This news might not surprise everyone, as my secret-keeping skills leave much to be desired...


Today, on the Ides of March 2026, I am launching my newest project: a podcast named Ancient History 101. It is, in many ways, for the person I was 10 years ago.


I was an armchair enthusiast - a frustrated autodidact relying on whatever I could find on my own to get an antiquity fix. I wasn't offered the subject at school or college, and so didn't even meet a teacher who could lend a hand.

I didn't know about the specialist organisations and libraries that I'm a member of now, I didn't know where to go for books other than the high street, and I certainly didn't yet know that there was a university that would welcome me as I was: way past 18, and with no relevant A-levels. I was craving an education beyond what was available via BBC4 and Waterstones, I just didn't know where to find it. I did eventually find out that I could enroll at a university for people just like me, and obtaining my two degrees was one of the best experiences of my life so far.


But what if I hadn't been a commutable distance to my dream university? A s an adult, I had a job, a family and responsibilities. I couldn't move to live in halls. What if my job wasn't flexible enough to let me study as a mature student? What if as a family we worked out that we couldn't, after all, afford it? Studying at any time is a huge change in lifestyle and not one that everyone can or wants to make.


So for the me of ten years ago, scavenging second hand book shops with my limited spending money, I would have loved to find something I could listen to regularly that gave me all of the facts and training that I craved.


I also would have adored something made by a person a bit like me - it isn't a coincidence that the few people who became notable ancient historians outside of academia all fit into a very narrow mould. It was great to listen to them (not just because that was my only choice, other than giving up), but the clear difference between their world and mine, even as they bridged a divide, only served to bring my attention to that divide.


Now that I've got a couple of qualifications under my belt, I wanted to make Ancient History 101 for people from my actual background. State school kids. First gen students. Autodidacts. Life long learners. Anyone who has ever wanted to know more about the ancient Mediterranean but had no idea where to start.


This show is for them - to provide everything I loved about my education (the faculty as well as the course content) and ditch everything we might not deem essential (student debts, piles of assigned readings, exams.) I created this show to be an alternative to going back to school - because it's really rare for people to be able to. My alma mater is a bit of a unicorn with their wlecoming admissions policy, Classics departments are shrinking or being cut altogether at far too many institutions, and degrees are a huge investment in time and money. That's not even counting the people like me now - a graduate who won't or can't get a teaching job, has lost their institutional access to cutting edge scholarship, but desperately wants to stay connected to the topic close to their heart.


That's why I created Ancient History 101. For the state school kids who haven't studied Greece or Rome since Year 6. For the people who got a job at 18, or studied something more 'mainstream' or 'useful', but who all want to learn more but as informally as possible. For the first gen students frantically playing catch up in a cohort where everyone else studied ancient history at their private schools. For the graduates whose modules didn't cover as many periods or topics as they'd have liked, and for those who want to fill in the gaps in their knowledge.


I'm a working class historian. In the public engagement world we're as rare as hen's teeth and the world needs more of us. And my guests! Already we have a roster of experts from a wide variety of backgrounds. I'll be damned if I perpetuate the narrow projection of who an ancient historian is.


Of course, I'd be lying if I said it wouldn't be nice to have the support of an institutional affiliation with all the funding that comes with it, a millionaire mate who could give me a studio and equipment and a team of editors and sound engineers social media managers, a channel who would promote my show to a readymade audience of thousands, and the attention of (and support of) big history organisations. I don't have any of that. I likely never will. I'm forging ahead anyway, the little engine that could, because I really think there is a need for a back-to-basics show, one that caters to people of any level of background knowledge, that neither patronises nor leaves anyone feeling out of their depth, and one that covers as many topics as possible. Why limit ourselves?


I do have the support of the wonderful Liv Albert of Let's Talk About Myths, Baby!, an indie public historian who has forged her own amazing path. We have idly talked about me creating this show for years, and as soon as I got serious, she didn't just offer her advice and expertise; she offered Ancient History 101 a home. We are therefore the first brand new show to launch in her Mnemosyne Memory Collective, a group of podcasters, educators and creators whose ethos is all about inclusivisity, contextualisation, and acknowledging and addressing the inherent imbalances in both the field of Classics and the modern world. We couldn't be more proud to be included in this wonderful group of people.


I also have the support of my wonderful friends who have contributed their time and knowledge as my expert guests. I have been blown away by how supportive, generous and all around lovely they have been, and how completely unfazed they have been by the back-to-basics format. I will never cease feeling a deep debt of gratitude to them, and I cannot wait for listeners to discover them and their work.


As for how others can help get this show off the ground?


Obviously, we'd love for you to listen to our episodes. But if you're an educator, you can tell your colleagues and students about us. You can post links to the show on your social media accounts. Or, you could apply to be a contributor yourself!


Any help of any kind will help this show to grow, to reach more people, and to share the fascination that we share about antiquity to as diverse a group of listeners as possible.