- The All-Gay Army: Ancient Greece’s Sacred Band of Thebes: An Interview with James Rommhttps://ia601505.us.archive.org/32/items/dead-ideas-the-all-gay-army-james-romm/DeadIdeasTheAllGayArmyJamesRomm.mp3
The Sacred Band of Thebes, comprised entirely of gay male lovers, was Ancient Greece’s original response to the gays in the military question. What was that like? How did it function? And what was its lasting legacy? That’s what we’re going to find out today, just in time for Pride Month. Here to help us do it is classicist James Romm, author of The Sacred Band: Three Hundred Theban Lovers Fighting to Save Greek Freedom.
By the way, the New Yorker article referenced in the episode is “Ancient Greece’s Army of Lovers” by Daniel Mendelsohn.
Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Support the show on Patreon at www.patreon.com/btnewberg and get a hand-drawn portrait. Research, writing, editing, and production by B. T. Newberg. Music and Logo Design by Rachel Westhoff. Additional credits, references, and more at http://www.deadideas.net.
References
Mendelsohn, Daniel. “Ancient Greece’s Army of Lovers.” The New Yorker. April 29, 2021. Retrieved Jun 6, 2021, from: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/04/19/ancient-greeces-army-of-lovers
Romm, James. The Sacred Band: Three Hundred Theban Lovers Fighting to Save Greek Freedom. New York, NY: Scribner, 2021.
Audio Credits
Additional music and audio from:
“Battle of Gaugamela – Alexander Film – Phalanx Marching” from KidUKnott
“Horse Galloping Sound Effect” from wdylj
“Ancient Power of Serpents” by Kevin MacLeod
“Batman 1966 Original Theatrical Trailer” from Cinematica Virtual
“300 Official Trailer” from Warner Bros Pictures
“Large Group of Soldiers Fighting with Swords and Yelling” and other videos in the Medieval Sound Effects series from Sound Ideas – Topic
“Lamentation” by Kevin MacLeod
Image Credits
From the cover of The Sacred Band, by James Romm.
7 June 2021, 10:00 am - Report From Minneapolis: Making Sense of the Riots Over George Floyd’s Death
My city is on fire today. This is day four of the riots in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police. And everyone around me is saying, “I’m angry too, but why destroy your own community? It doesn’t make sense.”
But is there another way to look at it? In this episode, I share first-hand reports of the riots as well as experiences of income disparity in local schools. By looking behind the violence to the roots of disadvantage, can we turn confusion into empathy?
References
Andone, Dakin. “Surveillance Video Does Not Support Police Claims That George Floyd Resisted Arrest.” CNN. 2020, May 29. Retrieved May 30, 2020, from: https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/28/us/video-george-floyd-contradict-resist-trnd/index.html
Image Credits
US Flag – Wikipedia
Fire – Pixabay
30 May 2020, 3:42 pm - Covid Cabana: Top 5 Ways to Have Fun Despite the Coronavirus
This episode goes out to all of you at home out there during this pandemic, but we want to dedicate it especially to listener Owyn in Toronto, Canada. He’s faced a string of tough challenges recently, and now there’s the covid challenge on top of it all, but on the bright side, Owyn: it’s your 19th birthday today! Happy Covid 19th, Owyn!
Be sure to support the show at www.patreon.com/btnewberg to get your portrait drawn!
Music by Rachel Westhoff. Pics, references and more at http://www.deadideas.net.
Audio Credits
“Best TV Static Animation” by YouToogle.
“Le Freak” from Karaoke-Version.com.
“Heartwarming” by Kevin MacLeod.
“The More You Know” from Jacob M.
“Fluffing a Duck” by Kevin MacLeod.
“Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod.
“My Sharona” from Karaoke-Version.com.
“Copa Cabana” from Karaoke-Version.com.
“Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer” from Karaoke-Version.com.
“Cars” from Karaoke-Version.com.
