We're Not So Different

Епизоде

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  September Mailbag 1: Chateauneuf du Pape 16.09.2026 1ч 28мин

  folks, we are back with another mailbag episode for your enjoyment! we take patron questions about source survival, Tolkien as a medievalist, mercenaries, old primary sources, world peace, and more!cover image is a bottle of Costco's Kirkland's Signature branded Chateauneuf du Pape, 2023 vintage I found online
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  When the Church Changed 10.09.2026 1ч 4мин

  (00:00:00) Intro - A tales of 2 online interactions (00:06:32) What is hegemony, what does it mean for a Church to be hegemonic? (00:14:29) Hegemony can't override individual interpretations of the Bible (00:29:02) The Gregorian Reforms and the blunders that led to the crackdowns (00:40:00) When the Church changed on: clerical celibacy, just war theory, enslaving other Christians, Pagan and Muslim toleration, (00:51:03) When the Church changed on: mystery plays, folk saints, anchorites, vernacular bibles, witchcraft, poor orders, indulgen folks, we talk a lot about the hegemony of the Catholic Church in Medieval Europe but what does that mean, exactly? we know the early Medieval Church had a less firm hand on many issues while the late Medieval Church was the hegemonic behemoth we all remember, but why did this change and when did it happen? and, regardless of anything else, even if the Church has hegemony over Europe, that does very little to actually ensure people don't stray too far from orthodoxy given how personal and neurotic everyone's religious interpretations are. we talk about all this, the blunders that led the Church to crackdown on so many things, and when they actually began to change their theology to accommodate this new, more heavy-handed approach.cover image is a meme I made based on a screen from the Simpsons
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  Robin Hood Was NOT Wat Tyler 04.09.2026 1ч 6мин

  folks, the new movie Uprising, starring Andrew Garfield, is supposed to be released in a week and yet, the film's entire marketing scheme was thrown into chaos when a seemingly unauthorized trailer linking the film to Robin Hood was published online. the production company has since confirmed that the film is based on Wat Tyler and the Peasant's Uprising of 1381 but that has still led many to question the origins of Robin Hood. so we talk about this movie marketing disaster, the origins of Robin Hood, how he is definitively not based on a real individual and is most certainly not Wat Tyler, and more. enjoy!cover image is a still of Andrew Garfield as Wat Tyler in The Uprising
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  Medieval News You Can Use 26.08.2026 1ч 21мин

  (00:00:00) Cold Open - Civ 7 and more ghosts (00:10:07) Patron questions - Weird Italian perverts and Papal naming conventions (00:24:05) Intro (00:26:05) Viking Textile Industries (00:31:57) Central Europe had 16 catastrophic floods in 2 years (00:40:29) Bayeux Tapestry returns to England (00:47:07) Alchemy is totally vindicated (01:04:39) Death by Trebuchet folks, there's recently been a spate of Medieval news that is interesting enough to include in podcast form and so we decide to talk about it. admittedly, some of it is not the most glamorous but it all greatly informs our understanding of the Medieval world, also death by trebuchet. we cover 5 topics: Viking textile industry, 2 years of catastrophic flooding in Central Europe, England bending the knee to get the Bayeux Tapestry back, the total vindication of alchemy, and, well, death by trebuchet!Viking textile industry: https://archaeologymag.com/2026/06/viking-textile-production-center-near-aarhus/Catastrophic European flooding 1341-43: https://www.science.org/content/article/medieval-europe-was-battered-16-catastrophic-floods-just-2-yearsBayeux Tapestry in England: https://www.artforum.com/news/british-culture-official-proposed-for-bayeux-tapestry-loan-1234756775/Alchemy: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/gold-big-bang-theory-large-hadron-collider-b3033578.htmlTrebuchet guy https://www.science.org/content/article/shattered-skeleton-scottish-castle-first-confirmed-death-trebuchetcover image is a skeleton preserved with a stone crushing its head, revealed during the excavation of Pompei. yes, I said it was a meme but it's actually real
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  Let's Rank the Avignon Popes 21.08.2026 1ч 33мин

