Movies We Dig | Film, Antiquity and Everything in Between

Maybe, like, the fourth or fifth best entry in the Transformers series? Yes we're talking Gods of Egypt (2016) a... film. Joining us is extra special guest, Dr. Julia Troche, who is here to help educate us on ancient Egyptian mythology and the many hidden benefits of lettuce. We talk gods, Egypt, robots, forced-perspective, arm workout routines and much more. Listen now or you'll need to spend money to get into the afterlife and a giant cosmic snake will devour your soul!To learn more about Julia's work with The American Research Center in Egypt Missouri Chapter visit ARCEMO.org. You can also stay up-to-date with her research by following @profjuliatroche on Instagram. If you would like to check out some of Dr. Troche's writing, here's an article on Letters to the Dead. Or if you would like to check out her book, Death, Power, and Apotheosis in Ancient Egypt, use this link.In unfortunate news, the University of Iowa recently proposed that the Classical Languages major--a major focused on the study of Ancient Greek and Latin--be eliminated later this year. If, like us, you care deeply about the study of Ancient Greek and Latin and want the University of Iowa’s proud tradition of teaching these languages to continue, join us in demanding that the University of Iowa abandon its proposal to eliminate the Classical Languages major. If you would like to help support the campaign to save Classical languages at the University of Iowa, please do so at here via the Change.org petition.

If ever a series made us feel our age, it's this one! Once again, we return to Rick Riordan's fantastical world of teenage demi-gods with Disney's second season of Percy Jackson & The Olympians. Since your hosts are lost at sea when it comes to this series, we called upon a true aficionado and fellow Mnemosyne member, Lexie Henning, to help us navigate the world of prophecies and Party Ponies. Inevitably we find ourselves moored in discussion of early 2000s YA novels and their pitfalls. In the end, the sirens reveal to us the fatal flaw of adapting such tomes to the screen: No one is truly satisfied trying to relive the childhood memories of generations past.To learn more about Lexie and her work with The Ozymandias Project, visit www.ozymandiasproject.com. You can also follow Lexie on her socials at Instagram and Bluesky.If you would like to read the op-ed essay mentioned in this episode, you can access a free copy via this link.

Grab your spears, grow out your dreads and get ready to hunt some mammoth because we're going back, waaaay back to 2008 and 10,000 BC, Roland Emmerich's stealth prequel to Stargate. And what conversation about Stone Age tribes battling Atlantean Pyramid Enthusiasts (Aliens?) would be complete without our resident pseudo-archaeology expert, David S. Anderson. We talk mammoth hunting strategies, megafauna, why farming was a mistake and all walks of conspiracy theories from star-aligned pyramids to Shakespeare-wasn't-real.If you would like to learn more about David and stay updated about his research and tabletop card game Excavation!, then follow him on his social media pages at Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky.

As part of our "Unfinished Business" season, we return to the Netflix animated series Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft. It wouldn't surprise the three of us to learn that you might have missed the second (and final) season of this series, but we spend a good chunk of time discussing why that may have been the case. So let's all dive in to the story of a tomb raider turned repatriation advocate and help stop a random tech billionaire from forcing the world into a hard reboot. Hmmm, prescient.As always, if you like what you hear, please be sure to rate, review, and subscribe to the show! Stay up-to-date on all the Movies We Dig news by visiting movieswedig.com or checking out our socials.

Ancient Rome. MWD's podcasts are masters of the world, the heat of its takes heard from the Iberian peninsula in the west through the halls of the great library of Alexandria in the east. As oppressed people everywhere writhe under the Roman lash, freeman and vassal are united in one compulsory listenership. But there is a new wind, exploring this Cohen Brothers' 2016 comedy on the eccentric personalities here at Capitol Pictures. We talk sword and sandal cinema, the Red Scare, Jesus, Marxism, split nature of man, and more, all of course with extreme taste and panache. Would that it were so simple...As always, if you like what you hear, please be sure to rate, review, and subscribe to the show! Stay up-to-date on all the Movies We Dig news by visiting movieswedig.com or checking out our socials.

Once again, we sift through our backlog of episodes to take another look at a mostly forgotten film, this time with fresh eyes and new takes. What we find is a film about a Roman legionary that is actually, dare we say, good!? Joining us on the journey to find The Eagle is special return guest, Roel Konijnendijk. From a Roman military fortress to the wilds of Scotland, we discuss the charm of this underrated film. While it has a few problematic elements, one can't help but root for the budding "bromance" between Channing Tatum's Marcus Aquila and Jamie Bell's Esca as they travel together to restore their honor. And really, isn't the eagle just the friends we made along the way?Be sure to follow Roel on Bluesky and read his posts as Iphikrates on r/askhistorians.