Is it a movie podcast? Is it a history podcast? Is it an unholy union of the two? Short answer: yes!
Each episode, hosts Colin MacCormack, Elijah Fleming and...
Where to begin? (No really, what date is this film even taking place in?) Ridley Scott returns us to his vision of ancient Rome that was laid out over twenty years ago. While we do see a lot of new faces in the Eternal City, the overall story is wrapped up in its mythologizing of the original. Joining the crew is a very special guest (and Maximus/mentor figure to two of your hosts), Dr. Glenn Storey to discuss this Hollywood take on the Roman Empire. From ships and sharks in the Colosseum to a slightly morbid excerpt from Vergil written on a child's bedroom wall, there are quite a few moments that give us pause. Looking beyond the little inaccuracies that feel designed to troll ancient scholars (Persians vs. Trojans at the Battle of Salamis?), we focus on what the film is trying to reflect about our own modern society. And what we see is a lot scarier than the CGI baboons.
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1:24:05
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023), with Bill Farley
Are you back Indy? We are at least as we uncover the fifth (and final?) installment of the America's favorite archaeologist: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Joining us is super special guest Bill Farley, who helps us unpack a whole range of topics including the Antikythera mechanism, Processualism, Operation Paperclip, digital de-aging technology and the dangers of living in the past (don't do it kids). Listen now or relive the Siege of Syracuse for all eternity.
You can see more from Bill on his Youtube channel Archaeology Tube.
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1:25:45
Indiana Jones (Original Trilogy), with David West Reynolds
They're digging in the right place? We take another look at the most famous archaeologist of all as we revisit the first three Indiana Jones movies: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), The Temple of Doom (1984) and The Last Crusade (1989). Joined by super special guest, author and archaeologist David West Reynolds, we look back on our own experiences with Indy, enormous impact on the public perception of archaeology and what these films, namely Raiders, gets remarkably correct about the field.
You can follow David West Reynolds on Facebook, Instagram as well as through his work on projects with Lucasfilm, the Explorer's Club and his new kickstarter, Chasing Raiders.
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1:25:50
Megalopolis (2024), with Hannah Čulík-Baird
In this episode we utilize our amazing artistic abilities to *checks notes* stop time(?) and discuss Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis, a modern retelling/allegory of the Catilinarian Conspiracy that took place during the late Roman Republic. Here to help analyze this fever-dream of a film is Dr. Hannah Čulík-Baird, Associate Professor of Classics at UCLA, co-editor of Res Difficiles, and last but not least, a self proclaimed “unrepentant Adam Driver stan”. Join us in our attempt to make sense of a film that fights all attempts to do so.
Is it bad? Probably. Is it brilliant? Probably not. Does the random QR code actually provide insightful information? We may never know.
Be sure to read Hannah's insightful take on the film via her blog o pietas animi and follow her on social media under the handle @opietasanimi.
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1:32:21
Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft (2024)
In this episode we learn that your hosts do not know how to behave themselves without an awesome guest to keep them in line! That being said, Colin, Elijah, and Christie delve into the latest iteration of Tomb Raider from the new Netflix animated series. It has a fully realized Lara, beautiful animation, and a plot that actually requires the heroine to intervene in order to save the world. Yet it feels a little too late for it to make the same impact as Angelina Jolie's Tomb Raider. We unpack this, Netflix's unintelligible renewal method (this series was renewed for a second season), and weird franchises we'd all like talk drunkenly about one day.
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Is it a movie podcast? Is it a history podcast? Is it an unholy union of the two? Short answer: yes!
Each episode, hosts Colin MacCormack, Elijah Fleming and Christie Vogler break down a new movie about Greece, Rome or the wider ancient world and what works (or doesn’t work) about them. But this isn’t a podcast for nitpicking historical inaccuracies. Rather, it’s a chance to get hot takes on Hollywood films from professional nerds/academics and take a closer look at the relation between our movies and our pasts.