Best Athens Corner Podcasts (2024)

1
Athena's Plan in the Odyssey: On Teaching and Learning 38:06

15d ago38:06

38:06

This is the preview to my second discussion of Homer's Odyssey for the "Fathers & Sons" series on my AthensCorner.com website. It's the sequel to my previous discussion on the Odyssey titled "The Beautiful, the Good, and the Just in Homer's Odyssey. At issue in this is the status of Odysseus's son, Telemachus. More than merely an entryway into the …

1
THE INDOMITABLE SPIRIT Artemisia Gentileschi 53:39

3d ago53:39

53:39

Artemisia Gentileschi was one of the most famed and respected painters in 17th century Europe, but after she died, her story - and many of her works - were lost, and over the years, Artemisia has become better known for what was done to her than for what she did. Award-winning artist Lindsay Huss helps us try to change that. (Content warning: discu…

1
BONUS: A Night of Celebration Live 1:35:23

24d ago1:35:23

1:35:23

What'sHerName goes live! To launch our new book, What's Her Name, A History of the World in 80 Lost Women, former episode guests convene in London from all over the world for a Night of Celebration! In rapid-fire succession, brilliant 3-minute performances of poetry, song, story and dance take us chronologically through the history of the world. Th…

1
THE ABOLITIONIST Ellen Garrison 50:43

2M ago50:43

50:43

The story goes that the American Civil Rights movement started when Rosa Parks refused to leave her bus seat in 1955. But 89 years before that, Ellen Garrison refused to leave the waiting room at a Baltimore train station. When she was thrown out, she sued, in one of the first court cases to test African American civil rights. Criss-crossing Americ…

1
THE BYZANTINE Irene of Athens 58:30

2M ago58:30

58:30

From arriving at the port of Constantinople as a teenage bride to the heir to the Byzantine Throne, to exiling - and blinding - her own son, Constantine IV, to boldly crowning herself the first Empress Regnant of the Byzantine Empire, Irene of Athens' life was a wildly unpredictable ride through one of the most tumultuous and fascinating periods of…

1
THE BUTTERFLY IN THE SUN Mata Hari 1:00:07

2M ago1:00:07

1:00:07

A charming Indonesian orphan danced her way to fame and fortune... except literally everything about Mata Hari was a lie. She said she wanted to live like a butterfly in the sun. So in the end, could she really have been guilty of espionage? Katie takes us to Leiden to marvel at the incredible life of Mata Hari. Music featured in this episode provi…

1
Thucydides, Nietzsche, and Plutarch 3:50:24

3M ago3:50:24

3:50:24

This is my entire discussion of the opening to Thucydides's Peloponnesian War for the Technology & Nihilism series on my website (AthensCorner.com). In this recording I read in its entirety, and discuss in very meticulous detail, the first twenty-two paragraphs of Thucydides's Peloponnesian War (commonly referred to as "the Archaeology" of the text…

1
THE COUNTERFEIT COUNTESS Janina Mehlberg 1:01:16

3M ago1:01:16

1:01:16

When Jewish mathematician Pepi Mehlberg was offered a new identity as Countess Janina Suchodolska in Nazi-occupied Poland, she took that chance and used it - to join the underground resistance, feed thousands of Nazi prisoners every week, and eventually rescue over 10,000 Poles from Majdanek concentration camp. And she was just getting started. Our…

1
THE VOYAGER Hannah Masury Howe 51:35

4M ago51:35

51:35

By Dr. Katie Nelson and Olivia Meikle

1
Christianity, Philosophy, and "Modernity" (part 1) 1:17:27

4M ago1:17:27

1:17:27

Broadly speaking, the theme of the series that I provide in philosophy on my website, AthensCorner.com, center around the various relationships in which philosophy and divine revelation have existed together in the Western philosophical tradition, whether for the Greeks, the medieval Scholastics, the Moderns with their "Modern" science, or the Post…

1
THE SOLID CITIZEN Frances Perkins 59:16

4M ago59:16

59:16

Frances Perkins, first female cabinet secretary in US history, was the mind (and the will) behind nearly every landmark policy of the Roosevelt administration's New Deal - so why doesn't anyone know her name? Bestselling author Stephanie Dray introduces us to this remarkable woman whose vision and relentless hard work would touch the life of every …

