With a hint of magic and the lure of buried wisdom, Ancient Egypt has, like a mysterious and powerful magnet, for millennia pulled on the collective imagination of the West. But almost as gripping as the story of Egypt itself is the story of Egyptomania, the tale of how that fascination took hold, the bold adventurers who unearthed antiquities, the clashing empires that fought over these ancient prizes, and a pair of brilliant linguists who cracked the ancient code of the hieroglyphs.

Guest: Edward Dolnick, chief science writer at the Boston Globe, and author of "The Writing of the Gods: The Race to Decode the Rosetta Stone," "The Clockwork Universe," and "Dinosaurs at the Dinner Party."

Find out more about Edward's work at his website: https://edwarddolnick.net/