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PODCAST

The Endless Knot

Mark Sundaram & Aven McMaster

Aven & Mark discuss etymology, history, literature, language, and cocktails, and the sometimes surprising connections between them all.

history documentary

All Episodes

00:01:29

Announcement: Online Course

The Endless Knot ·

2021/02/27

Aven: Hi everyone. This isn't a regular episode of the Endless Knot podcast. Just a quick announcement. Mark: I wanted to let you all know about something new that I'm doing: an online seminar series. It's basically a short course open to anyone, on the Speakeasy platform. The title is: "The origins of English: learning to think like an etymologist" and it's going to be four one-hour classes on zoom, in which, through a series of linguistic puzzles, we will follow in the footsteps of etymologists

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01:21:42

Episode 88: Meta-Etymology

The Endless Knot ·

2021/02/15

We talk about the etymology of “Etymology” itself, and then discuss the basics of historical linguistics, including Grimm’s Law, Verner’s Law, and more. We also talk about Isidore of Seville, the etymological puns of Latin poets, and the way Mark does his research for his videos.The Simple Truth cocktailOur “Etymology” videoIsidore of Seville’s EtymologiaeKeith, A. M. “Etymological Wordplay in Ovid's 'Pyramus and Thisbe' (Met. 4.55-166).” The Classical Quarterly, vol. 51, no. 1, 2001, pp.

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01:36:12

Episode 87: Alexander the Great, with Meg Finlayson

The Endless Knot ·

2021/01/25

This episode is all about Alexander the Great, and especially about his reception by later Greeks & Romans, the middle ages, and modern popular culture. We had the pleasure of interviewing Meg Finlayson who studies Alexander and his reception and shared her knowledge, enthusiasm, and dreams of a new Alexander movie with Colin Farrell playing Philip!Meg’s twitter @agameganonTranscript of this episodeThis episode on YouTubeOur Patreon pageThis podcast is licensed under aCreative Commons

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01:49:41

Episode 86: Who's on Your Calendar?

The Endless Knot ·

2020/12/26

Happy holidays! In this seasonal episode we discuss the origins of the modern Western calendar, the names of the months and days of the week, and the sources we have for Roman calendars and Germanic gods. Happy new year, and may it be better than the last!Our poster storeCrosscut DistillerySabbathMillennialOvid's FastiHerbert-Brown, Geraldine. “Fasti: the Poet, the Prince, and the Plebs” in A Companion to Ovid, ed. Peter E. Knox, Wiley-Blackwell. 2013.Transcript of this episodeThis episode on

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01:15:16

Episode 85: Election Talk to Take Your Mind off the...

The Endless Knot ·

2020/11/03

It’s election night 2020 in the US, and our video from 4 years ago about the language of politics is relevant once again. We discuss the changing vocabulary of democracy and what it can tell us about shifting attitudes towards popular rule and politicians. It may not be a complete break from political coverage, but at least it’s mostly about the distant past, not the uncertain future!Ballot Box CocktailMashed Radish blog post on CandidateMashed Radish blog post on PollAnatoly Liberman on

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01:16:38

Episode 84: Linoleum: It's Not As Boring As You Think!

The Endless Knot ·

2020/10/11

n this episode we go from the origin of the world to the many uses of olive oil, with discussions of Roman mosaics, and trademark law along the way. This is the third of our episodes on Intellectual Property, following Episode 42: Bugging Out! on patents and Episode 57: Freebooting, Piracy, & Copyright on copyright. Also, it’s the start of Season 6, and we want to thank everyone who’s joined us over the last 5 years. It’s been a blast, and here’s to another half decade!“The asàrotos òikos mosaic

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00:25:25

Episode 83: Recipes and Authority, from Intelligent...

The Endless Knot ·

2020/08/06

Back in June we had the pleasure of being part of the Intelligent Speech Conference 2020 — this year, held entirely online. It was a day filled with amazing podcasters and great conversations, and in this short episode we’re sharing the talk that we gave at the event. It’s about the word Recipe and early cookbooks, medicine, and women’s magazines. If you’d like to see the images that accompanied the presentation, you can watch the talk on YouTube, where the questions and post-talk discussion are

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01:35:19

Episode 82: Plagues, with Moxie from Your Brain on Facts

The Endless Knot ·

2020/07/06

It’s time for us to talk about plagues — ancient, medieval, literary, etymological, and psychological! We’re joined by Moxie from Your Brain on Facts for a very fun — if slightly disturbing — discussion of many aspects of historical plagues.Transcript of this episodeYour Brain on FactsGardner, H.H. Pestilence and the Body Politic in Latin Literature. 2019.Episode 44: "Us" & "Them" in the Ancient & Anglo-Saxon WorldsEpisode 51: Race & Racism in Ancient & Medieval Studies, Part One:

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01:17:57

Episode 81: The Rise (and Fall) of Skywalker

The Endless Knot ·

2020/06/05

In an episode that was recorded in late May before the protests started, we took a break from COVID talk to give our thoughts on the final movie in the Star Wars saga. We discussed how it was similar to or different from ancient epic, medieval romance, and Icelandic sagas, but mostly we talked about the ways it failed to bring together the many threads of the Star Wars story.Given current events, and the protests against police brutality and systemic anti-Black racism, we urge our white and

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01:34:54

Episode 80: Runes and Early Writing Systems

The Endless Knot ·

2020/04/10

We take a look at the history of runes and their connection to early alphabets and Germanic culture. Then we take a trip back to the Phoenician and Egyptian origins of the modern English alphabet, and talk about some of the earliest examples of Greek writing, in inscriptions, epic poetry, and myth. Also, introducing Lyceum, a new platform for educational podcasting!Transcript of this episodeThe “Screaming Viking” cocktailLyceumNativLang’s video Muslim Vikings & Magic Letters: The Odd History of