  folks, some of our patrons requested that we do tier list rankings of the popes and we are so happy to oblige, you have no idea. however, we can't do all 267 at once or even in a row but we can start with some smaller chunks and so we decided to rank the seven popes of the Avignon Papacy and the two antipopes in Avignon during the Western Schism. see where we rank them all from S down to F and let us know if you agree. we've Black Death popes and lawyer antipopes and nearly reuniting the Catholic and Orthodox churches popes, it's a lot of fun.
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  Peter Abelard & Heloise 12.08.2026 1ч 33мин

  folks, today we tackle longtime frenemy of the podcast: Peter Abelard. he's a very interesting historical figure for his positively cutting edge ideas in numerous fields of study and is singled out and oppressed by the Church and clergy but he's also most famous for an extremely problematic relationship with his lifelong love, Heloise, a probably underage girl and definitely his student and underling. it's real land of contrasts hours here, folks.cover image is a medieval manuscript drawing of Abelard and Heloise from the cover of the Penguin classics edition of The Letters of Abelard and Heloise
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  August Mailbag: Medieval Crocs 05.08.2026 1ч 13мин

  folks, we're back with our monthly mailbag episode wherein we answer questions from our patrons. this time, we talk about what happens if you are shipwrecked in the Middle Ages, depictions of Jesus, Medieval crocs–the shoes, not the giant creatures, though they were around–slaves at the end of empire, noble views on chivalry, getting cut off at the Medieval pub, the worst name I’ve ever heard for a child, and more.cover image is from patron Quixotic from the Met Cloisters
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  The Odyssey Review 29.07.2026 1ч 48мин

  folks, it's time to review Christopher Nolan's film adaptation of The Odyssey, which just came out a couple of weeks back. we talk about the good and bad choices Nolan made in his adaptation, his handling of the source material, the stellar production values, Zeus's Law, our Age of Bronze collapsing, the spectacle, Rob Pattinson's masterclass, forgetting how to read, and so much more. enjoy!
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  The Fall of Troy Probably 22.07.2026 1ч 13мин

  folks, everyone has Odyssey fever these days, so we decided to do a little episode talking about Homer, the Iliad, the Odyssey, what they mean, a weirdo named Heinrich Schliemann, the real Fall of Troy, and what it all has to do with the Bronze Age Collapse and the enigmatic Sea Peoples. Tune in next time when we review Christopher Nolan's recently released Odyssey film.
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  Patreon Ep Unlocked - Between Two Fires 1: Sock the Angel 15.07.2026 1ч 26мин

  folks, we start out book club series on Christopher Buehlman's 2012 Medievalist fantasy horror novel, Between Two Fires. we briefly introduce the author and the book and then jump right into the action. we talk plague, a magic kid, a broken man, a Dark Souls boss fight, a few miracles, and an angel named Sock. enjoy!
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  July Mailbag: It's All Greek to Us 08.07.2026 1ч 31мин

  folks, we are back and diving into our monthly episode of patron mailbag questions. this time, we talk about grain storage, the university at Bologna, Medieval fiction writing, the Greek language, new D&D classes, and more. enjoy!
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  The Wine Dark Sea 02.07.2026 1ч 3мин

  folks, today we talk about the Mediterranean Sea. you know it, you love it. we discuss how it just looks like a really cool place to set a fantasy series, where we would setup our fictional empire, why it was so conducive to civilization and empire formation, how it served as a conduit for trade, travel, cultural influence, religious syncretism, and more. oh, and how it's always so wine dark and primed for adventure.cover image: satellite view of the Mediterranean Sea surrounded by Europe, Asia, and Africa, taken from wikicommons
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  June Mailbag 2: Flood Myths 24.06.2026 1ч 21мин

  folks, we are back with another mailbag because we are behind on patron questions. this time, we talk about everything from donkeys to postal services, gendered work to seasoning pans, Hungary to myths and folklore, and even a whole block of questions about peasants running away to the cities and obtaining their freedom by staying for a year and a day. enjoy!cover image: frontispiece from Gustave Dore's illustrations of The Holy Bible showing people clinging to rocks during the biblical Flood, entitled "The Deluge"
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  Medieval Sportsball 17.06.2026 1ч 21мин