1
THE EQUESTRIAN Anna Sewell 1:00:19

5M ago1:00:19

1:00:19

"This was one woman with a very little life, who made the most enormous difference." Celia Brayfield shares with Katie the story of Anna Sewell who, on her death bed, wrote a story and changed the world. Black Beauty was no mere "horse book." It catapulted the cause of animal rights and became one of the bestselling books of all time. But Anna Sewe…

1
Aristotle: Slavery and the Entirety of Philosophy 25:38

5M ago25:38

25:38

In preparing to begin an entire series on Plato's longest dialogue the "Laws" for my website AthensCorner.com, I use an almost casual comment by Aristotle in his discussion (or logos) on slavery in the Politics to discuss the way in which inquiry into the art of politics unfolds, and almost immediately (!), into the entirety of philosophy. Among ot…

1
About AthensCorner.com and the "Athenian Stranger" 20:50

5M ago20:50

20:50

If you're enjoying the recordings I've been providing here and you're curious about my larger project with AthensCorner.com and my own story, then I think you'll find this brief discussion interesting and hopefully as enjoyable as the others.By Athens Corner

1
Eros, Honor, and The Shield of Achilles in Homer 3:19:13

5M ago3:19:13

3:19:13

This is my discussion in its entirety of The Shield of Achilles from the Technology & Nihilism series on my website (AthensCorner.com). The purpose of this discussion is to reveal the teaching in Homer's Iliad on this thing we call "technology." This is particularly important for us because of the way in which we tend to mistakenly believe that the…

1
Imagery, Poetry, and Natural Right in Homer's Odyssey 57:29

6M ago57:29

57:29

This is my second discussion on Homer's Odyssey for the Fathers & Sons series on my website (AthensCorner.com). I've provided the entirety of the discussion here because I believe that what Homer provides us with is still so very urgent and relevant for us today and, in particular, for fathers seeking to have a direct involvement in educating their…

1
The Meaning of the "Overman [Übermensch]" in Nietzsche 45:39

6M ago45:39

45:39

Talk of Nietzsche is almost always synonymous with talk of the "Overman [Übermensch]," and so what I do in this discussion is introduce a number of the most definitive themes in Nietzsche's thought by way of an introduction to the Overman in his thought. To achieve this goal, I begin with the importance of Goethe's Faust for Nietzsche, and then I c…

1
THE GUNG-HO ORIGINAL Helen Foster Snow 1:00:13

6M ago1:00:13

1:00:13

In 1931, a young American aspiring writer set off for what she thought would be a one-year adventure in China. Hoping to gain life experience so she could eventually write the Great American Novel - she would instead become famous as the "Voice of China" to the west, and improve the lives of millions of people in the process. Olivia talks with Hele…

1
Postmodernity, Technology, and PreModernity (part 1) 46:02

6M ago46:02

46:02

This is the first half of a discussion in which I broadly but rigorously introduce the most definitive characteristic of Postmodern philosophy and how that characteristic is inherently related to what we refer to as "technology" and PreModern philosophy. Specifically, I discuss the thought of Friedrich Nietzsche, Ernst Jünger, Martin Heidegger, and…

1
The Poetry of Being: Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra 1.3 (part 2) 23:56

7M ago23:56

23:56

This is the trailer of a discussion for the series I'm doing on the entire text of Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra (the entire discussion is available on my AthensCorner.com website for subscribers). At issue here is Zarathustra's turn from the critique of the hinterworldly to the metaphysical concept of "being" and, for Zarathustra, the psychol…

1
The Beautiful, the Good, and the Just in Homer's Odyssey 19:50

7M ago19:50

19:50

This is the preview to my first discussion of Homer's Odyssey for the "Fathers & Sons" series on my website AthensCorner.com (it is the sequel to my previous discussion here of the Biblical Samson). At issue here is what we do not find in the story of Samson, namely, the relationship between a father and son wherein the son journeys to know his fat…

1
Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra 1.3 (part 1): The Revolution Begins 29:18

7M ago29:18

29:18

This is the trailer of a discussion for the series I'm doing on the entire text of Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra (the entire discussion is available on my AthensCorner.com website for subscribers). At issue in Zarathustra's speech here is everything encompassed in the phrase "the transvaluation of all values" (or "the revaluation of all values…

