Podcasts have been around for at least a decade now and there have been Classics-related podcasts almost from the beginning, Technically speaking, a podcast is a regularly (daily, weekly, monthly) online audio program which can be downloaded and is usually listened to on a mobile device (or any computer-type thing). They also have the benefit of being something that can be subscribed to. The word began to be used more loosely rather quickly and seems to be applied to any online audio broadcast, whether it is ‘regular’ or not (e.g. lecture series from universities and museums are so epitheted now). It also spawned a video version with the epithet vodcast.
However you choose to define the term, from the beginning, the biggest issue with podcasts (for me, anyway) was knowing they existed — very often they were/are hosted at iTunes (or some other proprietary facility) and while it was easy to find out when one had actually subscribed, finding out what was actually available to begin with could be daunting. Related to this is the sad reality that many podcasts simply stop being produced, for whatever reasons, but still exist to be downloaded. From a strictly Classical standpoint, another issue was the existence of podcasts with a much broader purview which occasionally dealt with something Classical. In late December, 2016 and during the AIASCS conference in early January, the twitterati made it clear that there was still a major interest in podcasts and still some concern about finding what was out there. That, combined with my desire to actually start a project I’ve had percolating for ages (the Ancient World in Streaming Media) makes creation of a master list here a useful thing. Wherever possible, links below go to the podcast’s website (which ideally has a link to various subscription options) or at least to an iTunes preview page. I should note that I draw upon some of the lists that have been mentioned on Twitter of late, and I list them and their creators at the end of this list. If I’ve missed anything or have messed up, please drop me a line. (n.b. this list does not include ‘vodcasts’; I’ll be making that the subject of another page in the future)
Classical Podcasts proper (i.e. regularly updated; an asterisk denotes podcasts which seem to be ended or on lengthy hiatus):
- Trojan War: The Podcast (@TrojanWarPod)
- *A History Of: Alexander Remastered
- *The History of Rome by Mike Duncan
- Myths and History of Greece and Rome (podcast is currently dealing with later Rome, but this one’s been going on for a while)
- The Partial Historians | A Roman History podcast (@p_historians)
- *Hannibal and the Punic Wars by Jamie Redfern
- Roman Emperors: Totalus Rankium
- *Roman Lives by David Andrews
- When in Rome by Matt Smith
- Ancient Warfare Podcast
- The Maritime History Podcast (current season two seems largely Ancient Greece and Rome so far; @HistoriaMare)
- Ancient Heroes Podcast (the associated blog is useful too)
- Ancient Greece Declassified Podcast (not sure if this is still being produced or not)
- *Ancient Rome Refocused by Rob Cain
- MythTake (@InnesAlison)
- Myths and History of Greece and Rome (@mythandhistory)
- Mythology Translated – A Slightly odd look at Mythology (currently dealing with Classical mythology; click on the Mythology Translated Podcast tab for the archives)
- Classics Confidential – Podcasting Classicists, Sharing Research (this one just changed from video to audio format hosted at OU; there might be some ‘growing’ pains in how the audio one is listed, so you might have to poke around a bit)
- Podcasts | Sphinx (irregular on assorted Classical subjects; @NevilleMorley)
Latin Language-Related Podcasts:
Lecture/Course Podcasts (most of these aren’t still going on, but there’s some really good listening materal; I’m sure I’m missing a lot in this category):
- Exploring the classical world – The Open University on iTunes
- Classical Mythology – La Trobe University on iTunes U
- Mythology – New Mexico State University on iTunes
- Myth at the heart of the Roman Empire – The Open University on iTunes
- Ancient Greece: Myth, Art, War – La Trobe University on iTunes U
- Ancient Greek History – by Yale University on iTunes (there’s a video version of this one too)
- The Roman World – La Trobe University on iTunes U
- Ancient Rome – University of Notre Dame on iTunes U
- Hannibal – Stanford on iTunes
- Imperial Rome and Ostia – The Open University on iTunes
- Epics of Rome – La Trobe University on iTunes U
- Emperors of Rome – La Trobe University on iTunesU (this one seems to be still under way)
- Virgil’s Aeneid – Stanford on iTunes
- The Literature of Crisis – by Stanford on iTunes
- Roman funerary monuments – The Open University on iTunes
- Buildings of ancient Rome – The Open University on iTunes
- Classics 164: Spectacle Entertainments of Ancient Rome – UCLA on iTunes
- Greek Heroes in Popular Culture Through Time – The Open University on iTunes
- The Graeco-Roman city of Paestum – The Open University on iTunes
- The Acropolis and the Parthenon – The Open University on iTunes
- In The Shadow of Vesuvius; Rome and the Destruction of Pompeii – Camden County College on iTunes
- Culture, identity and power in the Roman empire -The Open University on iTunes
- Power and people in ancient Rome – The Open University on iTunes
- Marston Lectures in Classics – Seattle Pacific University on iTunes
- Faculty of Classics – Oxford University on iTunes
Other Podcasts which frequently touch on matters Classical:
- Myths and Legends – Telling the stories of the past in the language of the present (often touches on Classical mythology)
- The Endless Knot (by Classicist @AvenSarah)
- History of Pirates Podcast (episodes 3-9 look at piracy in the Ancient Greek and Roman worlds
- The AskHistorians Podcast (difficult to find things in this list)
‘Mainstream’ Podcasts which sometimes get Classical:
- Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History
- In Our Time
- A History of the World in 100 Objects (a few episodes in this completed series deal with Classical art items)
- The History Network (this podcast has a military focus; a few episodes deal with ancient battles … the Ancient Warfare Podcast (above) is more comprehensive)
- Military History Podcast (a few ancient episodes)
- Dan Snow’s HISTORY HIT (ditto)
Other lists of Classical Podcasts:
- resources (@opietasanimi)
- Classics Podcasts | Dickinson College Commentaries (@DCComm)
- The Top Ancient History Podcasts (@CarlyASilver)
- Classical Studies podcasts – The Digital Classicist Wiki
[as of January 15, 2017]
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