“Drum Roll Sound Effect” from Lil Bruhhh.
“Our House” from Karaoke-Version.com.
“Call Me Maybe” from Karaoke-Version.com.
Vocals by B. T. Newberg and Rachel Westhoff.
Image Credits
Masked Caronavirus from Pixabay.
27 March 2020, 10:00 am - Fascism II: The Silver Legion: A Real American Fascist Movement – American History
Did you know America spawned its very own homegrown fascist movement in the 1930s? Yup. The Silver Legion’s William Dudley Pelley was the original Man in the High Castle. Or… at least he dreamed himself to be.
Be sure to support the show at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod to get your portrait drawn!
Music by Rachel Westhoff. Pics, references and more at http://www.deadideas.net.
Time/place: Worldwide, early 20th cen. CE
Dead Idea: Fascism
Co-hosts: Nick and Anna
Main Sources
Alonzo-Zaldivar, R. (2019, May 24). “Administration Moves to Revoke Transgender Health Protection.” AP News. Retrieved Nov 3, 2019, from: https://apnews.com/44494a468abe4e009b0388798c16a197
Albright, M. (2018). Fascism: A Warning. New York: HarperCollins.
Beekman, Scott. William Dudley Pelley: A Life in Right-wing Extremism and Occultism. New York: Syracuse University Press, 2005.
Blitzer, J. (2016, Nov 4). “A Scholar of Fascism Sees a Lot That’s Familiar With Trump.” The New Yorker. Retrieved Nov 2, 2019, from: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/a-scholar-of-fascism-sees-a-lot-thats-familiar-with-trump
Buhres, E. (2019, Nov 2). “Don’t Call Trump a Fascist.” Foreign Policy. Retrieved Nov 2, 2019, from: https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/11/02/donald-trump-fascist-nazi-right-wing/
Daley, J. (2018, Oct. 3). “The Screenwriter Mystic Who Wanted to Be the American Fuhrer.” Smithsonian.com. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/meet-screenwriting-mystic-who-wanted-be-american-fuhrer-180970449/
Deconstructed. (2019, May 9). “Is Trump a Fascist?.” The Intercept. Retrieved Nov 2, 2019, from: https://theintercept.com/2019/05/09/is-trump-a-fascist/
D’Souza, D. (2017). The Big Lie: Exposing the Nazi Roots of the American Left. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing.
Guyette, C. (2019, Sep 11). “Is Trump a Fascist? The F Word.” Detroit Metro Times. Retrieved Nov 2, 2019, from: https://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/is-trump-a-fascist/Content?oid=22617920
Gawthorpe, A. (2019, Jul 31). “Is This Fascism? No. Could It Become Fascism? Yes.” The Guardian. Retrieved Nov 2, 2019, from: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jul/31/is-this-fascism-no-could-it-become-fascism-yes
Kagan, R. (2016, May 18). “This Is How Fascism Comes to America.” Washington Post. Retrieved Nov 2, 2019, from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/this-is-how-fascism-comes-to-america/2016/05/17/c4e32c58-1c47-11e6-8c7b-6931e66333e7_story.html?noredirect=on
Kessler, G., et al. “Trump Has Made More Than 10,000 False of Misleading Claims.” The Washington Post. Retrieved Nov 2, 2019, from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/04/29/president-trump-has-made-more-than-false-or-misleading-claims/
Lewis, Sinclair. It Can’t Happen Here. New York: Penguin, 2014/1935.
Matthews, D. (2016, May 19). “I Asked 5 Fascism Experts Whether Trump Is a Fascist. Here Is What They Said.” Vox.com. Retrieved Nov 2, 2019, from: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2015/12/10/9886152/donald-trump-fascism
Namier, L. (1947). “The First Mountebank Dictator.”
