COMING IN 2026!
A new history podcast all about the Ancient Mediterranean - the Greek and Roman worlds and the neighbours that surrounded them.
This is a history podcast with a difference: I'll be learning alongside you as each episode we invite an expert to discuss an aspect of antiquity in depth. We'll be asking about the sources we have available, investigating their voracity, and learn to read between the lines to try and determine what is really going on in the ancient world.
What do we know, and how do we know it? What sources do we have, and what are they actually saying? What is historiography, and why does it matter?
Each episode will conduct a deep dive into a piece of art or literature, an ancient building or city, the biography of a historical figure, or a specific historical event. We'll be sorting facts from fiction, adding vital context to anecdotes, and learning all about new discoveries and current scholarship as we chat with classicists, ancient historians and archaeologists. Always keen to learn more myself, (and very much nostalgic for my own years at university,) I'll be acting as host, asking our experts the important questions.
With each passing episode, listeners will gain the skills to make them bona fide historians, capable of identifying propaganda and authorial bias in primary and secondary sources, approaching antiquity with critical thinking, and conducting their own research. We'll also teach you everything you need to know about the history of studying ancient history and how antiquity has been (and still is being) used to influence our modern world - has the teaching of ancient history in universities been politically neutral in the last decades and centuries? Is it now? How have people in power used ancient texts, imagery and ideas to gain influence and assert authority? Can we identify the echoes of antiquity in aspects of our modern society?
Subscribers will also gain access to bonus episodes with our expert historians on their own personal research and passion projects, as well as travel tips for visiting the best ancient sites, book recommendations, study advice, and
entertaining discussions about the ancient Mediterranean popping up in novels, pop music, video games, TV shows and cinema.
WHO ARE WE FOR?
We're a podcast for anyone excited about the ancient world!
Enthusiasts:
Ancient History is a rare subject in British schools, and it's an ever rarer privilege to be able to study the ancient Mediterranean at university. Enriching, but an expensive investment that isn't always feasible on top of a job and family life. If you love learning about the ancient world but can't justify embarking on a formal education qualification, we aim to provide you with the kind of discussions and skills training you'd find at any university, all at your own pace and from the comfort of wherever you choose to tune in. We could simply tell you a good story every episode, but we like to do things a little differently at Ancient History 101. We never take a source at face value, so we'll teach and encourage you to identify potential pitfalls in the evidence we have - is a text being honest? Is there anything the writer wishes to hide, or promote? Can we spot any hidden messages? Does this source align with what we know from other texts or archaeological discoveries? You'll be doing much more than listening to an interesting tale, you'll be learning to think like a real historian.
Students:
No matter at what level of education you're at, from your early teens right up to university, you can find helpful episodes of our podcast to aid your study in handy bite-sized chunks. Need a crash course in a specific Greek play? Been set an assignment about an emperor you don't know much about? Want to impress you teachers and lecturers by dropping in some obscure facts? Would you like inspiration on dissertation topics? Want to learn more about a topic but your university doesn't offer it as a class? Need a speedy revision session? We take a back-to-basics approach to provide everything you need to know about each topic, warn you about common misconceptions and outdated scholarship, as well as sprinkling in some entertaining details and cutting edge research.
Academics:
Whether you want to freshen up your knowledge on a topic you don't research or teach, keep up-to-date with what peers are writing about right now, or want an engaging discussion with an expert to assign to your students for class prep, we will have an episode to suit your needs.
This podcast will be a member of the Mnemosyne: The Memory Collective Podcast Network, founded by the inimitable Liv Albert, host of Let's Talk About Myths, Baby!
If you want more information, to request a topic for an episode, or to volunteer your expertise in an interview, get in touch using the contact form below: