Who was the historical John the Baptist? Beyond the Gospel stories, John was a Jewish prophet and baptizer whose movement rivaled that of Jesus himself. In this episode, we look at what historians can actually say about him, from the accounts of Josephus and the New Testament to ...Show more
A History of the Witch
In this episode, we explore the history of witches and witchcraft, from ancient sorceresses and magic in Mesopotamia and Rome, through medieval ideas about heresy, demons, and folk magic, to the demonology and panic of the 15th-17th centuries that produced the witch as we know it ...Show more
Salafism or As-Salafiyyah is a methodology that has been widely misunderstood amongst both Muslims and non-Muslims alike in the modern world. This episode takes a critical view at Salafism, it's essence, it's origin, and whether it is compatible with the 21st Century. Enjoy!
In this episode we explore how Muslims experience the fall of the Caliphate and how in turn Islam is shaped by the historical circumstances. Building upon the scholarly Islam developed by the Seljuks, we talk about the fusion of internal spirituality in the form of Sufism with or ...Show more
In our last episode of the season we wrap up the intellectual history of Islam by examining how the orthodoxies that we discussed in the previous episode were popularized. We talk about the emerging class of legal scholars called the ulema, the madhabs of Hanafi, Maliki, Shaif, a ...Show more