Olsen, H. (2019, Jun 5). “Trump Isn’t a Fascist, He’s Just a Bully.” The Washington Post. Retrieved Nov 2, 2019,from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/06/05/trump-isnt-fascist-hes-just-bully/
Pelley, W. D. (1031/2011). No More Hunger. Noblesville, IA: Trafford Publishing.
Pelley, W. D. (1929, Mar/1952). “Seven Minutes in Eternity.” The American Magazine. SoulCraft Press.
Porter, T. (2017, Sep 27). “Is North Korea Communist? Experts Warn Failure to Understand Kim Jong Un’s Regime Could Spell Catastrophe.” Newsweek. Retrieved Nov 2, 2019, from: https://www.newsweek.com/north-korea-communist-critics-warn-failure-understand-kim-jong-uns-beliefs-672399
Reimann, M. (2017, Feb. 6). “The Heyday of American Nazism Was Led by a Prize-winning Hollywood Screenwriter.” Timeline.com. https://timeline.com/silver-shirts-nazi-history-cf3080eb2da2
Rindskopf, J. (2018, Jun 15). “20 of Trump’s Worst Tweets (So Far).” CheatSheet. Retrieved Nov 2, 2019, from: https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/trumps-worst-tweets-so-far.html/
Schivelbusch, W. (2006). Three New Deals: Reflections on America, Mussolini’s Italy, and Hitler’s Germany, 1933-1939. New York: Picador.
Serwer, A. (2019, Jul 3). “A Crime by Any Name: The Trump Administration’s Commitment to Deterring Immigration Through Cruelty Has Made Horrifying Conditions in Detention Facilities Inevitable.” The Atlantic. Retrieved Nov 3, 2019, from: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/07/border-facilities/593239/
“Silver Shirt Legion of America, Washington State Division Photograph Collection, circa 1930s.” Archives West. 2018.
“Silver Shirts.” Holocaust Online. http://www.holocaustonline.org. Retrieved Aug. 11, 2019.
Stanley, J. (2018). How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them. New York: Random House.
“William Dudley Pelley.” American National Biography. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Audio Credits
“Nazis Auf Speed” by Die Krupps
“Battle Hymn of the Republic” performed by the Capitol Symphony Orchestra
18 November 2019, 11:00 am - Fascism I: What Is Fascism, and Is Trump It? – Modern History
TRIGGER WARNING: Politics. Today we explore what characterized early 20th-century fascism, and then ask whether it’s fair to call Trump fascist.
Be sure to support the show at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod to get your portrait drawn!
Music by Rachel Westhoff. Maps, pics, references and more at http://www.deadideas.net.
Time/place: Worldwide, early 20th cen. CE
Dead Idea: Fascism
Co-hosts: Nick and Anna
Main Sources
Alonzo-Zaldivar, R. (2019, May 24). “Administration Moves to Revoke Transgender Health Protection.” AP News. Retrieved Nov 3, 2019, from: https://apnews.com/44494a468abe4e009b0388798c16a197
Albright, M. (2018). Fascism: A Warning. New York: HarperCollins.
Beekman, Scott. William Dudley Pelley: A Life in Right-wing Extremism and Occultism. New York: Syracuse University Press, 2005.
Blitzer, J. (2016, Nov 4). “A Scholar of Fascism Sees a Lot That’s Familiar With Trump.” The New Yorker. Retrieved Nov 2, 2019, from: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/a-scholar-of-fascism-sees-a-lot-thats-familiar-with-trump
Buhres, E. (2019, Nov 2). “Don’t Call Trump a Fascist.” Foreign Policy. Retrieved Nov 2, 2019, from: https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/11/02/donald-trump-fascist-nazi-right-wing/
Daley, J. (2018, Oct. 3). “The Screenwriter Mystic Who Wanted to Be the American Fuhrer.” Smithsonian.com. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/meet-screenwriting-mystic-who-wanted-be-american-fuhrer-180970449/
Deconstructed. (2019, May 9). “Is Trump a Fascist?.” The Intercept. Retrieved Nov 2, 2019, from: https://theintercept.com/2019/05/09/is-trump-a-fascist/
D’Souza, D. (2017). The Big Lie: Exposing the Nazi Roots of the American Left. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing.
