Literature and History
With millions of downloads, hundreds of hours of soundtracked content, and an overall emphasis on the cultural history behind famous works of literature, Literature and History is one of the most popular independent podcasts on its subject. Starting with Sumerian cuneiform in 3,100 BCE, Literature and History moves forward in chronological order through Assyriology, Egyptology, the Old Testament, Ancient Greece and Rome, the birth of Christianity, and the early Middle Ages. The show's current season is on early Islamic history. A typical episode (they average about two hours) features a general introduction to a work of literature, then a full summary...
Never miss an episode of Literature and History
Get every new episode summarized in your inbox — free, ~5 minutes to read.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Episodes (127)
Bashshar ibn Burd
Jul 15, 2026
Kalilah and Dimnah
Jun 15, 2026
The Zoroastrian Bundahisn
May 15, 2026
The Last Great War of Antiquity
Apr 15, 2026
An Introduction to the Hadiths
Mar 15, 2026
The Early Abbasid Caliphate
Feb 15, 2026
The Umayyad Caliphate
Jan 15, 2026
The Rashidun Caliphate
Dec 15, 2025
The Qur'an, Part 3: Origins
Oct 22, 2025
The Qur'an, Part 2: Ordinances
Oct 15, 2025
The Qur'an, Part 1: Overview
Oct 8, 2025
The Life of Muhammad, Part 3: Conquest
Sep 15, 2025
The Life of Muhammad, Part 2: Community
Aug 15, 2025
The Life of Muhammad, Part 1: Cobwebs
Jul 15, 2025
Episode 113: Antarah ibn Shaddad
Jun 15, 2025
Pre-Islamic Arabic Poetry
May 14, 2025
Pre-Islamic Arabia
Apr 15, 2025
Questions
Mar 22, 2025
Cornerstones
Mar 15, 2025
Episode 108: Isidore of Seville
Feb 15, 2025
Venantius Fortunatus
Jan 15, 2025
Gregory of Tours, Part 2
Dec 14, 2024
Gregory of Tours, Part 1
Nov 7, 2024
An Introduction to the Talmud
Aug 9, 2024
Boethius
Sep 22, 2023
An Old Man's Book (Augustine's City of God, Part 2 of 2)
Mar 4, 2023
Episode 101: Against the Pagans (Augustine's City of God, Part 1 of 2)
Feb 4, 2023
Late Have I Loved You (Augustine's Confessions, Books 9-13)
Dec 30, 2022
Episode 99: The Boy Who Stole Pears (Augustine's Confessions, Books 1-7)
Dec 10, 2022
The Life and Works of Saint Jerome
Nov 11, 2022
Blood and Ivy (Nonnus' Dionysiaca, Books 25-48)
May 8, 2022
The Last Pagan Epic (Nonnus' Dionysiaca, Books 1-24)
Oct 31, 2021
Rutilius Namatianus
Oct 17, 2021
Ausonius
Sep 12, 2021
Severus' Life of Saint Martin
Aug 18, 2021
Athanasius' Life of Antony
Aug 8, 2021
The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity
Jul 25, 2021
Ante-Nicene Catholicism
Jul 4, 2021
The Aethiopica of Heliodorus
Jun 19, 2021
Ancient Greek Sci-fi
May 21, 2021
Lucian of Samosata
May 7, 2021
An Introduction to Late Antiquity
Apr 25, 2021
Episode 85: River
Apr 4, 2021
Manichaeism
Mar 14, 2021
Gnosticism
Feb 28, 2021
Episode 82: Zoroastrianism
Jan 31, 2021
Revelation
Jan 10, 2021
The General Epistles
Oct 14, 2020
The Pauline Epistles
Sep 25, 2020
The Book of Acts
Sep 11, 2020