4 Sappho

The 1920s were a tumultuous time for Russia, as the nation careened from the aftermath of revolution to the death of Lenin, the establishment of the Soviet Union, and the slide toward Stalinist totalitarianism. Given all of that serious upheaval, what explains the public's passio ...  Show more

In this episode, Jacke talks to author Eileen Sperry about her book This Body of Death: Form and Decay in Early Modern Lyric, which examines how the lyric poetry of Shakespeare and his contemporaries shaped our understanding of what it means to be mortal. PLUS a skeleton discover ...  Show more

Persephone and real women of antiquity. Dr Ellie Mackin Roberts, author of Heroines of Olympus, talks about the versions of Persephone, real women's interactions with her, and understanding the idea of "abduction" in Greek mythology. Follow Ellie on TikTok and Twitter.CW/TW: **Th ...  Show more

*This episode contains very strong language and adult content*

A semi autobiographical account from a conflicted man? An ode to a wife’s sexual desire? A criminally obscene novel?

Lady Chatterley’s Lover is one of the most famous texts from the past century ...

Lucrecia Borgia fue presentada por el escritor Víctor Hugo como una mujer viciosa, despiadada y maestra en venenos. La realidad es que la verdadera Lucrecia, la que emerge de los archivos y los documentos históricos, era radicalmente distinta: una mujer espléndida, culta, gentil, ...  Show more

It’s been said that history is written by the person at the typewriter. But who did the person who made history depend on? Often, it’s impossible to find out. But once in a while, we get lucky, and the story was not only recorded, it’s really good.
Well that’s what this p ...