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, with a heavy helping of booze and laughter.
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RE-RELEASE: Saturnalia: So Much More than Roman Christmas (01:03:18)
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Wish you had a holiday all about feasting, drinking, the upending of the social order, blood sacrifices, the harvest, pranks, novelty gifts, honouring a god who devoured his kids, and the returning sun? Don’t we all??? Welcome to Saturnalia.
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RE-RELEASE: Krampus: The Goat Knows What You Did (00:45:37)
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This year, we decided that the holiday season wouldn’t be complete without a mythological foray into one of the most famous characters of the season: The Krampus.
And some of you might be saying: wait a minute, Krampus isn’t ancient; he’s modern. Also, everyone knows about Krampus, the festive demon of Christmas. Why are you covering this well-trodden topic?
Wait until you hear the wild things we uncovered about him and his history, and then make your judgements about how old and well-trodden this topic is.
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RE-RELEASE: You Don't Know Yule (01:25:19)
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What do you know about Yule? Maybe a lot. The holiday is widely celebrated in Scandinavian countries, and it's an important part of Wiccan and Pagan tradition. But for many of us, the version that's come down through history is strongly associated with Christmas--and heavily sanitized.
When we scratched the surface, however, we found that the origins of Yule were older and darker and weirder than we ever imagined.
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RE-RELEASE: St. Nicholas and the Christmas Cannibals (01:19:15)
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Ah, Christmas—it's a time of cheer, of gift-giving and generosity; and a time to eat yer babies.
This year, we’re focusing on two different cannibalistic monsters from Christmas folklore: Père Fouettard and Hans Trapp. Because it turns out that child cannibalism really is the reason for the season—and perhaps Santa Claus is the biggest cannibal of all.
What is Santa hiding under those jolly cheeks and that big white beard? Strap in, pour yourself your favorite holiday beverage, and get ready for a wild ride into the dark side of Christmas.
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The Ancient History of the Horse (with David Chaffetz) (01:13:54)
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For thousands of years, horses have been essential to human
civilization from warfare to trade and empire-building. All over the world, people have captured horses, tamed horses, mythologized horses, and trained them to be ideal companions in the project of human advancement.
How has the relationship between human and horse changed over time? When did people start treating their horses as individuals and companions, rather than just livestock? How far back does the human-horse partnership go, and are there any truly wild horses left in the world today?
Today we’re joined by David Chaffetz, author of Raiders, Rulers, and Traders: The Horse and the Rise of Empires, to answer some of these questions.
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Like a Wolf but Not a Wolf: The Beast of the Gevaudan (Part 2) (01:17:43)
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In our last episode, we detailed the rise of the Beast of the Gevaudan, some of its most gruesome attacks, and the doomed efforts of professional hunters to take it down. In this one, we’ll discuss how the Beast finally died—and the theories that arose after its death about what exactly just happened in the Gevaudan.
The thing is, even with a body—and a detailed autopsy—we’re still not sure what the Beast of the Gevaudan was. Theories and legends abound, from practical to mythological. In this episode, we unpack it all and try to come to a conclusion.
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Like a Wolf but Not a Wolf: The Beast of the Gevaudan (Part 1) (01:15:30)
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From 1764 to 1767, an area of southeastern France called the Gevaudan was stalked and terrorized by a mysterious beast. Some said it was a wolf. Others that it was “like a wolf, but not a wolf”—far stronger, faster, more brutal and more intelligent than other wolves. Still others provided much more strange and otherworldly descriptions that did not resemble a wolf at all.
This was the Beast of the Gevaudan.
It didn’t hunt like a wolf. It didn’t eat like a wolf. And the rugged, poverty-stricken environment that became its hunting ground was a bigger part of the story than most accounts admit. To this day, the Beast of the Gevaudan is a seminal cryptid mystery—and its legend forms the foundation for much of werewolf lore as we know it today.
Join us as we unpack the eerie unsolved mystery of the Beast of the Gevaudan.
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RE-RELEASE: Catholic Werewolves (01:12:44)
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We’ve covered werewolves in the ancient world before—and their connection to the Berserker myth. But wait til you hear what happened to werewolf mythology when the Catholics got their hands on it.
This episode is a wild ride, taking you from the ancient Greek and Roman werewolves to a Medieval monster tied to the mysteries of serial killing, mental illness, domestic abuse, and the paranoia of the Witch Trials. It turns out Catholic werewolves stalked a very dark, very violent landscape—and we are just itching to explore it. Join us.
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RE-RELEASE: Werewolves of Wolf Mountain: Terrors of Ancient Greece (01:20:20)
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The werewolf myth as we know it today generally involves getting bitten by a werewolf, transforming during the full moon, and being very susceptible to silver bullets. But werewolves in ancient Greece and Rome were a little different.
