PODCAST · education
ISAC Podcast
by Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures
The Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures of the University of Chicago is a leading research center for the ancient Middle East. The museum houses some 350,000 artifacts — around 5,000 of which are on display — excavated mainly by ISAC archaeologists. Founded in 1919, at a time when the Middle East was called the Orient, ISAC has pioneered innovative excavations and comprehensive dictionary projects that chronicle ancient civilizations. The ISAC Museum aims to understand, reveal, and protect ancient Middle Eastern civilizations.
Episodes
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The Epigraphic Survey and Chicago House by Emily Teeter
The Epigraphic Survey and Chicago House Celebrating Emily Teeters new book, Chicago on the Nile: 100 Years of the Epigraphic Survey Emily Teeter, ISAC (Retired) In 1924, an Egyptologist, an artist, and a photographer—the staff of the University of Chicago’s new Epigraphic Survey—began the task of...
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OI Podcast Episode 16, Afrofuturism: Ancient Egypt in Speculative Fiction
OI Podcast Episode 16 Afrofuturism: Ancient Egypt in Speculative Fiction Ytasha Womack Time as a web, weaved in storytelling to offer a remix of narratives exploring who we are and how we got here. Author Ytasha Womack, "Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture," joins us for a...
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OI Podcast Episode 15, Egyptian Influences/Contemporary Music
OI Podcast Episode 15 Egyptian Influences/Contemporary Music Andrew List Ancient Egypt offers a feast of inspiration. From the mammoth carved temples to the intimate, painted tombs, visitors to these sites often daydream a fantasy of what life must have been like. Earlier this year, composer…
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OI Podcast Episode 14, The Lyre Ensemble, Part 2
OI Podcast Episode 14 The Lyre Ensemble, Part 2 Playing the Gold Lyre of Ur Contemporary music played on an ancient Lyre. The Lyre Ensemble continues a discussion on the recreation of the Gold Lyre of Ur, focusing on both the possibilities and trappings of creating music on an ancient replica.…
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OI Podcast Episode 13: The Lyre Ensemble, Part 1
OI Podcast Episode 13 The Lyre Ensemble, Part 1 Recreating the Gold Lyre of Ur What might ancient Mesopotamian music sound like? Inspired by both this question and the 2003 looting at the Baghdad Museum, harpist Andy Lowings set out to recreate a playable replica of the iconic Gold Lyre of Ur....
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OI Podcast Episode 12: Demons In Ancient Egypt with Rita Lucarelli
OI Podcast Episode 12 Demons in Ancient Egypt Rita Lucarelli From Pazuzu to Baphomet, demons in modern pop culture are figures of dark terror and fear. In the ancient world, the concepts of demons weren't always so simple. The OI's Steven Townshend sits down with Rita Lucarelli, University of...
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In the Wake of the Phoenicians by David Schloen
In the Wake of the Phoenicians: Makers of the Mediterranean Presented by David Schloen, OI From olive oil to the alphabet, the Phoenicians left a lasting mark on the Mediterranean. The OI's David Schloen guides us through exciting new research into this ancient civilization and anticipates future...
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OI Podcast Episode 11: Who Is Medjed?
OI Podcast Episode 11 Who Is Medjed? Ilaria Cariddi An obscure Egyptian deity has exploded into Japan's popular culture. Who is this mysterious marshmallow? And why is it becoming more popular than Isis and Osiris? The OI's Steven Townshend sits down with Ilaria Cariddi, research fellow at the...
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The Public Display of Things from the Holy Land by Morag Kersel
Truth or Consequences: The Public Display of Things from the Holy Land Presented by Morag M. Kersel, DePaul University When museums place items on display they take on multiple roles as custodians of sacred relics, shapers of public interpretation, fiduciary institutions, and educational...
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OI Podcast Episode 10: Plague Prayers of the Ancient Hittites Part 2
OI Podcast Episode 10 Plague Prayers of the Ancient Hittites Part 2 Theo van den Hout Early in the 14th Century BCE, the Hittites faced a twenty year plague. How did these ancient Anatolians deal with pandemics? While the methods may be different, not much has changed. Join Theo van den Hout, the...
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OI Podcast Episode 9: Plague Prayers of the Ancient Hittites
OI Podcast Episode 9 Plague Prayers of the Ancient Hittites Theo van den Hout Early in the 14th Century BCE, the Hittites faced a twenty year plague. How did these ancient Anatolians deal with pandemics? While the methods may be different, not much has changed. Join Theo van den Hout, the Arthur...
