Ancient History Fangirl

By Jenny Williamson and Genn McMenemySociety & Culture History

Ancient History Fangirl episodes

October 15 Liv and Genn Visit Camp Half Blood (with Rick Riordan and Annabelle Oh)
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We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to bring you this brilliant crossover episode!
Our very own Genn McMenemy made a guest appearance on Liv Albert's Let's Talk About Myths, Baby! to interview the co-authors of the BRAND NEW CAMP HALF BLOOD BOOK: Camp Half-Blood: The Wild Zone!
In this episode, Rick Riordan and Annabelle Oh share their mythical inspirations, what's going on at Camp Half Blood in the new series, and more.
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31 min
October 13 RE-RELEASE: Buzzballs and Buboes: The Plague of Justinian (a Drunk Deep Dive)
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This is an episode about a plague that killed up to 100 million people by the time it was done—as many as 60% of its victims. It’s the first documented occurrence of a pandemic that we have, and it’s the first documented outbreak of the deadlyYersinia pestis. No, we're not talking about the Black Death of Medieval Europe. We're talking about the Plague of Justinian.
The Plague of Justinian was just one part of the fallout of the global volcanic eruption of 536 AD. Three eyewitness accounts have survived--and, in the grand tradition of this podcast, we decided to read them to you whilst Yule-level drunk. Buckle up. It is a wild, plague-tastic ride.
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1 hr 26 min
October 08 AHFG Book Club: An Odyssey for Everyone (with Liv Albert)
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What can we believe about the Odyssey?
This is the question posed by bestselling author Liv Albert, host of the Let’s Talk About Myth’s Baby! podcast, and author of three books including the brand new The Odyssey: A Modern Retelling. It’s an Odyssey for children, but one which readers of all ages will find it very easy to fall in love with.
Join us as we delve deep into this ancient tale in a wide-ranging conversation spanning gods, goddesses and monsters; Odysseus’ status as a problematic narrator (and self-admitted liar), and just what is it about him that continues to fascinate.
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1 hr 4 min
October 06 RE-RELEASE: Ghosts of Wrangel Island
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Mammoths existed on our planet for roughly five million years, and they were perfectly adapted to the ice age world they inhabited. So perfectly adapted that when the last ice age ended, so did they. No woolly mammoths have walked the earth for the last 10,000 years. Or did they?
It turns out that the last mammoths didn’t disappear 10,000 years ago. For thousands of years after their extinction in the rest of the world, a small population still lived on a remote island in the Arctic called Wrangel Island. And in their last days? In the end times? Things got weird.
This is a story about a natural disaster that happened—to mammoths. Let’s dig in.
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This episode is brought to you by Vinted. Download the Vinted app for free, sell clothes you no longer wear, and keep everything you earn.
This podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to advertise on our show? Please direct advertising inquiries to [email protected].

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48 min
October 01 Virgil the Virgin and the Creation of the Authoritarian State
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Among the poets of early Augustan Rome, Virgil had a niche: nostalgia. He wrote poems about the Roman countryside, farmers, and a mourned, simpler past that may have never existed. And when Augustus came to power, he recognized Virgil’s skill as one he could exploit.
Augustus commanded Virgil to write the Aeneid—an epic poem tying him (Augustus) to an ancient past going all the way back to the Illiad, and elevating his family as descended from Venus and divinely appointed to rule. Virgil’s act of resistance was endlessly writing this poem, never finishing it, and ordering it burned when he died (though Augustus had other ideas).
What happens to an artist’s art when it is used in a way that transcends its creation? And how does an ancient poem connect to the Trump Administration’s war with the Smithsonian?
It turns out one of fascism’s most potent weapons is nostalgia. Join us as we dig into it.
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1 hr 26 min
September 17 Can Christian Nationalists Be Normal in a Democracy? (With Brad Onishi)
Enemy of My Dreams is just $2.99 on Kindle!
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Short answer: no.
Long answer: no, and they didn't function that well in pluralistic Roman society, either.
Many of the qualities of high-control Christianity--spiritual warfare, fascistic tendencies, the desire to bring on the end times through war in the Middle East, Christian persecution complex, refusal to follow societal norms, demons--were there at the beginning, date to very specific times in the Church's early history, and threatened Roman society in a way surprisingly similar to how they're threatening ours now.
Join us as we attempt to chart the connection between the religious nonsense we're all being tortured with today and its deepest roots in history--with Brad Onishi, scholar of religion, author and co-host of the podcast Straight White American Jesus.
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1 hr 8 min
September 10 AHFG Book Club: Lady Pirates and Why-Choose Werewolves (with Eva Leigh)
⁠Enemy of My Dreams is just $2.99 on Kindle!⁠
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We are thrilled to welcome USA Today bestselling author Eva Leigh to the podcast. Eva has had two recent releases that piqued our interest: The Sea Witch (about a lady pirate who’s also a witch, paired with a hunky navigator) and a wild novella about a woman whose world is rocked by multiple werewolf highwaymen.
Join us as we discuss magic and mythology, the fun and challenge of writing why-choose, and the necessity of centering female pleasure.
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57 min
September 03 The Builder Emperor: How Augustus Made a City of Marble
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One of the most famous quotes from Augustus’ reign was “I found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble.” And Augustus did that—he had a real thing for construction. Augustus would leave his mark on Rome, and the city would never be able to forget him.
Turns out this is…how do we put this…fascism-coded. Other authoritarians have also loved to build things—including, very noticeably, Donald Trump. Why is that? Why do dictators feel a need to build things and slap their names on buildings (even when they didn’t build them)?
In this episode, we’re going to unpack that—comparing the record of Augustus and Donald Trump when it comes to building, defacing (under the guise of "renovation"), slapping their names on buildings and putting their claims on the narratives those buildings tell.
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1 hr 31 min
August 20 Why are Techbro Oligarchs so Obsessed with Augustus?
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Have you noticed that our tech overlords cannot be normal
about the Roman Empire?
Elon Musk has approximately 14 known children, which he
refers to as his “Legion.” Mark Zuckerberg famously took the Emperor Augustus on his honeymoon. And in some of the darker corners of the Internet (and real life), wildly rich techbros openly fantasize about a “Red Caesar” who will come to rule us all.
Why is that? Where does this obsession with ancient Rome come from, specifically among our techbro overlords? In this episode, we’re going to attempt to unpack that.
Sponsors and Advertising
This episode is sponsored by Taskrabbit. Get $15 off your first task at Taskrabbit.com or the Taskrabbit app using promo code FANGIRL.
This podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to advertise on our show? Please direct advertising inquiries to [email protected].

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1 hr 5 min
August 06 A Democracy Built on Slavery (With Emma Southon)
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Slavery touched every part of life in ancient Rome. Depending on the time period and location, as many as one in ten or one in three people was enslaved.
How does it warp a democracy when so many of its people are not free? Today we talk to author, historian and podcaster Dr. Emma Southon, host of the History is Sexy podcast and author of Not Built in a Day: How Slavery Made the Roman Empire, to explore this question.
Sponsors and Advertising
This episode is sponsored by Taskrabbit. Get $15 off your first task at Taskrabbit.com or the Taskrabbit app using promo code FANGIRL.
This podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to advertise on our show? Please direct advertising inquiries to [email protected].

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
1 hr 19 min

About Ancient History Fangirl

From the publisher's feed

An ancient history podcast run by two Millennial women. Misbehaving emperors, poison assassins, mythological mayhem; it’s like if Hardcore History met up with My Favorite Murder in the ancient world,…