1
Samson for Fathers & Sons 50:38

7M ago50:38

50:38

This is my discussion in its entirety of the Biblical Samson for the "Fathers & Sons" series on my website (AthensCorner.com). The purpose of the series on my website is to assist and guide fathers who themselves want to educate their sons in many of the greatest books of our Western heritage. At issue here in the Samson discussion is the responsib…

1
Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra 1.2 13:23

7M ago13:23

13:23

This is the trailer of the full recording of a discussion for the series I'm doing on the entire text of Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra in philosophy on my website AthensCorner.com. Having just begun his new beginning by discussing what is required in order to become his "brother," Zarathustra learns the wisdom being taught to the youth. That i…

1
Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra 1.1 10:31

7M ago10:31

10:31

This is the trailer of the full recording of a discussion for the series I'm doing on the entire text of Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra in philosophy on my website AthensCorner.com. At issue here is Zarathustra's new beginning after his initial failure. He has become an insurgent in order to achieve his political and, in fact, planetary, projec…

1
Thucydides' "Archaeology" 1.2 14:57

7M ago14:57

14:57

This is the trailer of the full recording of a discussion for the series "Technology and Nihilism" in philosophy on my website AthensCorner.com. After having previously discussed the first paragraph of the text, here I discuss the significance of Thucydides for current discussions of what we think of today as "technology." I discuss how the opening…

1
Intro to Thucydides and 1.1 17:56

7M ago17:56

17:56

This is the full recording of a discussion for the series "Technology and Nihilism" in philosophy on my website AthensCorner.com. At issue here is what Thucydides understands himself as providing us in his text. Accordingly, the question at hand in the opening of the text is this: Is Thucydides's text simply or merely "history," or does he understa…

1
CHRISTMAS IN SWEDEN Selma Lagerlöf 1:00:57

7M ago1:00:57

1:00:57

Selma Lagerlöf poetically recorded old Norse fairytales and profoundly influenced Swedish identity. Her work was so brilliant, she was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1909. In old age, she turned her poetic pen to her own life, recalling winters in the 1860s at her beloved Varmland farmhouse, Mårbaka. For our annual Christm…

1
THE WILD CHILD Alice Roosevelt 1:02:29

8M ago1:02:29

1:02:29

When Alice Roosevelt's dad became President of the United States, her family became the center of attention for the entire country (and the world) - and that was just how she liked it. Whether smoking on the White House roof, racing her bright red motorcar through the streets of Washington DC, or wearing her snake Emily Spinach as jewelry while att…

1
THE BOSTON BRAHMIN Ethel Gibson Allen 58:36

8M ago58:36

58:36

Come with us to peak Gilded Age America! We'll watch a charmingly unconventional love story unfold, cure yellow fever, stare at some incredible wallpaper and explore fascinating reasons why women should NOT vote. Katie takes us on location to Ethel Gibson Allen's Boston mansion, now the Gibson House Museum. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit p…

1
THE BLOOD COUNTESS Elizabeth Báthory 55:06

9M ago55:06

55:06

Countess Elizabeth Báthory was a monster - a sadistic, murderous, vampire-witch who, in her castle in Hungary in the early 1600s, tortured and murdered over 600 young girls, then bathed in the blood of her victims. Or did she? Was she truly the supreme supernatural evil of 500 years of legend? Or was she an innocent victim of witch-hunt hysteria an…

1
THE MONGOL KHATUN Genghis Khan's Daughters 1:03:33

10M ago1:03:33

1:03:33

Without the daughters of Genghis Khan, there would have been no Mongol Empire. Four women ruled over North, South, East, and West, in what would become the largest land empire in the history of the world. It's a story you've never heard, because the sisters were literally cut out of the Mongol records. Join us with eminent Mongol scholar Jack Weath…

1
THE QUEEN OF HAITI Marie-Louise Christophe 50:51

10M ago50:51

50:51

Say you join a revolution in the name of liberty and equality. Then someone hands you a crown. Could you do more good, with that power? Or will everything fall apart? Come with us to Haiti and across Europe in the twisty-turny tale of THE QUEEN OF HAITI, Marie-Louise Christophe. Katie's guest is Vanessa Riley, author of Queen of Exiles. To learn mo…

1
THE ANTI-FASCIST Gerda Taro 46:16

11M ago46:16

46:16

How did a 25-year-old German Jewish refugee with no formal photography training become 'half of' the most celebrated war photographer in history? Returning guest Kip Wilson takes us right into the heart of the Spanish Civil War to meet Gerda Taro - subject of Wilson's newest novel One Last Shot and the most famous photojournalist you've never heard…

