Byzantine conclusion

Lars Brownworth has completed his podcast series 12 Byzantine Rulers. The high school history teacher, so we are told, is moving on to other enterprises. It doesn't look like it, he is going to do another history podcast. I recommend everybody to go listen to the whole series, including the concluding episode that describes what legacy Byzantium left and hopes to show how Europe and with it Western Civilization is indebted to the Byzantine Empire for holding off the spread of Islam, of the Turks and delivering the classics in time for the Renaissance.

In the mean time I'd like to also spend some words about this podcast as such. When in June 2005 the first episode came out, the podcast landscape was different from today and especially history podcasts were still very rare. Consequently Lars Brownworth filled a considerable gap and that probably explains his success, which is that his podcast considered a top 50 podcast. I am not sure whether today, even a person with the great diction and careful reading Brownworth delivers, can make a success out of a monologue style history podcast that delivers an episode less than monthly. There are too many more frequent, more sexy, more academic and more professional sources out there.

When the pioneer goes and can no longer be emulated, it is a bit like Constantinople finally falling to the siege of the Turks. The Roman empire finally belongs to history, but its legacy has been maintained. The New World can freely take up the torch and hold it high. The Byzantine podcast has opened up the world of podcasting for history buffs and now that he is finished (I'd not say podfaded, but that is actually so, with its conclusion albeit fresh), we can see there is a thriving world of history podcasts, rich in subjects, styles, lengths and depths and it is ever expanding.

More:
The Byzantine Empire on Podcast,
Byzantine Podcast,
The Making of Europe in 1453,
Holy Sepulchre,
The Nicene Creed.

OVT en het onzegbare

De laatste aflevering van OVT, was buitengewoon de moeite waard. Opnieuw ophef rondom Deep Throat, de laatste aflevering over A. den Doolaard, maar vooral de drie onderwerpen die met een beetje analyse zelfs aan elkaar te knopen zijn. De eerste, Hitler in de jaren dertig in het kader van In Europa, en de tweede, een gesprek met Merel Boers over Holocaustdebatten naar aanleiding van de praalwagen op het carnaval in Rio, zijn zeker met elkaar verwant. Maar het gesprek met Jan de Hond over het orientalisme kan wat mij betreft ook vastgeknoopt worden.

Hoe dan ook, een meer dan buitengewoon interessante uitzending. Verre van een gemakkelijke uitzending. Merel Boers en Jan de Hond maken het elk in hun eigen onderwerp duidelijk. Over de holocaust, legt Merel uit, dat de debatten vaak bemoeilijkt worden omdat er een onderliggende kwestie is: van wie is de holocaust nu eigenlijk? Is het een generiek verhaal over genocide en dus over ons allemaal, of is het een specifiek verhaal over Nazis en Joden en onvergelijkbaar en ook verboden te vergelijken? De beide benaderingen sluiten elkaar uit en kunnen elkaar zelfs verketteren.

Eenzelfde gespletenheid zit in het orientalisme, zoals Jan de Hond uitlegt. De negentiende eeuwse Nederlander (in navolging van de Fransman en de Brit) is gefascineerd door de orient, door de wereld van Marrakesh tot Baghdad, van Istanbul tot Cairo en Mekka, maar is daarin tegenstrijdig. Enerzijds wordt de orient en de Islam op een manier afgeschilderd om het westen en het Christendom voordelig te laten uitkomen en anderszijds is er een stroming die vrijwel dezelfde typeringen gebruikt om het omgekeerde te doen, om de tekortkomingen van het westen af te zetten tegen een soort oorspronkelijke natuurlijkheid van het oosten. Daarbij gaat het voornamelijk om een onbevangen sexualiteit, zo stelt Jan de Hond, maar het komt mij voor dat daarin ook gezien kan worden, een fascinatie met een meer magische spiritualiteit tegenover het rationalisme en het benepen religieuze van het westen.

Gespletenheid zie ik ook in de gesprekken over Hitler. Dat zie je bijna altijd. Het ligt voor de hand om zijn fanatisme en gekte te benadrukken, maar dat kan toch niet het hele plaatje zijn. Het maakt ook alle Duitsers gek om achter hem aan te lopen. Dus waar liggen de sterke kanten, maar als je over successen gaat praten, mag je dat niet aan Hitler toeschrijven. Je voelt dat er bij alle drie de onderwerpen heel veel impliciet gebleven zaken een rol spelen die het zicht vertroebelen. Maar de gesprekken worden er wel fascinerender door.