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Uncovering History Episode 8: Searching the Hittite Skies
Uncovering History Episode 8 Searching the Hittite Skies Emily Smith PhD student in Hittitology, OI Just in time for summer stargazing, Emily Smith joins Steven Townshend for a discussion on comets, eclipses, and other celestial occurrences in the ancient skies. To support this and all of our...
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Uncovering History Episode 7: Awakening the Dead for Love Part 2
Uncovering History Episode 7 Awakening the Dead for Love Part 2 | Robert Ritner, Rowe Professor of Egyptology, and Foy Scalf, OI In this episode Steven talks from home with Robert Ritner, the Rowe Professor of Egyptology, OI, and Foy Scalf, head of the OI research archives to continue the...
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Uncovering History Episode 6: Awakening the Dead for Love
Awakening the Dead for Love | Robert Ritner, Rowe Professor of Egyptology, and Foy Scalf, OI In this episode Steven talks from home with Robert Ritner, the Rowe Professor of Egyptology, OI, and Foy Scalf, head of the OI research archives to explore their recently published, and unique, erotic…
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Judean and Egyptian Novellas of the Achaemenid and Hellenistic Periods by Joey Cross
Joey Cross, PhD candidate in the department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago, presents an at-home lecture that explores the elements of storytelling in the Achaemenid and Hellenistic periods, while shining a light on how scholars reconstruct the world of…
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The Rise of Ancient Israel and Other Problematic Entities by Ayelet Gilboa
Oriental Institute Membership lecture for Centennial The Rise of Ancient Israel and Other Problematic Entities Ayelet Gilboa, Director of the Zinman Institute of Archaeology This audio recording was originally presented as an illustrated lecture on October 2, 2019. The video of this lecture is...
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Exploring the Roots of the Vine by Stephen Batiuk
Exploring the Roots of the Vine: The History and Archaeology of the Earliest Wines Stephen Batiuk Stephen Batiuk examines new archaeological fieldwork and biomolecular chemistry and genetics that are pushing the origins of wine back to the Neolithic period. Batiuk explores how ancient migration...
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On Judicial Violence in Mesopotamia: The Problem of An Eye For An Eye by Martha Roth
OI Centennial Year Members' Lecture "On Judicial Violence in Mesopotamia: The Problem of an Eye for an Eye" Martha Roth Chauncey S. Boucher Distinguished Service Professor of Assyriology Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations University of Chicago Oriental Institute This audio...
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Star Wars and Religion by Russell Johnson
Star Wars and Religion Russell Johnson University of Chicago Divinity School Russell Johnson, University of Chicago Divinity School, uses the core episodes of George Lucas's epic vision to explore several of the worlds religious traditions. This lecture is based on Russell's popular University of...
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Anatolians on the Move: From Kurgans to Kanesh by Petra Goedegebuure
The Marija Gimbutas Memorial Lecture Anatolians on the Move: From Kurgans to Kanesh Petra Goedegebuure Associate Professor of Hittitology Last year Sir Colin Renfrew opened the Marija Gimbutas lecture series acknowledging that she was essentially right when she said that the Proto-Indo-Europeans...
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A New Iron Age Kingdom in Anatolia by James Osborne and Michele Massa
A New Irong Age Kingdom in Anatolia James Osborne Assistant Professor of Anatolian Archaeology Michele Massa British Institute at Ankara, Honorary Fellow In 2019, discoveries made by the Konya Regional Archaeological Survey Project, directed by Michele Massa, and the Türkmen-Karahöyük Intensive...
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What We Learned from 25 Years of Research at Catalhoyuk by Ian Hodder
Braidwood Visiting Scholar Lecture What we learned from 25 Years of Research at Catalhoyuk by Ian Hodder Stanford University, Director of the Catalhoyuk Archaeological Project This audio recording was originally presented as an illustrated lecture on December 4, 2019. The video of this lecture is...
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Seven Brides with Seven Stingers: The Scorpion Wives of Horus by Robert Ritner
Seven Brides with Seven Stingers: The Scorpion Wives of Horus Presented by Robert Ritner, Professor of Egyptology, University of Chicago A lectured delivered on October 9, 1996, in Breasted Hall of the Oriental Institute, introduced by William Sumner. This audio recording was originally presented...
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The OI in Iraq by McGuire Gibson
The OI in Iraq McGuire Gibson Professor of Mesopotamian Archaeology This lecture was live streamed on Wednesday, November 6, 2019 at 7 PM Central Time. This audio recording was originally presented as an illustrated lecture. The video of this lecture is available on the OI YouTube channel:...
