Books of All Time

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Books of All Time

A podcast covering classic literature (and the stories behind them) in chronological order.

20/07/2025

NEW EPISODE! Euripides's plays, including The Trojan Women, include many complex and sympathetic female characters. In this episode, we use Euripides's interest in women as a jumping-off point to look at the real lives of women in Classical Athens during the 5th century BCE.

Or at least, we try to.

Join us on a slightly frustrating journey through the slim evidence for actual Greek women's existence, exploring childhood, marriage, funerals, and the occasional b***y all-girls camping trip. Available at Apple, Spotify, and anywhere else you get podcasts!

15/07/2025

Our host Rose has caught a bug (thankfully not the Plague of Athens, or even the Plague of 2020). Episode 36, about women in Classical Athens, will be out this coming Sunday, 20 July. Thanks for your patience!

11/07/2025

The Known World According To Herodotus In The 5th Century BC

29/06/2025

🔥🔥NEW EPISODE! 🔥🔥Our first official Sunday show introduces us to Euripides (c. 480–406 BCE), the youngest of the three Ancient Greek tragedians whose work has survived to the present day. If Sophocles' Oedipus Rex was the Citizen Kane of its day (a masterpiece that didn't win its equivalent of the Oscar), Euripides was the Martin Scorsese of his (often nominated, rarely rewarded, always respected as a master). This week, we're summarising his 415 BCE play The Trojan Women, a tragic sequel to the events of Homer's Iliad. Listen now wherever you get podcasts!

25/06/2025

Hi there! Just a heads-up that we'll be changing our release day to SUNDAY. This will lead to fewer delayed episodes resulting from disruptions to Rose's work schedule. Thanks for understanding, and thanks for listening!

15/06/2025

NEW EPISODE! Everyone currently alive who tries to engage with Sophocles's Oedipus Rex (c. 420 BCE) has Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, lurking over their shoulder. Here's our take on the story behind Freud's development of the Oedipus complex: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/books-of-all-time/id1732934296?i=1000712963749

10/06/2025

Someday this will be Rose's day job. Until then, the Day Job must occasionally disrupt the BoAT schedule. We'll be in your feeds a day late—but it will absolutely be worth it. We dive into Freud's Oedipus complex, a psychological theory directly inspired by Sophocles' play. Don't miss it!

26/05/2025

Coming Thursday: a very special episode of CSI: Thebes! Years after cracking the riddle of the Sphinx, forensic mastermind Oedipus comes out of retirement to solve a notorious cold case—the murder of his wife's first husband. What he discovers is SHOCKING. Follow Books of All Time wherever you get podcasts to listen!

16/05/2025

❗️❗️❗️NEW EPISODE! This week, we look into how the Jesuits tried to convert China to Christianity and wound up starting a cultural exchange program instead.

Learn how the Jesuits blinded the Chinese elite with science, and hit them with theology. And also failed to get them into harpsichord jams. Listen now wherever you get podcasts! 🎧🎧🎧

09/05/2025

A summary of part of our next episode, in meme form. We're back to one of our favorite meta-themes on Thursday: European scholars misunderstanding things! And also the first European translator of Sun-Tzu's Art of War, who gives strong "awkward exchange student" vibes. Stay tuned!

01/05/2025

NEW EPISODE! "Know your enemy, know yourself, and victory is never in doubt, not in a hundred battles." So wrote the legendary Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu sometime in the 6th or possibly 5th or possibly 4th century BCE. While Sun Tzu's existence and the exact date of the composition of the text associated with him are uncertain, THE ART OF WAR has influenced leaders for more than 2,000 years, inspiring commanders, diplomats, C-suite executives, and World Cup-winning soccer coaches. Today's episode walks through all 13 chapters of The Art of War, a good two-thirds of which could be called The Art of Avoiding War Until You Absolutely Can't Anymore. Listen anywhere you get podcasts, or read our transcript - link in the comments!

25/04/2025

A listener provided us with this image. We’ve been through Sun Tzu twice ahead of next week’s episode and have yet to find this quote. Maybe it’s a problem with our translation?

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