Guyette, C. (2019, Sep 11). “Is Trump a Fascist? The F Word.” Detroit Metro Times. Retrieved Nov 2, 2019, from: https://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/is-trump-a-fascist/Content?oid=22617920
Gawthorpe, A. (2019, Jul 31). “Is This Fascism? No. Could It Become Fascism? Yes.” The Guardian. Retrieved Nov 2, 2019, from: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jul/31/is-this-fascism-no-could-it-become-fascism-yes
Kagan, R. (2016, May 18). “This Is How Fascism Comes to America.” Washington Post. Retrieved Nov 2, 2019, from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/this-is-how-fascism-comes-to-america/2016/05/17/c4e32c58-1c47-11e6-8c7b-6931e66333e7_story.html?noredirect=on
Kessler, G., et al. “Trump Has Made More Than 10,000 False of Misleading Claims.” The Washington Post. Retrieved Nov 2, 2019, from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/04/29/president-trump-has-made-more-than-false-or-misleading-claims/
Lewis, Sinclair. It Can’t Happen Here. New York: Penguin, 2014/1935.
Matthews, D. (2016, May 19). “I Asked 5 Fascism Experts Whether Trump Is a Fascist. Here Is What They Said.” Vox.com. Retrieved Nov 2, 2019, from: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2015/12/10/9886152/donald-trump-fascism
Namier, L. (1947). “The First Mountebank Dictator.”
Olsen, H. (2019, Jun 5). “Trump Isn’t a Fascist, He’s Just a Bully.” The Washington Post. Retrieved Nov 2, 2019,from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/06/05/trump-isnt-fascist-hes-just-bully/
Pelley, W. D. (1031/2011). No More Hunger. Noblesville, IA: Trafford Publishing.
Pelley, W. D. (1929, Mar/1952). “Seven Minutes in Eternity.” The American Magazine. SoulCraft Press.
Porter, T. (2017, Sep 27). “Is North Korea Communist? Experts Warn Failure to Understand Kim Jong Un’s Regime Could Spell Catastrophe.” Newsweek. Retrieved Nov 2, 2019, from: https://www.newsweek.com/north-korea-communist-critics-warn-failure-understand-kim-jong-uns-beliefs-672399
Reimann, M. (2017, Feb. 6). “The Heyday of American Nazism Was Led by a Prize-winning Hollywood Screenwriter.” Timeline.com. https://timeline.com/silver-shirts-nazi-history-cf3080eb2da2
Rindskopf, J. (2018, Jun 15). “20 of Trump’s Worst Tweets (So Far).” CheatSheet. Retrieved Nov 2, 2019, from: https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/trumps-worst-tweets-so-far.html/
Schivelbusch, W. (2006). Three New Deals: Reflections on America, Mussolini’s Italy, and Hitler’s Germany, 1933-1939. New York: Picador.
Serwer, A. (2019, Jul 3). “A Crime by Any Name: The Trump Administration’s Commitment to Deterring Immigration Through Cruelty Has Made Horrifying Conditions in Detention Facilities Inevitable.” The Atlantic. Retrieved Nov 3, 2019, from: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/07/border-facilities/593239/
“Silver Shirt Legion of America, Washington State Division Photograph Collection, circa 1930s.” Archives West. 2018.
“Silver Shirts.” Holocaust Online. http://www.holocaustonline.org. Retrieved Aug. 11, 2019.
Stanley, J. (2018). How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them. New York: Random House.
“William Dudley Pelley.” American National Biography. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
4 November 2019, 11:02 am - Introducing Our New Show: The History of Sex!
It’s here! It’s finally here! After a full year of development, our new show the History of Sex is here. Cruise on over to The History of Sex on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you get podcasts.
