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Jul 2025
1h 19m

141. The Renaissance and Byzantium are c...

Byzantium & Friends
About this episode
A conversation with Ada Palmer (University of Chicago) about the invention of the idea of the Italian Renaissance and the functions that it serves in the western historical imagination. "Byzantium" is a similarly invented category that often works in tandem with "the Renaissance" to mark good and bad moments in the history of culture. The conversation is bas ... Show More
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Jun 4
158. The Book of Daniel, the Four Kingdoms, and imperial eschatology, with Chris Bonura
A conversation with Christopher Bonura (Mount St. Mary's University) about the apocalyptic tradition of identifying the Four Kingdoms prophesied in the Book of Daniel. Which one was the Roman empire? The fourth, scheduled to fall with the others, or something that came afterward ... Show More
1h 9m
May 21
157. Julian Augustus and the dream of a Platonic Roman empire, with Jeremy Swist
A conversation with Jeremy Swist (Michigan State University) on the emperor Julian (361-363 AD) and how he tried to combine his love of philosophy with ruling the Roman empire. We talk about why Julian continues to excite such passions, how in some ways he may have been more Roma ... Show More
1h 11m
May 7
156. The Menologion of Basil II, with Charlie Kuper
A conversation with Charlie Kuper (University of Tennessee, Knoxville) about the Menologion of Basil II, a lavishly illustrated manuscript pairing brief notices about the saints with images of them and their ordeals, arranged according to the liturgical calendar. We talk about ho ... Show More
1h 4m
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