Movies We Dig | Film, Antiquity and Everything in Between

Grab your trowels, apply your sunscreen and get ready to get down and dirty as we sit down with author Kate Myers to discuss her smash-hit novel Excavations. We talk all things archaeology: dirt, artifacts, repatriation, dirt, organized crime, horse-loving donkeys, more dirt and all the character types that seem to crawl out of the woodwork every summer to dig in remote Mediterranean villages.

You can read more about Kate on her website; be sure to read her latest book, Salty, and look out for Dig, the upcoming television adaptation of Excavations created by Amy Poehler and Michael Schur.

As always, if you like what you hear, please be sure to rate, review, and subscribe to the show! Stay up-to-date on all the Movies We Dig news by visiting movieswedig.com or checking out our socials.

Movies We Dig is also part of Mnemosyne: The Memory Collective, a podcast network and creator collective for historians, archaeologists, artists, and other creators and educators dedicated to sharing content about and featuring the ancient world that is accurate, accessible, and inclusive. To learn more about the collective and its contributors, check out collectivemem.com.

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If pressed to recall this film, one can probably remember its most iconic line "I'm gonna steal the Declaration of Independence," but not much beyond that. And maybe that's a good thing. Part heist, part treasure hunt, and part historical conspiracy, this film works hard to make the United States' settler colonialism past seem a lot cooler than it actually is. We talk ships (both nautical and romantic), the apparent monetary value of world heritage, and the eccentric nature of Nicolas Cage's acting career.

As always, if you like what you hear, please be sure to rate, review, and subscribe to the show! Stay up-to-date on all the Movies We Dig news by visiting movieswedig.com or checking out our socials.

As always, if you like what you hear, please be sure to rate, review, and subscribe to the show! Stay up-to-date on all the Movies We Dig news by visiting movieswedig.com or checking out our socials.

Movies We Dig is also part of Mnemosyne: The Memory Collective, a podcast network and creator collective for historians, archaeologists, artists, and other creators and educators dedicated to sharing content about and featuring the ancient world that is accurate, accessible, and inclusive. To learn more about the collective and its contributors, check out collectivemem.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dust off your linguistic skills and join us as we decipher the myriad of meanings presented in the science fiction drama, Arrival. What on the surface appears to be a conflict between humans and extraterrestrials, in reality, is the longstanding rivalry between Humanities and STEM. With the help of our special guest Dr. Deb Trusty, we discuss the similarities and differences between the film and Ted Chiang's original short story titled "Story of Your Life". As a nice change of pace, the film's aliens put a lot of faith in humanity's ability to come together and problem-solve. Yet after seeing how humans handled a worldwide pandemic and the rise of AI Mecha-Hit***, we find that trust might be a bit misplaced. But hey, we can all agree that Bob Ross was a pretty awesome dude.

If you would like check out more of Deb's takes on fringe reception of Classics and mythology in videogames and board games, be sure to check out her Twitch channel at www.twitch.tv/doctordebitage. And if you like what you hear, please be sure to rate, review, and subscribe to the podcast.

As always, if you like what you hear, please be sure to rate, review, and subscribe to the show! Stay up-to-date on all the Movies We Dig news by visiting movieswedig.com or checking out our socials.

Movies We Dig is also part of Mnemosyne: The Memory Collective, a podcast network and creator collective for historians, archaeologists, artists, and other creators and educators dedicated to sharing content about and featuring the ancient world that is accurate, accessible, and inclusive. To learn more about the collective and its contributors, check out collectivemem.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We clearly had lots of thoughts as this is one of our longest (and most swear-ridden) episodes ever. Joined by super special guest Genn McMenemy, we excavate the layers and layers of volcanic ash that is Pompeii (2014). We dive deep not just into this film as an artifact of cinematic cliches circa the 2010's but also the actual artifacts from the site of Pompeii. Really, we spend most of our time pitching our rewrites for a much more interesting version of this story.

You can follow Genn on Instagram and Threads; check out her books Women of Myth and The Official Lore Olympus Cookbook. And check out her podcast Ancient History Fangirl!

As always, if you like what you hear, please be sure to rate, review, and subscribe to the show! Stay up-to-date on all the Movies We Dig news by visiting movieswedig.com or checking out our socials.

Movies We Dig is also part of Mnemosyne: The Memory Collective, a podcast network and creator collective for historians, archaeologists, artists, and other creators and educators dedicated to sharing content about and featuring the ancient world that is accurate, accessible, and inclusive. To learn more about the collective and its contributors, check out collectivemem.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Get your divining rods and apotropaic phalli and get ready for some dark magical realism. We excavate Alice Rohrwacher's 2023 film about a British archaeologist-turned-tombarolo, La chimera. This film has everything: Etruscan tombs, musical interludes, Isabella Rossellini, ghosts and more! We really dug this film and the way it unpacks the complicated relationship between past and present, living and dead, wealth and poverty, plus Italian nonna's favoritism towards their granddaughter's ex-boyfriends.

As always, if you like what you hear, please be sure to rate, review, and subscribe to the show! Stay up-to-date on all the Movies We Dig news by visiting movieswedig.com or checking out our socials.

As always, if you like what you hear, please be sure to rate, review, and subscribe to the show! Stay up-to-date on all the Movies We Dig news by visiting movieswedig.com or checking out our socials.

Movies We Dig is also part of Mnemosyne: The Memory Collective, a podcast network and creator collective for historians, archaeologists, artists, and other creators and educators dedicated to sharing content about and featuring the ancient world that is accurate, accessible, and inclusive. To learn more about the collective and its contributors, check out collectivemem.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's summertime! You know what that means? Time to head to the beach with a historical, smutty romance book! And boy do we have a recommendation for you! In this episode we are joined by romance novelist and fellow historical podcaster, Jenny Williamson, to discuss her debut book Enemy of My Dreams. We discuss everything from the historical figures that inspired the story, the importance of Romance as a genre, and the texting style of each of our favorite characters. No major spoilers, but we do encourage you to read Jenny's book ASAP because the sequel was just recently announced!