Also, an announcement: next month, we will have more Dead Ideas!
http://www.historyofsexpod.com
Audio Credits
Podcast theme music mixed from “Gregorian Chant”, “Mystery Sax”, and “There It Is” by Kevin MacLeod
Additional music and audio from “Brandenburg Concerto” by Kevin MacLeod, “DJ Stop Sound Effect” by Bju KS, and “Ancient Roman Music – Synaulia I” from Aemilius Paulus.
“What It Is Like to Make a Podcast” skit audio clips from: “Brandenburg Concerto” by Kevin MacLeod, “Harp Sound Effects”, “Book Flipping Pages Sound Effects”, and “Hospital Background Sound Effects” by Nick Judy
14 October 2019, 11:58 am - Best of the Best: Pulp Fiction/Da Derga’s Hostel Mashup – Irish History
It’s another best of the best for you! This one has it all: romance, plunder, mimes – and it all ends in a bloodbath! This was our first mashup and it’s still one of my favorite episodes. What are your faves? Let me know at [email protected] or on Facebook at @deadideaspod.
Also, an update on our upcoming show The History of Sex: we’re looking at a release date in October! It’s coming up fast!
This episode features a rockin’ soundtrack by Brooklyn band Twin Guns.
Be sure to support the show at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod to get your portrait drawn!
Maps, pics, references, and more at http://www.deadideas.net. Music and graphic design by Rachel Westhoff. Map by Adam McKithern.
Co-hosts: Nick and Anna
Time/place: Ireland, composed 6th-10th cen. CE
Dead Idea: Geis
A Map of Medieval Ireland, by Adam McKithern
Glossary of Irish Words and Spellings
Note: “KH” should be pronounced like the ending sound of “Bach”
- Aífe (EE-fuh) – a warrior woman in the Táin bó Cúailnge, rival of Scáthach
- aire (EYE-ruh) – lordly class
- brat (BRAT) – cloak
- Caier (KEYE-ur) – king of Connacht in the story Caier and Nede
- coibche (KWIV-khuh) – bride-price
- Conall Cernach (KO-nul KAIR-nakh) – curly blond-haired warrior and favorite of Conaire in The Destruction of Dá Derga’s Hostel
- Conaire (KO-na-ruh) – king of Tara in the The Destruction of Dá Derga’s Hostel
- Connacht (KON-akht) – a kingdom in the middle west of Ireland
- Connla (KON-luh) – son of Cú Chulainn in the Táin bó Cúailnge
- Críth Gablach (KREEH GOW-luhch) – a law-tract featuring 7 ranks of lords, 7 ranks of farmers, and 7 ranks of kings
- Cú Chulainn (KOO KHUH-lun) – hero in the Táin bó Cúailnge
- cúlán (KOO-lun) – men’s hairstyle with shaved front, long back
- cumal (COO-wul) – unit of measurement roughly equal to 34 acres of land or 3 cattle; lit. “slave girl”
- dairt (DEERCH) – a heifer, as in “from a needle to a dairt”, the honor-price of the lowest level of farmer which varies from a needle to a heifer
- Diarmuid (JAR-muhj) – hero in the story of Diarmuid and Grainne
- Drogheda (DRO-hay-duh) – site of a battle against the Vikings in 902 CE
- Emer (EV-ur) – woman wooed by Cú Chulainn in the Táin bó Cúailnge
- féni (FAY-nee) – farmer class, subdivided into 7 ranks according to the Crith Gablach law-tract: 1. 1st fer midboth (FAIR MEE-vuh) lit. “man between huts”; 2. 2nd fer midboth; 3. ócaire (O-keye-ruh); 4. aithech (EYE-chuh); 5. bóaire (BO-eye-ruh); 6. mruigfher (MREE-khur); 7. fer fothlai (FAIR FO-lee)
- fidchell (FEE-khel) – an Old Irish board game, often called “Irish chess”