Join us for a spooky-season deep dive into ancient werewolf mythology from thousands of years ago. We'll take a look at the pre-Christian origins of the werewolf myth and its connections to death, starvation, cannibalism, and transformation.
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Maiden, Monster, Medusa with Ayana Gray (00:56:22)
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Today on the podcast, we’re thrilled to welcome bestselling
author Ayana Gray. Ayana is the author of the blockbuster YA novel Beasts of Prey, and is now joining us to discuss her adult fiction debut: I Medusa, an exploration of one of mythology’s most misunderstood “monsters.”
Join us as we discuss all things Medusa—from the true nature
of her snakelike hair to her identity as a sister and daughter, mortal and Gorgon—and why her story continues to resonate with us today.
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RE-RELEASE: Buzzballs and Buboes: The Plague of Justinian (a Drunk Deep Dive) (01:22:38)
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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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RE-RELEASE: The Haunting of Crater Lake (01:04:52)
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Crater Lake is a caldera lake in the Cascade Mountains in Oregon—the remnants of an ancient volcanic eruption. It’s the deepest lake in the country and one of the deepest in the world. And this place is steeped in lore: unexplained events, murders and suicides, disappearances and hauntings, and a strange 200-year-old floating log that probably controls the weather.
But the history of this lake goes back even farther: to the volcanic eruption that created it 7,700 years ago. People were there to witness that event—and its memory is preserved, both in archaeology and an ancient mythological tradition that describes the eruption with scientific precision.
Join us as we plumb the depths of Crater Lake.
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RE-RELEASE: Sea of Trees: The Japanese Suicide Forest (00:52:22)
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In this episode, we’ll delve into the mystery of Aokigahara, known in Japanese as the Sea of Trees—and to the rest of the world as the Suicide Forest. After the Golden Gate Bridge, it is the second most popular suicide destination in the world.
The forest is over a thousand years old. It grew over lava floes laid down in a devastating volcanic eruption on the slopes of Mt. Fuji, a holy mountain believed to be a gateway to the spirit world. Perhaps this is why it’s said to be the birthplace of the Yurei—a ghost in Japanese folklore created out of deep trauma.
It’s no wonder Aokigahara is associated with death. But the forest is also filled with life and incredible natural wonders. Join us as we explore the haunting history and folklore of Aokigahara.
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RE-RELEASE: Teotihuacan: Eat the Rich (01:35:49)
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Teotihuacan is an ancient pre-Colombian city in central America, founded two thousand years ago. It’s the home of some of the most iconic Mesoamerican monuments in existence, including the Pyramids of the Moon and Sun.
The city was abandoned after about 750 years of habitation. When the Aztecs first encountered it, it had stood empty for 600 years. Walking through the empty ruin, they marveled at the towering pyramids, the incredible murals, the enormous palaces—and wondered where the people had gone. They thought these people must have become gods.
This city has something for everyone: mysterious skeletons. Volcanoes. An eating of the rich. And so many mysteries, it’s hard to pick just one.
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RE-RELEASE: This Episode is Full of Lies: Lucian's A True History (With Liv Albert from Let's Talk About Myths, Baby!) (01:24:41)
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Lucian’s A True History has been called the world’s first work of science fiction—but above all, Lucian of Samosata was a satirist. And he had a bone to pick with the famous historians of his time—guys like Herodotus and Ctesias of Knidos. They were Lying Liars who Lied, you see, and Lucian was mad about it.
So he set out to write his OWN monument to lies—lest he be the only writer out there “exempted from the liberty of lying.” The only true thing is what he tells us in his intro: “for this one thing I confidently pronounce for a truth: that I lie.”
This fabulous story has everything: sexy tree women, an intergalactic war, an interlude inside a whale—and we can’t get enough of it. Join us and Liv Albert from Let’s Talk About Myths, Baby! on this amazing adventure of which every word is a lie, and yet surprisingly relevant to our time.
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Horses of Fire, Daughters of Bronze (with AD Rhine) (00:59:22)
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AD Rhine is the pen name of the authors Ashlee Cowles and Danielle Stinsen, who have been friends and creative partners for over 25 years. Their novels Horses of Fire and Daughters of Bronze follow the Trojan War saga. They are our kind of nerds—so naturally we had to interview them.
The story of Troy and its fall still resonates with us thousands of years later. Cowles and Stinsen have tackled this story from the point of view of the women who lived through it on both sides, in their novels Horses of Fire and Daughters of Bronze. Join us as we discuss the martial women of the Bronze Age, what it’s like to co-author a book, and why we keep returning to these ancient tales.
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End of Season 13 Announcement (00:23:36)
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It is the End of Season 13--and what a wild ride it's been. We've had so much fun triangulating the Goths for you--and we hope you now are as obsessed with them as we are.
