Summary

In this episode, we spend our time thinking about the Roman Empire. Cliche, but fun. Anyway, Sarah and Prof. Gabriele discuss how we can hear from the 98.5% of Rome that wasn’t an emperor (or a dude), and then try to unpack why Americans are so freaking obsessed with comparing themselves to Romans and why it always seems like the “Fall of Rome” (which isn’t really a thing) is just around the corner. 

Guest

Sarah E. Bond is an associate professor in the Department of HIstory at the University of Iowa, and her interests extend beyond late Roman history, epigraphy, late antique law, Roman topography, Digital Humanities, and the socio-legal experience of ancient marginal peoples. She’s the author of Trade and Taboo: Disreputable Professionals in the Roman Mediterranean (Univ Michigan Press, 2016), and Strike: Labor, Unions, and Resistance in the Roman Empire (Yale UP, 2025). Additionally, Bond is a regular contributor at Hyperallergic, a former columnist at the Los Angeles Review of Books, and a section editor at Public Books. She has written for The New York Times, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and The Washington Post. Learn more at sarahemilybond.com. 

Credits

• Host & Executive Producer: Matthew Gabriele. Find him on Bluesky @profgabriele.com or his homepage profgabriele.com 
• Editor: Julia Schifini
• Music: “Sleeping Bags” by OTE
• Art: Ulysses Gabriele
• Multitude: https://multitude.productions 

Find American Medieval Online

• Website: AmericanMedieval.com 
• Patreon: patreon.com/AmericanMedieval 
• Insta: instagram.com/americanmedieval 
• TikTok: tiktok.com/@americanmedieval 
• YouTube: youtube.com/@AmericanMedieval 
• Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/americanmedieval.bsky.social 

About Us

American Medieval is a podcast about the Middle Ages, but with an American twist. Each week, joined by expert guests, we’ll explore either some fascinating part of the medieval world, or some way Americans have used this period to help them understand themselves. 

After all, if America has never been modern, it’s because we’ve always been slightly medieval.

Want to become a sponsor of American Medieval? Head over to https://multitude.productions/ads

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Eels. Prof. Gabriele and John Wyatt talk about eels. And maps. We also talk about maps, but mainly medieval  eels. 

Guest

John Wyatt Greenlee is a cartographic historian, as well as a historian of roads and pathways and pilgrimage. He’s best known on social media though as the Surprised Eel Historian, and he’s been profiled in TIME, The Guardian, Atlas Obscura, Hakai Magazine, and The New Yorker. Learn more at his websites https://www.jwgreenlee.net/ and https://surprisedeelmaps.com/. 

Credits

• Host & Executive Producer: Matthew Gabriele. Find him on Bluesky @profgabriele.com or his homepage profgabriele.com 
• Editor: Julia Schifini
• Music: “Sleeping Bags” by OTE
• Art: Ulysses Gabriele
• Multitude: https://multitude.productions 

Find American Medieval Online

• Website: AmericanMedieval.com 
• Patreon: patreon.com/AmericanMedieval 
• Insta: instagram.com/americanmedieval 
• TikTok: tiktok.com/@americanmedieval 
• YouTube: youtube.com/@AmericanMedieval 
• Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/americanmedieval.bsky.social 

About Us

American Medieval is a podcast about the Middle Ages, but with an American twist. Each week, joined by expert guests, we’ll explore either some fascinating part of the medieval world, or some way Americans have used this period to help them understand themselves. 

After all, if America has never been modern, it’s because we’ve always been slightly medieval.

Want to become a sponsor of American Medieval? Head over to https://multitude.productions/ads

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this very first episode of American Medieval, Prof. Gabriele and Dr Janega talk about what got us interested in the Middle Ages, what it’s like to do public-facing history, why Czech history is super cool, and why Dan Brown drives medievalists nuts.

Guest

Dr Eleanor Janega is a medieval historian, whose work aims to highlight the ways that our society has been influenced by the past, and more particularly, how it tells stories about history that aren’t actually true to justify our own desires. She’s the author of the book The Once and Future Sex: Going Medieval on Women’s Roles in Society and The Middle Ages: A Graphic History. Her work has also appeared in The Washington Post, Time, History Today, BBC History, Slate, and the Times Literary Supplement, among others. In addition, she’s co-hosts the hit podcasts “Gone Medieval” and “We’re Not So Different,” and  is the host and co-creator of several history series on HistoryHit TV. Learn more at eleanorjanega.com. 

Credits

• Host & Executive Producer: Matthew Gabriele. Find him on Bluesky @profgabriele.com or his homepage profgabriele.com 
• Editor: Julia Schifini
• Music: “Sleeping Bags” by OTE
• Art: Ulysses Gabriele
• Multitude: https://multitude.productions 

Find American Medieval Online

• Website: AmericanMedieval.com 
• Patreon: patreon.com/AmericanMedieval 
• Insta: instagram.com/americanmedieval 
• TikTok: tiktok.com/@americanmedieval 
• YouTube: youtube.com/@AmericanMedieval 
• Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/americanmedieval.bsky.social 

About Us

American Medieval is a podcast about the Middle Ages, but with an American twist. Each week, joined by expert guests, we’ll explore either some fascinating part of the medieval world, or some way Americans have used this period to help them understand themselves. 

After all, if America has never been modern, it’s because we’ve always been slightly medieval.

Want to become a sponsor of American Medieval? Head over to https://multitude.productions/ads

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

American Medieval is a podcast about the Middle Ages, but with an American twist. Each week, your host Prof. Matthew Gabriele is joined by expert guests to explore not just the Middle Ages themselves, but how and why they have such a hold on our collective imagination. After all, if America has never been modern, it’s because we’ve always been slightly medieval.

New episodes released every Wednesday. Be inscribed into the Book of Life, Drink with us Historians, and get ad-free episodes by subscribing at patreon.com/americanmedieval

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.