- Forgall (FOR-gul) – father of Emer in the Táin bó Cúailnge
- fuba and ruba (FOO-buh and ROO-buh) – military service; lit. “attack and defense”
- fuidir (FEE-jur) – transitional slave
- geis (GAYSH) / pl. geassa (GAYSA) – mystical personal injunction
- Grainne (GRAH-nyuh) – woman in the story of Diarmuid and Grainne
- léine (LAY-nya) – tunic
- Mac Cécht (Mak KEKHT) – warrior and right-hand man of Conaire in The Destruction of Dá Derga’s Hostel
- Nede (NAY-thuh) – a satire poet in the story of Caier and Nede
- rath (RATH) – a loan taken from a lord in a clientship contract
- rosc (ROSK) – a nearly untranslatable type of poem with multiple meanings, often signaled in English by ellipses where parts are left untranslated
- Scáthach (SKAH-hakh) – a warrior woman in the Táin bó Cúailnge, mentor of Cú Chulainn
- senchléithe (SHEN-khlay-huh) – hereditary serf
- sét (SET) – unit of measurement equal to 4/5 of a cow
- Táin bó Cúailnge (TOYN bo KOOL-nee) – epic featuring Cú Chulainn; lit. “The Cattle Raid of Cooley”
- Tara (TAH-ruh) – traditional capital of the high kinds of Ireland
- Togail Bruidne Dá Derga (TO-gul BREEJ-nuh da JAIR-guh) – epic featuring King Conaire; lit. “The Destruction of Dá Derga’s Hostel” or “…of the Red God”
- toinal (TEE-nyul) – joint conjugal fund
- Uí Néill (oy NAYLZ) – one of the most powerful clans of medieval Ireland
- Ulster (UHL-stur) – Anglicized name for a kingdom in northeast Ireland
Main Sources
Ambient Mixer. “A Lively Night at the Tavern.” Ambient Mixer. (Audio Clip). Used under CC license. Downloaded Dec. 18, 2016, from: http://rpg.ambient-mixer.com/bustling-tavern
Barrett, C. (2006). “Early Gaelic Dress: An Introduction.” Downloaded Nov. 18, 2016, from: http://coblaith.net/EarlyGaelicDress/EarlyGaelicDress12bw.pdf
Dwyer, F. (2010-2017). Irish History Podcast.
Dwyer, F. (2013). Witches, Spies and Stockholm Syndrome: Life in Medieval Ireland. Dublin: New Island.
Kenny, G. (2013). “Anglo-Irish and Gaelic Marriage Laws and Traditions in Late Medieval Ireland.” Journal of Medieval History, 32(1): 27-42.
Kinsella, T. (1969). The Tain Bo Cuailnge. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Mallory, J. P. (1992). Aspects of the Tain. Belfast: December Publications.
MacCulloch, J. A. (1911). The Religion of the Ancient Celts. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark.
O’Connor, R. (2013). The Destruction of Da Derga’s Hostel: Kingship and Narrative Artistry in a Medieval Irish Saga. Oxford: University Press.
O’Leary, P. (1988). “Honour-bound: The Social Context of Early Irish Heroic Geis.” Celtica, 20: 85-107.
Patterson, N. (1994). Cattle Lords and Clansmen. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press.
Stokes, W. (1862). Three Irish Glossaries. London: Williams and Norgate.
Wyatt, D. R. (2009). Slaves and Warriors in Medieval Britain and Ireland: 800-1200. Boston: Brill.
25 August 2019, 8:40 pm - Best of the Best: Ghost in the Tablet – Gilgamesh/Ghost in the Shell Mashup – Sumerian History
We’re trying something new here on Dead Ideas. We have a sizeable back-catalog of episodes, many of which new listeners may never have heard, and which long-time listeners may have forgotten. So, we’re reprising classic episodes that are among the best of the best.
