Literature and History – Details, episodes & analysis

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Literature and History

Literature and History

Doug Metzger

Arts
History

Frequency: 1 episode/30d. Total Eps: 114

Libsyn
With millions of downloads, hundreds of hours of soundtracked content, and an overall emphasis on the cultural history behind famous works of literature, Literature and History is one of the most popular independent podcasts on its subject. Starting with Sumerian cuneiform in 3,100 BCE, Literature and History moves forward in chronological order through Assyriology, Egyptology, the Old Testament, Ancient Greece and Rome, the birth of Christianity, and the early Middle Ages. The show's current season is on early Islamic history. A typical episode (they average about two hours) features a general introduction to a work of literature, then a full summary of that work that expects no prior knowledge, and finally, an analysis of the cultural, biographical, and historical forces that gave rise to the work in question. Original symphonic and ambient background music is woven throughout each show, and all episodes offer free full, illustrated, footnoted transcriptions as well as quizzes for purposes of review. The show has no advertisements, and its host takes pride in a professional approach that avoids chitchat and ephemera and gets straight to the educational content. You can listen to the episodes in any order, although most listeners begin at the beginning and proceed from there, as the podcast itself is chronologically organized. Doug Metzger finished his Ph.D. in literature in 2011. His chief scholarly interest, following his dissertation work, continues to be 19th-century realism and postbellum American philosophy.
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Apple Podcasts

  • 🇨🇦 Canada - books

    29/07/2025
    #28

  • 🇨🇦 Canada - arts

    29/07/2025
    #85

  • 🇬🇧 Great Britain - books

    29/07/2025
    #45

  • 🇩🇪 Germany - books

    29/07/2025
    #57

  • 🇺🇸 USA - books

    29/07/2025
    #45

  • 🇫🇷 France - books

    29/07/2025
    #73

  • 🇨🇦 Canada - books

    28/07/2025
    #22

  • 🇨🇦 Canada - arts

    28/07/2025
    #71

  • 🇬🇧 Great Britain - books

    28/07/2025
    #62

  • 🇩🇪 Germany - books

    28/07/2025
    #71
Spotify

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RSS feed quality
Good

Score global : 79%

Publication history

Monthly episode publishing history over the past years.

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Episode 104: An Introduction to the Talmud

Season 6 · Episode 104

vendredi 9 août 2024 • Duration 02:21:51

Second only to the Tanakh, the 63 Tractates of the Talmud are the main text of Rabbinic Judaism, containing the teachings of thousands of ancient rabbis.

Upcoming Seasons:
https://literatureandhistory.com/upcoming-seasons/

Episode 104 Quiz
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-104/

Episode 104 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-104-introduction-to-the-talmud

Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dqpgvj_r6wk

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@literatureandhistorypodcast/

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/literatureandhistorypodcast/

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https://www.facebook.com/literatureandhistory

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Episode 103: Boethius

Season 6 · Episode 103

vendredi 22 septembre 2023 • Duration 02:21:10

In the twilight of the Western Empire, Boethius (c. 476-523) served as consul, but ended his life imprisoned by the Ostrogothic King Theodoric, writing The Consolation of Philosophy.

Episode 103 Quiz
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-103/

Episode 103 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-103-boethius

Song
https://youtu.be/ul1PUVPDAcQ

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@literatureandhistorypodcast/

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/literatureandhistorypodcast/

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https://www.facebook.com/literatureandhistory

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Episode 94: Ausonius

Season 6 · Episode 94

dimanche 12 septembre 2021 • Duration 01:53:16

One of the later Latin poets of the Empire, Ausonius’ expansive body of work gives us a window into the changing world of fourth-century Roman culture.

Episode 94 Quiz
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-094/

Episode 94 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-094-ausonius

Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zkiw5KgkYjE&pp=0gcJCYsJAYcqIYzv

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@literatureandhistorypodcast/

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/literatureandhistorypodcast/

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Episode 4: Divine Judgment (The Book of the Dead)

Season 1 · Episode 4

vendredi 12 février 2016 • Duration 48:20

In the 3,500 year old Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, we can find the roots of the world’s religions.

Episode 4 Quiz
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-004/

Episode 4 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-004-divine-judgment

Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PU9SWp9ZdE

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@literatureandhistorypodcast/

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/literatureandhistorypodcast/

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Episode 3: He Who Saw the Deep (The Epic of Gilgamesh)

Season 1 · Episode 3

vendredi 12 février 2016 • Duration 01:01:01

The Epic of Gilgamesh, composed 3,000-5,000 years ago, and first translated in the 1860s and 70s, was one of the greatest literary discoveries of all time.

Episode 3 Quiz
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-003/

Episode 3 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-003-he-who-saw-the-deep

Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJJurdC3OIg

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@literatureandhistorypodcast/

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/literatureandhistorypodcast/

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Episode 2: Before the Flood (The Enuma Elish and Atrahasis)

Season 1 · Episode 2

vendredi 12 février 2016 • Duration 01:11:08

The Enuma Elish and the Atrahasis, in circulation 3,800 years ago, were Mesopotamia’s creation and flood epics, making them 1,000 years older than Genesis.

Episode 2 Quiz
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-002/

Episode 2 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-002-before-the-flood

Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxED2Xa3R3Y

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@literatureandhistorypodcast/

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/literatureandhistorypodcast/

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Episode 1: The Tower of Babel (Cuneiform)

Season 1 · Episode 1

vendredi 12 février 2016 • Duration 01:28:09

For thousands of years, cuneiform was the means of transmitting information through space and time in the Ancient Near East. Then, something happened.

Episode 1 Quiz
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-001/

Episode 1 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-001-the-tower-of-babel

Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXGtHWka5mI

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@literatureandhistorypodcast/

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/literatureandhistorypodcast/

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Episode 93: Severus' Life of Saint Martin

Season 6 · Episode 93

mercredi 18 août 2021 • Duration 01:57:50

Sulpicius Severus’ (c. 363-425) life of St. Martin is one of the great hagiographies – a portrait of a timeless saint, but also of a human being and working bishop.

Episode 93 Quiz
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-093/

Episode 93 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-093-severus-life-of-st-martin

Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyNRs8hLcUM

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@literatureandhistorypodcast/

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/literatureandhistorypodcast/

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Episode 92: Athanasius' Life of Antony

Season 6 · Episode 92

dimanche 8 août 2021 • Duration 02:06:20

Athanasius (c. 297-373) wrote a wildly popular biography of the desert hermit St. Anthony, touting the ideals of asceticism and triumph over demonic temptation.

Episode 92 Quiz
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-092/

Episode 92 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-092-athanasius-life-of-antony

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@literatureandhistorypodcast/

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/literatureandhistorypodcast/

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Episode 91: The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity

Season 6 · Episode 91

dimanche 25 juillet 2021 • Duration 02:12:15

In Carthage, in 203 CE, a Roman noblewoman and her retinue were butchered in an amphitheater. Learn her story, and the earliest history of Christian martyrs.

Episode 91 Quiz
https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-091/

Episode 91 Transcription:
https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-091-the-passion-of-perpetua

Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv7pZLqV5zk

Bonus Content:
https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content

Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@literatureandhistorypodcast/

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/literatureandhistorypodcast/

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https://www.facebook.com/literatureandhistory

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