Eerdere besprekingen van OVT in dit blog:
1922 - Walther Rathenau,
1925 - Mussolini,
1929 - Goldene Zwanziger,
1933 - Fellow Travelers.
1936 - Spanje.

Europe and 1492

Berkeley's History 5 has finished the second week. It is my intention to report on this podcast on a weekly basis.

Lecture 3: New states and new worlds.
1492 could also have been taken as the starting point for this lecture series. Anderson defines the many importances of this year. The one that stands out is Columbus's landing in the Americas, which opened up for Europe an entire new world of expansion. She argues the discovery would have been a matter of time and proposes a couple of others who could have succeeded, had Columbus failed. The consequence is the conquest of the west, which is made really easy by the microbes.

Lecture 4: A common culture.
Back to the 1450's: Gutenberg developed movable type, in other words, invented the printing press. It is the printing press that allows for the fast spread of knowledge of the new world, so that all European nations take up exploration. In addition, printing allowed for the fast spread of the reformation. So, here is how the whole of Europe takes part in the change. The greatest merit of this lecture is Anderson's explanation of how much the Europeans have in common. Especially the facts she presents about the European Family type is very fascinating. It turns out the Europeans then, built their families more similarly to modern Europeans than we'd expect.

More History 5:
The making of Europe in 1453,
Award for Professor Thomas Laqueur,
From the Renaissance Until Today,
Agricultural revolution first,
The genitals of Christ: Anne asks and then Anderson replies.

Yellow soup

A lot of the ingredients for this soup can be replaced by equivalents. The result may be an orange colored soup in stead of yellow and the soup may be less sour or more spicy, but the result will remain a very nice one. The most special ingredient is the Persian dried lemon. I have just taken up learning to cook with those, so I throw them in many a dish I would normally not have added it at all, or some lemon juice in stead.

800 gram yellow pumpkin
1 sweet potato
1 yellow paprika
1 onion
3 carrots
1 tea spoon turmeric
1 tea spoon ground cardamom
3 table spoons soy sauce
3 teas spoons rock salt
3 tea spoons crushed ginger
cinnamon
nutmeg
coriander
sweet chili sauce
olive oil
125 ml sweet cream 15% fat
1 Persian dried lemon

Carefully heat two table spoons of oil with turmeric and cardamom. Let it heat slowly for two minutes and add the finely cut onion, the paprika and the ginger. Stir for five to ten minutes and then add the potato, carrots and pumpkin. Stir some more, raise the heat, put the lid on, but keep on stirring every couple of minutes. Add soy sauce, Persian lemon, salt and 1.5 liter of boiling water. Cook for a while and then add for taste, to the measure you like, cinnamon, nutmeg and sweet chili sauce. After some 30 minutes take out the lemon. Mash the vegetables with a blender and return the lemon. Cook until the lemon is soft. Crush it and remove it. Add cream and turn off the heat.

More recipes:
Hot and Sour,
Couscous with Chicken,
Rice, minced meat and burnt eggplant,
Fish with couscous,
Chicken pesto with moong dal rice.

94 podcasts reviewed

UPDATE: we now have 217 podcasts reviewed. (link)



It is the first of the month again and so I post in alphabetical order all podcasts I reviewed linked to the last post and relevant labels:

1. 12 Byzantine Rulers, history podcast


2. Africa (Stanford Travel), geography
   
   


3. Arizona, University of: Introduction to Language, language
   
   


4. BBC History Magazine, BBC history podcast



5. Bike Radar, tour


6. Bioethics podcast, science, law and society


7. Binge Thinking History, history podcast


8. Biota Podcast, science


9. Bommel Hoorspel, NL radio


10. British History 101, history podcast


11. Car Talk,
    
    


12. CFR Podcast, law and society


13. Dan Carlin's Common Sense,
    
    


14. Dan Carlin's Hardcore History, history podcast


15. David Kalivas' World History, history podcast


16. the Economist,


17. English 117S, language


18. Exploring Environmental History, science, history podcast


19. F1Cast
    
    


20. Fresh Air (NPR)
    
    