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How Ancient Israel Began by David Ilan
David A. Kipper Ancient Israel Lecture Series: How Ancient Israel Began: A New Archaeological Perspective David Ilan, Hebrew Union College; Director, Tel Dan Over the last 100 years , a number of models have been proposed to explain the origins of ancient Israel. Join us as David Ilan examines a...
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Sex in Babylonia by Jerry Cooper
Everything You've Always Wanted to Know about Sex in Babylonia . . . Lecture by Jerry Cooper, W. W. Spence Professor of Semitic Languages Emeritus, The Johns Hopkins University This breezy look at 3000 years of sex in ancient Mesopotamia will cover such fascinating topics as virginity, adultery,...
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Interview with Robert McCormick Adams, Part 2
Oriental Institute Oral History Project Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution for the Smithsonian Institution Archives Part 2 of an interview with Robert McCormick Adams (1926–2018), former Director of the Oriental Institute and Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution Interview conducted by...
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Assyrian Imperial Power by Karen Radner
Assyrian Imperial Power and How to Oppose It by Karen Radner Alexander von Humboldt-Professor for Ancient History of the Near and Middle East, LMU Munich Honorary Professor of Ancient Near Eastern History, University College London In the early first millennium BC, the ancient kingdom of Assyria...
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Uncovering History Episode 5
Uncovering History Episode 5 Traveling with Brian Muhs In this episode Steven visits Dr. Brian Muhs, Professor of Egyptology, for a celebration of summer road trips and a conversation that takes us from travel in ancient Egypt to lion goddesses and ancient finances. Become a member of the OI to...
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Uncovering History Episode 4
Uncovering History Episode 4 In this episode, we wrap up our look at ancient influences on George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones. We head to Brian Muhs’ office for a conversation about the Ptolemaic Dynasty. Become a member of the OI to keep up with all the latest updates: oi.uchicago.edu/member
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Uncovering History Episode 3
Uncovering History Episode 3 In this podcast, Steven Townshend talks to Tasha Vorderstrasse about the Umayyad sieges of Constantinople, Greek Fire, and their influences on Game of Thrones. Become a member of the OI to keep up with all the latest updates: oi.uchicago.edu/member
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Uncovering History Episode 2
Uncovering History Episode 2 In this podcast, Steven Townshend talks to Tasha Vorderstrasse about the Scythians and how they potentially inspired the Dothraki in George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones. Become a member of the OI to keep up with all the latest updates: oi.uchicago.edu/member
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1177 BC: The Year Civilization Collapsed by Eric Cline
1177 BC: The Year Civilization Collapsed by Eric Cline Professor of Classics and Anthropology Chair of the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations; Director of the Capitol Archaeological Institute at The George Washington University, in Washington D.C. For more than...
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Uncovering History Episode 1
Uncovering History Episode 1 In this podcast, Steven Townshend talks to Tasha Vorderstrasse about the queen Semiramis, the connection to the Assyrian queen Shammuramat, and the accounts of classical authors like Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus. Become a member of the OI to keep up with all the...
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A Game of Thrones and Coffins by Robert Ritner
A Game of Thrones and Coffins: The Death and Resurrection of Osiris by Robert Ritner Professor of Egyptology This particular topic if one of great significance in the Western world. Robert Ritner discusses the primary Egyptian myth that defines many aspects of the ancient Egyptian civilization…
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Interview With Robert McCormick Adams, Part 1
Oriental Institute Oral History Project Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution for the Smithsonian Institution Archives Part 1 of an interview with Robert McCormick Adams (1926–2018), former Director of the Oriental Institute and Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution Interview conducted by...
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Pots from the City of Sin by Morag Kersel
Pots from the City of Sin: The Consequences of Buying Holy Land Antique by Morag Kersel Associate Professor and Director of the Museum Studies Minor Program Anthropology Oriental Institute Members Lecture Whatever the motive, the demand for archaeological artifacts from the Holy Land (modern...
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Interview with Hervé Reculeau
Oriental Institute Oral History Project Interview with Hervé Reculeau, Associate Professor of Assyriology In the Research Archives of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago December 13, 2018 In this faculty research highlight, Professor Reculeau discusses his work as an Assyriologist...