Join us as we debrief the previous season, talk about how our year has gone (it's been a big year for BOOKS, for both of us!) and discuss what's coming up next!
Find Jenny's book, Enemy of My Dreams, Here! (And preorder the sequel, Game of Thieves!)
Get Genn's most recent book, the Official Lore Olympus Cookbook, here!
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How an Empire Ends: Goths vs Goths vs Goths (Part 2) (00:57:32)
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In our last episode we talked about the opulence of Goth–Gothic architecture, fashion, and art of all kinds–and the connection between this and the opulence of the Visigoths and their vast state treasure plundered from Roman cities and towns.
But there’s more to Goth than plunder. There’s a romance to Goth. A dark romance steeped in obsession. Many of the original Gothic romances involve tragic deaths.
And what else do we know of that combines sex and death? That’s right: vampires. And it’s in ancient vampire mythology where we’ll attempt to uncover a nefarious connection to the Ostrogoths.
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How an Empire Ends: Goths vs .Goths vs. Goths (Part 1) (01:09:44)
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We have come to the end (or almost the end) of our long, sweeping epic history of the Goths. But we have one corner of Gothic history as yet uncovered: what is the connection between Gothic literature, music, art and fashion, and Goths (the Germanic / Hunnic / etc. people who sacked Rome and occupied Italy)?
Join us as we make some questionable leaps in logic and take some big swings in trying to connect Goth with Goth. In the first part of the episode, we discuss the dark opulence of Goth—and its connection to a legendary, possibly cursed Visigothic treasure gained via plunder.
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How an Empire Ends: Germanic Heroic Legend (01:02:33)
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Long after the smoke from the battlefields died down, long after the ravens had eaten their fill, the Migration Era lived on in Germanic heroic legend, well into the Middle Ages.
For centuries after the battles and events of that era, people throughout Europe were crafting legends and sagas that repurposed and mythologized those events, sometimes recasting major figures from that time into villains and heroes of a later saga. Goths and Huns figured prominently. And that is our subject today: who got mythologized, and how.
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How an Empire Ends: Rise and Fall of the Visigothic Kingdom (01:17:25)
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We've told you the story of the Ostrogoths, the Amal ruling family, who built an imperial dynasty only to see that rulership dissolve within two generations. But what happened to their cousins, the Visigoths? The Tervingii tribe and the Balthi royal family? Alaric’s Goths?
Turns out they lasted much longer. But they weren’t necessarily the ones who had it most together. Join us for a vast, sweeping tale of constant regicide and usurpation, vast internal religious and cultural divisons, and war on all sides—through which the Visigoths hung on longer than anyone thought they would.
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The Official Lore Olympus Cookbook (with Genn McMenemy) (00:27:17)
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For a while now, Genn has been hinting at a "Secret Project" in the works--and now it's out in the wild: the Official Lore Olympus Cookbook. Genn was heavily involved in this project, weaving together the history and mythology of Greek cuisine with the world of Rachel Smythe's Lore Olympus to create a cookbook that's not only delightful to cook with, but fun and educational to read.
Join us as Jenny interviews Genn about the process of co-creating this beautiful cookbook in the world of Lore Olympus.
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How an Empire Ends: Gothic Christianity (01:33:36)
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When Alaric of the Visigoths sacked Rome, it shocked the world—not least because Rome hadn’t been sacked in a thousand years. But also, while Rome was a Christian city by now—it had been for decades—the Visigoths were Christian too.
And they weren’t recent converts, either. They had all been Christian for over 160 years. Theirs was the earliest conversion of a Germanic people in recorded history. And their Christianity was different than the state religion of Rome. How did that happen, and why? Join us as we try to answer those questions.
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How an Empire Ends: Gothic Paganism (01:21:21)
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In our last episode about Amalasuintha and the end of the Ostrogothic Kingdom, we said we were next going to turn to the Visigothic Kingdom. But the story of the Visigothic Kingdom can’t be told without knowing a little more about the history of Gothic religion.
Both Visigoths and Ostrogoths were Christian by the time they appear in ancient sources. They were the earliest Germanic group to convert to Christianity. But what was their religion like before that? We know almost nothing about it.
But not nothing entirely. Join us as we draw back the curtain on a mysterious world lost to time—the world of Gothic paganism.
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This episode is sponsored by Taskrabbit. Get 15% off your first task at Taskrabbit.com or the Taskrabbit app using promo code HISTORY.
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RE-RELEASE: Buzzballs and Buboes: The Plague of Justinian (a Drunk Deep Dive) (01:41:00)
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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.
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 HISTORY.
This podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to advertise on our show? Please direct advertising inquiries to advertising@airwavemedia.com.
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