One of my personal favorites is the finale episode from our cuneiform series. It’s a mash-up juxtaposing the story of the Sumerian hero Gilgamesh with the cyberpunk feel of the thriller Ghost in the Shell.
See, one of the things I loved about studying the Sumerians, world’s oldest known city-building culture, is how surprisingly modern they feel. Thanks to the preservation of cuneiform tablets, we know more about them than, say, the Vikings or the Mongols. We even have their letters, giving us their most intimate thoughts and feelings, and that makes them feel strikingly recent – hence the futuristic cyberpunk elements. If you want more on the history of the Sumerians, by all means go back and listen to our full cuneiform series, which still stands as one of our best, but today’s episode stands on its own as a complete self-contained story. The oldest of the old meets the newest of the new in this Cyber-Sumerian retelling of the world’s most ancient epic. Enjoy.
Featuring a haunting soundtrack by Belgian industrial band Militia.
Be sure to support the show at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod to get your portrait drawn!
Maps, pics, references, and more at http://www.deadideas.net. Music and graphic design by Rachel Westhoff. Map by Adam McKithern.
Co-hosts: Andre Solo
Time/place: Composed in final form in Ancient Mesopotamia, c. 1100 BCE
Dead Idea: Cuneiform
Ghost in the Shell, directed by Mamoru Oshii, 1995
A Map of Ancient Sumer, c. 3000 BCE, by Adam McKithern
Main Sources
Bahrani, Z. (2001). Women of Babylon: Gender and Representation in Mesopotamia. New York: Routledge.
Baruch, Book of. 6:43. Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition. Retrieved 6-20-17 from: https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/Baruch%206%3A43
Bertman, S. (2005). Handbook of Life in Ancient Mesopotamia. New York: Oxford University Press.
Black, J., Cunningham, G., Robson, E., and Zólyomi, G. (2004). The Literature of Ancient Sumer. New York: Oxford University Press. – “A Supervisor’s Advice to a Young Scribe”
Bottéro, J. (2001). Everyday Life in Ancient Mesopotamia. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Bottéro, J. (2004). The Oldest Cuisine in the World: Cooking in Mesopotamia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Budin, S. (2006). “Sacred Prostitution in the First Person.” In: Faraone, C. A. & McClure, L. K. (2006). Prostitutes and Courtesans in the Ancient World. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press.
Bullough, V., and Bullough, B. (1987). Women and Prostitution: A Social History. New York: Prometheus Books.
Chalcier, P. (2011). “Cuneiform Culture’s Last Guardians.” In: Radner, K., and Robson, E. (2011). The Oxford Handbook of Cuneiform Culture. New York: Oxford.
Civil, M., Trans. “Hymn to Ninkasi.” Retrieved May 14th, 2017, from: http://www.piney.com/BabNinkasi.html
Faraone, C. A. & McClure, L. K. (2006). Prostitutes and Courtesans in the Ancient World. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press.
Fink, S. (2013). “The Genealogy of Gilgamesh.” Classica et Christiana, 8(1): pp. 81-107.
Fisher, D. S. (2008). Representations of the Poor in The Poor Man of Nippur and The Eloquent Peasant. Thesis. Nashville, Tennessee: Vanderbilt University.
Foster, B. (1982). “Administration and Use of Institutional Land in Sargonic Sumer.” Copenhagen Studies in Assyriology, Vol. 9. Copenhagen.
George, A., Trans. (1999). The Epic of Gilgamesh: The Babylonian Epic Poem and Other Texts in Akkadian and Sumerian. New York: Penguin.