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Entangled Lives: Intercultural Interactions in the Nubian Borderlands by Stuart Tyson Smith
Entangled Lives: Intercultural Interactions in the Nubian Borderlands by Stuart Tyson Smith University of California, Santa Barbara Egyptologists have often depicted Nubia as inferior, dominated both militarily and culturally by its northern neighbor. Stuart Smith explores how recent…
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Why The West Rules — For Now by Ian Morris
Why the West Rules — For Now by Ian Morris Ian Morris, Professor of History at Stanford University, lecture Why the West Rules -- For Now: The Patterns of History, and What They Reveal about the Future at the Oriental Institute on October 2, 2013. This audio recording was originally presented as…
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Interview with Gil Stein
Former director of the Oriental Institute Gil Stein, Professor of Archaeology, sits down with the oral history project to discuss his life and career. This interview took place in the Research Archives of the Oriental Institute on April 17, 2018.
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Partnerships in Discovery
Highlights the OI’s mission of discovery, preservation, and the dissemination of knowledge through the lens of the OI's three projects in Egypt and global partnerships. This audio recording was originally recorded as a video highlight. The video is available on the OI YouTube channel:...
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Be My Baby in Babylonia by Andrew George
Be My Baby in Babylonia: Girl Meets Boy and Vice Versa Presented by Andrew George, Professor of Babylonian, University of London, SOAS. Wednesday, April 5, 2017 This lecture presents two Old Babylonian incantations in comparative perspective. The language and emotions of new love and sexual...
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Gertrude Bell's Archaeological Discoveries by Lisa Cooper
Presented by Lisa Cooper, Associate Professor of Near Eastern Archaeology, University of British Columbia Wednesday, October 5, 2016 Encounters with Ancient Splendors: Gertrude Bell’s Archaeological Discoveries and Research in Mesopotamia, 1909-1914 Recent biographies highlight many aspects of…
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The Ark before Noah by Irving Finkel
Irving Finkel, Assistant Keeper I with responsibility for cuneiform in the Department of the Middle East, British Museum. Wednesday, June 1, 2016 This talk will describe what befell the speaker after one quite remarkable cuneiform tablet was brought for examination to the British Museum in…
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The Battle of Kadesh: A Debate by Robert K. Ritner and Theo van den Hout
The Battle of Kadesh: A Debate between the Egyptian and Hittite Perspectives Wednesday, January 6, 2016 The Battle of Kadesh, ca. 1285 BC, is the earliest military encounter that can be analyzed in detail. This conflict between the Egyptian forces of Ramses II and the Hittite army of Muwatalli…
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The Pharaohs of Anubis-Mountain by Josef Wegner
Josef Wegner, Associate Professor of Egyptian Archaeology from the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Pennsylvania, presents "The Pharaohs of Anubis-Mountain: Archaeological Investigations of a Royal Necropolis at Abydos" Wednesday, September 2, 2015…
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In Remembrance of Me by Virginia Herrmann
Exhibit co-curator Dr. Virginia R. Herrmann explores the themes of "In Remembrance of Me". The exhibit elucidates the means by which the people of the ancient Middle East and Egypt honored and commemorated their deceased ancestors, as illustrated by numerous statues, steles, and inscriptions...
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The Fall of the Roman Empire by Clifford Ando
The Long Defeat: The Fall of the Roman Empire by Clifford Ando Wednesday, December 4, 2013 Clifford Ando, David B. and Clara E. Stern Professor; Professor of Classics, University of Chicago speaks at the third lecture in our four-part series: Why Did Civilizations Collapse: Internal Decay or...
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Scribes in Mesopotamia by Theo van den Hout
Professor of Hittite and Anatolian Languages Theo van den Hout tells us about who scribes in Mesopotamia and Anatolia were. This interview was produced for the OI special exhibit "Visible Language: Inventions of Writing in the Ancient Middle East" which ran from September 28, 2010, through March…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
The Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures of the University of Chicago is a leading research center for the ancient Middle East. The museum houses some 350,000 artifacts — around 5,000 of which are on display — excavated mainly by ISAC archaeologists. Founded in 1919, at a time when the Middle East was called the Orient, ISAC has pioneered innovative excavations and comprehensive dictionary projects that chronicle ancient civilizations. The ISAC Museum aims to understand, reveal, and protect ancient Middle Eastern civilizations.
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Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does ISAC Podcast have?
ISAC Podcast currently has 50 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is ISAC Podcast about?
The Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures of the University of Chicago is a leading research center for the ancient Middle East. The museum houses some 350,000 artifacts — around 5,000 of which are on display — excavated mainly by ISAC archaeologists. Founded in 1919, at a time when the...
How often does ISAC Podcast release new episodes?
ISAC Podcast has 50 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to ISAC Podcast?
You can listen to ISAC Podcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts ISAC Podcast?
ISAC Podcast is created and hosted by Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures.
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