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01:27:23

Episode 79: Sex & Gender

The Endless Knot ·

2020/02/11

We trace the etymologies and development of the words “sex” and “gender”, as well as words for women and men in Greek, Latin, and English, touching on Roman, Greek, and medieval English ideas about gender. Then we discuss the grammatical term “gender” and how it differs across languages around the world.Transcript of this episodeThe History of Sex PodcastThe “Pink Lady” cocktailThis episode on YouTubeOur Patreon pageThis podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0

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01:44:36

Episode 78: An Etymological Holiday Feast

The Endless Knot ·

2019/12/17

This year’s holiday episode is all about festivals and feasts — and in particular, midwinter celebrations, the solstice, and the seasons. And we read a couple of Latin poems about drinking — and explore the odd connection between them and a tire company!The Christmas Cake cocktailHesiod’s Works and Days in EnglishHorace’s Odes in LatinHorace Odes 1.37 in EnglishFeast videoThis episode on YouTubeOur Patreon pageThis podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International

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00:37:48

Bonus Episode: Thorneloe Race Forum

The Endless Knot ·

2019/12/10

This bonus episode contains two talks we gave at our university in November. Mark spoke about “The ‘Anglo-Saxon’ Problem: Language and Racism in Medieval Studies” and Aven spoke about “Defining ‘Race’ in the Ancient Mediterranean and Today”. Google ngrams for collocations of “Anglo-Saxon”: All English TextsAmerican EnglishBritish EnglishOur Patreon pageThis episode on YouTubeThis podcast is licensed under aCreative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

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0:51:14

Episode 77: SoundEdu19, with Scott Lepisto

The Endless Knot ·

2019/11/19

Crossover time! We’re joined by Scott Lepisto, of the Itinera Podcast, in a conversation at the SoundEducation podcasting conference in Boston. We talked about the conference itself, the use of podcasting in classrooms, and the importance of public-facing scholarship in Classics and Medieval Studies. And please check out Scott’s podcast, in which he interviews classicists about their work and their journey to and through the field!Scott on TwitterItinera PodcastOur Patreon pageThis episode on

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01:38:18

Episode 76: Do You Believe in Magic?

The Endless Knot ·

2019/10/31

Happy Halloween! This year we’re talking about the origins of “Magic”, the differences between religion and magic, Greek and Roman spells and curses, and some rather bizarre tales about Virgil & Aristotle.Our “Magic” videoCocktail: Black MagicReligion in the Roman Empire, James B Rives, 2007Arcana Mundi,Georg Luck, 2006Our Patreon page This episode on YouTubeThis podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International LicenseThe Endless Knot RSS

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01:04:37

Episode 75: Tracking Monsters, with Liz Gloyn

The Endless Knot ·

2019/10/08

We speak with Dr. Liz Gloyn about her new book, Tracking Classical Monsters in Popular Culture. We talk about Hercules: the Legendary Journeys, the Odyssey, the problems with Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey pattern, and more!Liz GloynClassically Inclined blogTracking Classical Monsters in Popular CultureFacebook Page for Tracking Classical MonstersOur Patreon pageThis episode on YouTubeThis podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International LicenseThe Endless Knot

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01:06:12

Episode 74: Medieval Fact & Fiction, with Winston Black

The Endless Knot ·

2019/09/10

We talked to Winston Black about his new book, The Middle Ages: Fact & Fiction, which addresses the most common myths and misconceptions about the Middle Ages. And we touch on video games, D&D, and Game of Thrones in the process!The SoundEducation Conference pageThe Middle Ages: Fact & FictionWinston on TwitterOur Patreon pageThis episode on YouTubeThis podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International LicenseThe Endless Knot RSS

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01:35:29

Episode 73: Things Get Weird

The Endless Knot ·

2019/08/13

The Fates have decreed that it’s time for us to talk about the word “Weird”! We discuss its etymology, the concept of fate in the ancient and medieval world, whether mythical women really do usually appear in threes, and Shakespeare.Twist of Fate cocktailWeird Sisters Blood & Hand PunchShakespeare Not Stirred book“Weird” video“Does English have a future tense?” video“Arrow” video“As We Like It Podcast” – Macbeth episodeChart of ‘strange’ vs ‘weird’ usageChart of ‘weird’, ‘uncanny’, ‘eerie’,

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02:06:05

Episode 72: Dispatches from VidCon 2019

The Endless Knot ·

2019/07/16

While at VidCon this year, we sat down and chatted with a few of our fellow educational YouTubers: The Cynical Historian, Knowing Better, 12tone, and Step Back History. This is a compilation of our discussions about their channels, their reasons for making videos, and their experience of VidCon and its educational companion event, EduCon. If you don’t already watch their videos, we strongly recommend you check them out. Thank you to them all for taking part!Our Patreon pageiTunes linkStitcher

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01:20:06

Episode 71: Enlisting Imagination under the Banner of...

The Endless Knot ·

2019/06/18

We discuss a person who had an important impact on both science and language: Erasmus Darwin, grandfather of Charles. In particular, we talk about the use of poetry to explain science, from Hesiod to Lucretius to Darwin to Baba Brinkman, and the new wave of science communicators on and off line.Erasmus Darwin cocktail menu, based on The Loves of the PlantsD.G. King-Hele. “Erasmus Darwin, Man of Ideas and Inventor of Words.” Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London 42.2 (1988): 149–180 .Baba

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133 results

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