If you want to learn even more about Alaric and the Gothic people, be sure to check out Jenny and Genn's podcast Ancient History Fangirl, where you can also find links for their other written works mentioned at the end of the show. And if you are already excited for the sequel to Enemy of My Dreams, you can now preorder Game of Thieves here.

As always, if you like what you hear, please be sure to rate, review, and subscribe to the show! Stay up-to-date on all the Movies We Dig news by visiting movieswedig.com or checking out our socials.

As always, if you like what you hear, please be sure to rate, review, and subscribe to the show! Stay up-to-date on all the Movies We Dig news by visiting movieswedig.com or checking out our socials.

Movies We Dig is also part of Mnemosyne: The Memory Collective, a podcast network and creator collective for historians, archaeologists, artists, and other creators and educators dedicated to sharing content about and featuring the ancient world that is accurate, accessible, and inclusive. To learn more about the collective and its contributors, check out collectivemem.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode originally aired in February 2021. It is also a historical record documenting the start of wonderful friendship between three scholars/nerds talking about ancient history and archaeology in popular media.

A movie actually about digging! This week we're joined by special guest, Dr. Christie Vogler, to talk about the 3 D's of The Dig: death, dirt and drudgery. We get into the ins and out both of this Netflix original and the realities of archaeology today. Many feels about our field.

If you like what you hear, please be sure to rate, review and subscribe on your chosen listening platform and follow us on socials under @movieswedig. If you want a say in which film we'll wrap up season 5 with (National Treasure or Sahara), find the poll at Spotify or on our Bluesky and Instagram pages. Voting closes at midnight on July 31 at 11:59 PM Pacific.

As always, if you like what you hear, please be sure to rate, review, and subscribe to the show! Stay up-to-date on all the Movies We Dig news by visiting movieswedig.com or checking out our socials.

Movies We Dig is also part of Mnemosyne: The Memory Collective, a podcast network and creator collective for historians, archaeologists, artists, and other creators and educators dedicated to sharing content about and featuring the ancient world that is accurate, accessible, and inclusive. To learn more about the collective and its contributors, check out collectivemem.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For all those who like to read their Greek myths in comic form, this one's for you! With the help of special guest Erica Rose Hampton, we delve into one of the most famous web comics in the world. While you may love it or hate it, it is undeniable that Rachel Smythe's Lore Olympus embraces and modernizes the heavy topics presented to us in myths, making it a compelling piece of modern reception. Plus, who doesn't love revisiting the messy relationships of the Olympians? We discuss the perils of modern dating, critiques of YA and Romance (looking at you Twilight), and end on an expletive-filled rant about capitalism. See? It is compelling!

If you would like to learn more about Erica (or recommend more examples of Demeter and Persephone in modern media), you can do so here.

As always, if you like what you hear, please be sure to rate, review, and subscribe to the show! Stay up-to-date on all the Movies We Dig news by visiting movieswedig.com or checking out our socials.

Movies We Dig is also part of Mnemosyne: The Memory Collective, a podcast network and creator collective for historians, archaeologists, artists, and other creators and educators dedicated to sharing content about and featuring the ancient world that is accurate, accessible, and inclusive. To learn more about the collective and its contributors, check out collectivemem.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It wouldn't be a series finale episode if we didn't go out with a bang! Joined by the creators of Blood of Zeus, Charley and Vlas Parlapanides, as well as the voice actors for the series' leads of Heron (Derek Phillips) and Seraphim (Elias Toufexis), we delve into the creative process of producing one of our favorite modern retellings of Greek myth. Though our heroic brothers may be at odds in the show, the camaraderie of the writers and performers is evident as we discuss the importance of storytelling in our modern era.

Please be sure to support the show Blood of Zeus by watching and liking the show on Netflix along with following the show on social media (@bloodofzeus). Likewise, learn about other projects Derek and Elias are involved with by following their socials. Special thanks once again to Zoé Elise Thomas for stepping in as host for this episode. You can find Zoé on Bluesky under the handle @archaeadne.bsky.social.‬

As always, if you like what you hear, please be sure to rate, review, and subscribe to the show! Stay up-to-date on all the Movies We Dig news by visiting movieswedig.com or checking out our socials.

Movies We Dig is also part of Mnemosyne: The Memory Collective, a podcast network and creator collective for historians, archaeologists, artists, and other creators and educators dedicated to sharing content about and featuring the ancient world that is accurate, accessible, and inclusive. To learn more about the collective and its contributors, check out collectivemem.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It wouldn't be a Blood of Zeus episode if we didn't bring back the reigning champ and monster 'enthusiast' Zoé Thomas. We break down our reactions to the third and final season of Netflix's animated myth-fest, Blood of Zeus, created by Charley and Vlas Parlapanides. Highs, lows and Bacchic hallucinations, we've got a lot to say about this one, so grab your lightning bolts, hop on your flying chariot and join the sparagmos.

As always, if you like what you hear, please be sure to rate, review, and subscribe to the show! Stay up-to-date on all the Movies We Dig news by visiting movieswedig.com or checking out our socials.

Movies We Dig is also part of Mnemosyne: The Memory Collective, a podcast network and creator collective for historians, archaeologists, artists, and other creators and educators dedicated to sharing content about and featuring the ancient world that is accurate, accessible, and inclusive. To learn more about the collective and its contributors, check out collectivemem.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.