Glassner, J. (2003). The Invention of Cuneiform. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Harris, S. (2010, Sep. 16). “Prostitutes of God.” Vice. Retrieved 6-20-17 from: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/prostitutes-of-god-episode-1
Herodotus. (1890). The History of Herodotus. Macaulay, G. C., Trans. Retrieved 6-20-17 from: http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/hh/hh1190.htm
Jacobsen, T. (1987). The Harps That Once…: Sumerian Poetry in Translation. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Kramer, S. N. (1963). The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Lafront, B. (2001). “The Ordeal.” In: Bottéro, J. (2001). Everyday Life in Ancient Mesopotamia. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Lahtinen, S. (n.d.). “The Naditum as Businesswoman: The Economic Role of the Naditum in Old Babylonian Sippur.” Thesis. Uppsala University. Retrieved May 17, 2017, from: https://www.academia.edu/354008/The_Old-Babylonian_naditu_as_businesswoman?auto=download
Nemet-Nejat, K. R. (1998). Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
“Proverbs, Collection 1.” The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature. Retrieved May 27, 2017, from: http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/proverbs/t.6.1.01.html
Radner, K., and Robson, E. (2011). The Oxford Handbook of Cuneiform Culture. New York: Oxford.
Roth, M. T. (2006). “Marriage, Divorce, and the Prostitute in Ancient Mesopotamia.” In: Faraone, C. A. & McClure, L. K. (2006). Prostitutes and Courtesans in the Ancient World. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press.
Silver, M. (n.d.). “Temple/Sacred Prostitution in Ancient Mesopotamia Revisited: Religion in the Economy.” Retrieved May 29, 2017, from: https://www.academia.edu/2360254/Temple_Sacred_Prostitution_in_Ancient_Mesopotamia_Revisited
Stone, E. C. (1982). “The Social Role of the Naditu Women in Old Babylonian Nippur.” Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, 15(1): 50-70.
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Visicato, G. (2000). The Power and the Writing: Early Scribes of Mesopotamia. Bethesda, MD: CDL Press.
30 June 2019, 12:00 pm - Put That City to the Sword: Julius Caesar Slaughters Avaricum, Feat. Neil Eckart – Roman History
When was the last time you put a city to the sword? It’s not something we do much anymore today. Yet there was a day and age when it was quite normal to slaughter every last man, woman, and child in a captured city. Neil Eckart of the podcast War and Conquest returns to the show today to talk about Julius Caesar’s slaughter of the Gallic city of Avaricum.
Be sure to support the show at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod to get your portrait drawn!
Music and graphic design by Rachel Westhoff. Maps, pics, references and more at http://www.deadideas.net.
Time/place: Avaricum, Gaul, 52 BCE
Dead Idea: Putting Cities to the Sword
Main Sources
Caesar, J. (1982). The Conquest of Gaul. London: Penguin.
Grossman, D. (2009/1995). On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society. New York: Back Bay Books.
Marlantes, K. (2011). What It Is Like to Go to War. New York: Atlantic Books Monthly.
Audio Credits
“Let’s Do It (Let’s Put That City to the Sword)” song mixed from “Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall in Love)” from Piano Busker.
26 May 2019, 12:00 pm - Gender in Game of Thrones: Its Legacy
What will Game of Thrones be remembered for? I would argue it’s not its supposed character realism, nor it’s moral ambiguity. Rather, it will be its depiction of unusual gender identities in fantasy. No other major fantasy show that I can think of does that. In the spirit of our upcoming show the History of Sex, let’s talk about gender in Game of Thrones!
Be sure to support the show at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod to get your portrait drawn!
Music and graphic design by Rachel Westhoff. Maps, pics, references and more at http://www.deadideas.net.
19 May 2019, 8:17 pm - What It’s Like to Make a Podcast: An Interview with Sam Hume of Pax Britannica
What’s it like to make a podcast? Sam Hume of the new show Pax Britannica talks with me about all the ups and downs of podcasting. Check out Sam’s show.
Be sure to support the show at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod to get your portrait drawn!
Music and graphic design by Rachel Westhoff. Maps, pics, references and more at http://www.deadideas.net.
28 April 2019, 12:00 pm - More Episodes? Get the App
