - the man who owed democracy his career, but was convicted of treason and condemned to die by the very democrats he'd saved in battle.Michael Scott, author of the sterling new biography of Themistocles, steps aboard to tell us about the man credited with making Athens the greatest Greek naval power.Buy Michael's book, find supplementary materials and a transcript, all in this one handy link.Make sure to click ‘subscribe’ so that you never miss an episode; we have a new topic every Wednesday!Find Ancient History 101 on social media and our website, where you can learn more about our expert guests.We have merch available at our RedBubble shop, or you can help support the podcast by buying history books and translations we’ve hand-chosen for you at our online bookshop in the USA or UK.Or you can buy us a ko-fi! However you choose to support the show, we appreciate it!Ancient History 101 is a proud member of the Mnemosyne Memory Collective  

Owen Rees of Xenophon fame returns to the show to explain why everything we think we know about ancient Sparta is an illusion.So what is the Spartan Mirage, and how in earth are we supposed to reveal the real picture of Spartan life hiding behind it?For recommended reading, images, maps, and more information about Owen and his work, click here to go to the episode webpage.Make sure to click ‘subscribe’ so that you never miss an episode; we have a new topic every Wednesday!Find Ancient History 101 on social media and our website, where you can learn more about our expert guests.We have merch available at our RedBubble shop, or you can help support the podcast by buying history books and translations we’ve hand-chosen for you at our online bookshop in the USA or UK.Or you can buy us a ko-fi! However you choose to support the show, we appreciate it!Ancient History 101 is a proud member of the Mnemosyne Memory Collective  

Alexandra strikes out on her on for a bonus episode this week, to celebrate 10,000 downloads! So as an extra treat, Alexandra chats about her favourite Greek tragedy, Euripides' Trojan Women.Often misunderstood, this play remains painfully relevant to our modern world, even as the author's intentions have become difficult to see clearly through the mists of time. Alexandra puts her case forward, and invites you to make your own conclusions.For a transcript of this episode as well as recommended further reading, click here.Make sure to click ‘subscribe’ so that you never miss an episode; we have a new topic every Wednesday!Find Ancient History 101 on social media and our website, where you can learn more about our expert guests.We have merch available at our RedBubble shop, or you can help support the podcast by buying history books and translations we’ve hand-chosen for you at our online bookshop in the USA or UK.Or you can buy us a ko-fi! However you choose to support the show, we appreciate it!Ancient History 101 is a proud member of the Mnemosyne Memory Collective  

This week we have one of the messiest, bloodiest years of the early Roman empire, in which becoming emperor was pretty much a death sentence...Our special guest of the week is Nathaniel Katz, here to find the meaning in the mess and help us understand how this one year changed the Roman empire forever.Find recommended reading, images, and other supplementary materials here.Make sure to click ‘subscribe’ so that you never miss an episode; we have a new topic every Wednesday!Find Ancient History 101 on social media and our website, where you can learn more about our expert guests.We have merch available at our RedBubble shop, or you can help support the podcast by buying history books and translations we’ve hand-chosen for you at our online bookshop in the USA or UK.Or you can buy us a ko-fi! However you choose to support the show, we appreciate it!Ancient History 101 is a proud member of the Mnemosyne Memory Collective  

This week we're tackling a heavy subject - slavery in the Roman world. Thank goodness we have such a lovely expert to guide us through it; Chance Bonar explains why the realities of Roman slavery are a little different to what we might expect, and why we certainly can't say it wasn't so bad, after all.Make sure to click ‘subscribe’ so that you never miss an episode; we have a new topic every Wednesday!Find Ancient History 101 on social media and our website, where you can learn more about our expert guests.We have merch available at our RedBubble shop, or you can help support the podcast by buying history books and translations we’ve hand-chosen for you at our online bookshop in the USA or UK.Or you can buy us a ko-fi! However you choose to support the show, we appreciate it!Ancient History 101 is a proud member of the Mnemosyne Memory Collective