  folks, the World Cup is once again upon us in all of its glory and terror. so we take a look back at sports in the Middle Ages. we talk Medieval football, crossbow competitions, jousts and melees, chariot racing, the Mesoamerican ballgame, and more. we also talk about how sports has always been at the intersection of politics, culture, religion, and communal life for both the regular folks and the elites. also, we've always loved gamblingcover image: drawing made by Christoph Weiditz in 1528 showing Aztec Ullamalitzil players performing for Charles V of Spain
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  June Mailbag: Aurora Borealis 10.06.2026 1ч 34мин

  folks, we're back and diving into the patron mailbag once again. this time, we answer questions about a host of topics, including: height differences, Aurora Borealis, best Medieval turlet, Traditional Chinese Medicine, battlefield name changes, othering, and spectacular Medieval wizard battles! check it out!cover image is of Aurora Borealis, taken from space.com
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  The Life and Death of Jane Boleyn feat Logan Weimer 05.06.2026 2ч

  folks, back in January, we brought on Logan Weimer to talk about the unfolding situation in Minneapolis but she was originally supposed to come on the show to talk about her deep interest in the life, death, and afterlife of Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford, lady in waiting to four of Henry VIII's wives and sister-in-law to Anne Boleyn. we cover a whole range of topics, including coerced testimony, the use of "madness" as a tool for silencing unwanted voices, executions for "madness", and the poor treatment Jane has suffered in both scholarly and popular history until very recently.
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  Patreon Ep Unlocked: The Day the Dinosaurs Died 27.05.2026 2ч 2мин

  folks, this is a long one. Luke talks about his Roman Empire: the Chicxulub Asteroid that killed the dinosaurs. it's a scripted episode (don't get used to it) chronicling 3 separate stories: the asteroid impact and its aftermath that killed the dinosaurs, the lives of some of those dinosaurs 66 million years ago, and the modern story of how the asteroid impact hypothesis became scientific consensus.a list of sources appears at the end of the episode, go get mad at them if you don't like the way the narrative is presented
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  Premodern Iran 4: Vindication 21.05.2026 1ч 29мин

  folks, we finish up our series on Premodern Iran by looking at Greater Iran from the arrival of the Mongols in 1219 until the fall of the Timurid Empire and the Rise of the Safavids in 1501. we talk internal Mongol civil wars, the Ilkhanate, the Timurid Renaissance, the strains of apocalyptic thought amongst the peasantry, the Iranian Golden Age, and the final vindication of a nearly 900 year old ideological project with the rise of a new ethnic Iranian empire. we hope you enjoyed the series!cover image: the Ulugh Beg Astronomical Observatory and madrasa in Samarkand, Uzbekistan (built in the time of Timur)
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  Premodern Iran 3: Towers of Silence 14.05.2026 1ч 30мин

  folks, we are back with part 3 of our series on Premodern Iran. this time, we get into the long, dark years for Iran and its peoples between the Muslim conquest and the Mongol invasions (651-1221 CE). we talk about how the idea of Iran survived even when the Persian language and Zoroastrianism were both suppressed, how the concept of Iranian identity formed into a real ideological project, why we lack sources, national epics and histories, the language of dissent, and the final grim fate of Zoroastrianism.cover image is recent photo of the Yazd Tower of Silence, which is no longer in use and now serves as a museum.
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  Eleanor of Aquitaine feat American Prestige 10.05.2026 1ч 22мин

  Welcome to the Crusades: The Second Crusade coming Summer 2026this is just a special bonus episode we recorded with Danny and Derek from American Prestige. there will be a regular weekly episode out, the third part of our series on Premodern Iran, the week of May 11. in order to celebrate Mother's Day and the announcement that Welcome to the Crusade is coming back to do the Second Crusade this summer, we got together with American Prestige to talk about Eleanor of Aquitaine. we cover her eventful life, her time on crusade, her awful husbands and sons, her wonderful daughters, her legacy, and more.