Byzantium & Friends

Apr 17 2025 134 ep. 64 mins 2.1k

Byzantium & Friends Podcast artwork

Conversations with experts in the history of Byzantium and surrounding fields, hosted by Anthony Kaldellis.

History Education Religion & Spirituality

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134. Peer-review: the good, the bad, and the amusing, with Tina Sessa and Marion Kruse

Apr 17 2025 73 mins

A conversation with Tina Sessa (The Ohio State University) and Marion Kruse (University of Cincinnati) on the process of peer-review in the humanities: what it's for, how it can be done well, and where it can go awry. The conversation is based on many decades of collective experience of peer-review, on all sides of the process.

133. Taste, meals, and food culture, with Adam Morin

Apr 03 2025 55 mins

A conversation with Adam Morin (University of Ioannina) about categories of taste, the meal structure, and the food and ingredients that east Romans ate. What foods were prized and what looked down upon? How do we know what they ate? What do we know about individual preferences? The conversation is based on Adam's dissertation, Food and Food Culture in the Byzantine Empire, Seventh

132. Who was Allah before Islam?, with Ahmad Al-Jallad

Mar 20 2025 73 mins

A conversation with Ahmad Al-Jallad (The Ohio State University) about the languages and inscriptions of pre-Islamic Arabia, our main contemporary source for life, death, and worship before the time of the Prophet Muhammad. We talk about field surveys in search of inscriptions and what they tell us about Allah and other Arabian deities in the early centuries of the first millennium.

131. To Miklagarðr and back again: Varangians return from Constantinople, with Sverrir Jakobsson

Mar 06 2025 57 mins

A conversation with Sverrir Jakobsson (University of Iceland) about the experiences of Northmen -- especially Varangians -- who traveled to Constantinople and the south and returned home with stories, swords, riches, and prestige. The conversation is based on Sverrir's book The Varangians: In God’s Holy Fire (Palgrave 2020). Instead of my usual intro, Sverrir and I discuss some o

130. A conversation with Johanna Hanink on Greek literature, on publishing in a new field, and on podcasting

Feb 20 2025 71 mins

A conversation with Johanna Hanink (Brown University) on Greek literature (ancient, modern, and in-between), on publishing outside one's main area of academic expertise, and on podcasting. Johanna is a classics professor who has also written on modern Greek culture and literature, and is the host of the new academic podcast Lesche: Ancient Greece, New Ideas. She recently translated

129: Labor organizations and collective action, with Sarah Bond

Feb 06 2025 66 mins

A conversation with Sarah Bond (University of Iowa) about organized labor groups in the Roman empire. Ancient occupational groups often formed associations (sometimes called collegia) which are often regarded as little more than dining, cult, and burial societies. In her new book, Strike: Labor Unions, and Resistance in the Roman Empire (Yale University Press 2025), Sarah Bond argu

128. Constantinople as seen by its inhabitants, with Paul Magdalino

Jan 23 2025 49 mins

A conversation with Paul Magdalino (St. Andrews and Koç University) about the literary traditions and genres that Constantinopolitans developed to talk about the origins, history, cosmic importance, and superlative beauty of their city -- the City. The conversation touches on themes in Paul's recent book, Roman Constantinople in Byzantine Perspective: The Memorial and Aesthetic Re

127. The genetic history of Rome, with Hannah Moots

Jan 09 2025 64 mins

A conversation with Hannah Moots (Center for Palaeogenetics, Stockholm) about paleogenetic research, its goals, methods, and conclusions. What does it mean to study ancient DNA, and what does it tell us about human history? The conversation is based on an article co-authored by Hannah and many other collaborators entitled "Ancient Rome: A Genetic Crossroads of Europe and the Medite

126. Can scholars and clerics be manly?, with Maroula Perisanidi

Dec 26 2024 67 mins

A conversation with Maroula Perisanidi (University of Leeds) about the distinctive kind of masculinity that was fashioned by scholars and priests in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the challenges and deficits that it faced, and the masculine capital that men in those occupations tried to amass and then spend. The conversation is based on Maroula's just published book Masculinit

125. Souvenirs and city branding in the experience of the Roman world, with Maggie Popkin

Dec 12 2024 60 mins

A conversation with Maggie Popkin (Case Western Reserve University) about souvenirs in the Roman world, how they tie in with city identities and city branding, and the experience of travel. These portable objects shaped how people thought of places and the Roman world as a whole, from its attractions and experiences to its religious cults. The conversation is based on Maggie's book