21. From our own Correspondent, BBC geography


22. Geography 130, geography


23. Geography of World Cultures (Stanford), geography history podcast


24. Hannibal (Stanford), history podcast
    
    


25. Haring Podcast, NL radio


26. Historical Jesus (Stanford), history podcast יהדות


27. History 167B, Berkeley history podcast


28. History 181B, Berkeley history podcast


29. History 4A, Berkeley history podcast


30. History 5, Berkeley history podcast


31. History 7B, Berkeley history podcast


32. History according to Bob, history podcast


33. History Network, history podcast


34. History Podcast, history podcast


35. Historyzine, history podcast


36. ICT Update,
    
    


37. In Our Time, In Our Time BBC (science) history podcast


38. In the Media (WNYC)


39. Inspired Minds (Deutsche Welle)
    
    


40. Interview Vrijdag, NL radio


41. Irving Poetry podcast
    
    


42. ITV, tour


43. Jung Podcast, psychology


44. KMTT, יהדות


45. KQED Forum


46. Librivox: History of Holland, history podcast


47. Marathon Interview, NL radio


48. Matt's Today In History, history podcast


49. Medieval Podcast, history podcast


50. Midwest Writer, language
    
    


51. Military History Podcast, history podcast


52. Missing Link, history podcast science


53. My Three Shrinks, psychiatry
    
    


54. Napoleon 1O1, history podcast


55. National Archives Podcast, history podcast


56. NRC FM,
    
    


57. Only in America, history podcast יהדות


58. Open Source
    
    


59. OVT, history podcast NL radio


60. Oy Mendele!, יהדות


61. PACS 164A, Berkeley
    
    


62. Parnell's History Podcast, history podcast


63. Physics for future Presidents (Descriptive Physics), Berkeley science


64. Philosophy 103, philosophy


65. Philosophy Bites, philosophy
    
    


66. the Philosophy Podcast, philosophy


67. Prosperity show


68. Radiolab (WNYC), science


69. Rav Dovid's, יהדות


70. Rpgmp3


71. Sex History Podcast, history podcast


72. the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, SGU science


73. Šimek 's Nachts, simek NL radio


74. Social Innovation Conversations,
    
    


75. Sonic Society, creative writing


76. Speaking of Faith, יהדות


77. Shrink Rap Radio, shrinkrapradio psychology


78. Stanford U History, history podcast


79. Sunday Sundown
    
    


80. Talking Robots, science
    
    


81. TdF London, tour


82. TED Talks, vodcast
    
    


83. Times Talks,
    
    


84. The Word Nerds, TWN language


85. UCLA Israel Studies, Israel
    
    


86. University Channel Podcast, science


87. Volkskrant Podcasts, tour


88. What is Judaism?, יהדות


89. Wise Counsel, Wise Counsel psychology


90. the Writing Show, Writing Show language


91. Wynyfryd's meditation room


92. Your Purpose Centered Life
    
    


93. zencast


94. zoem, psychology
    
    

If you know of interesting podcasts that you think should be reviewed, please let me know through the comments page. Or send me mail...

Thanks in advance,

Anne Frid de Vries (in one word)

AT

Yahoo DOT co DOT uk

TPN - Napoleon 1O1

Usually history podcasts are in the form of a monologue, or a lecture, which is essentially also a monologue, but Napoleon 1O1 (mind the O) uses the dialog. It is widely considered to work better having more voices on podcast and I must agree, dialogs, panels and interviews are more compelling. Hence, this podcast series about Napoleon, pulls the work off really well. And it shows, the podcast is supposedly very successful, rather famous, wins acclaim by other podcasters (such as Jim Mowatt of Historyzine) and generally has a wide following.

Cameron Reilly and David Markham discuss the life and career of Napoleon Bonaparte, patiently going the chronology from early life, step by step until the bitter end. There are some 35 episodes of around 40-60 minutes closing in on the end - fans are dreading the end already. The dialog is natural, both men are knowledgeable about Napoleon, although David speaks frequently for long periods on end. The fact, however, that Cameron is listening makes sure the explanations come out naturally and not as a droning soliloquy.

The series started some two years ago and suffers in the first episodes from some of the technical drawbacks of recording over a distance, this improved rapidly. I think this is a very recommendable podcast for everybody into Napoleon, but possibly even to anyone interested in any which good history podcast.