1
THE CLEANING LADY Seraphine of Senlis 57:24

1y ago57:24

57:24

How did a lifelong cleaning lady become one of the most beloved painters in French history? In 1905, the voice of the Virgin Mary told orphaned, uneducated maid Seraphine to paint, and she obeyed. Her small French town was on the front line of both world wars, and through it all she painted her kaleidoscopic view. She gave her paintings to everyone…

1
THE WESTERN WOMAN Rattlesnake Kate Slaughterback 1:02:02

1y ago1:02:02

1:02:02

The day "Rattlesnake Kate" Slaughterback (armed with only a rifle, 4 bullets, and a "No Hunting" sign) successfully shot, slashed and smashed her way through hundreds of rattlesnakes to save herself and her son, a legend was born. But that's just the beginning of her story... Olivia is on location at the Greeley History Museum with Grammy-nominated…

1
THE WOMAN KING Hatshepsut 59:15

1y ago59:15

59:15

The Pharaoh Hatshepsut is probably the most successful woman king Egypt ever had - so why doesn't anyone know how to say her name? Discover this enigmatic, fascinating woman with returning guest and fan-favorite Egyptologist Kara Cooney. Music featured in this episode used by kind permission of Michael Levy, Remon Sakr, Kevin MacLeod and Quincas Mo…

1
THE PUNA HELE Mary Kawena Puku'i 39:30

1y ago39:30

39:30

“I have only one favor to ask of people: to take care of their stories.” When Mary Kawena Puku’i was born, her grandmother named her the PUNA HELE, the one who would carry their Hawaiian tradition and culture into the future. Not an easy task, since she was born in 1895-- the year Hawaii was overthrown and annexed by the United States! But she rose…

1
THE ACCUSED Clara Ford 1:00:51

1y ago1:00:51

1:00:51

When Clara Ford - a poor, Black, cross-dressing, pipe smoking, single mother - was arrested for the murder of dashing, young, white Frank Westwood, nobody expected her to avoid the noose. So how did this unexpected heroine talk her way out of the death sentence - even after she confessed? Olivia takes us to 19th century Toronto for a wild True Crim…

1
THE DISCOVERY Naia 55:30

1+ y ago55:30

55:30

In a deep dark underwater cave, Mexican divers in 2007 found a mountain of prehistoric animal bones…and one human skeleton. It was Naia– the oldest skeleton ever discovered in the Americas. What can her bones tell us about our human origins? And more than that, what do they tell us about what it means to be human? Come with us on location to Dos Pa…

1
THE SUN QUEEN Maria Telkes 1:00:56

1+ y ago1:00:56

1:00:56

Her pioneering work on solar heat and solar energy would change science forever – but it was her passionate dedication to humanity that made her a true visionary. Meet the remarkable Maria Telkes, subject of the amazing American Experience documentary The Sun Queen, with Olivia’s guests: Writer/Producer Gene Tempest and Director Amanda Pollack. Mus…

1
THE PIRATE QUEEN OF CONNACHT Grace O'Malley 50:47

1+ y ago50:47

50:47

Her story was long consigned to legend and fantasy. An Irish pirate queen who commanded a fleet of ships from Spain to Scotland…in the 1500s?! Not likely. But in the 1990s, historian Anne Chambers found a trove of documents in a dusty old chest at Westport House, and the tales of Grace O’Malley were proven to be marvelously, fantastically, true. Jo…

1
THE USELESS HOUSEWIFE SCIENTIST Beverly Paigen 1:04:58

1+ y ago1:04:58

1:04:58

When the mothers of Love Canal learned that their neighborhood was built on a chemical dump, they began the fight of their lives. First for information, and then to escape their own homes. But without biologist Beverly Paigen - who put her reputation, her career, and maybe even her own safety on the line - it would never have happened. Discover thi…

1
THE WARDEN Maria van Nispen 43:19

1+ y ago43:19

43:19

We often hear about history’s various Golden Ages, but what about when good times were over? Maria van Nispen, a bricklayer’s daughter, came of age during the Dutch “Disaster Year,” 1672. Justice, stability, even the Republic itself seemed lost. If you can’t change the world, change yourself… Travel with Katie to Leiden archives to unearth this rem…

1
THE INAUGURAL BALLER Lusia Harris 42:50

1+ y ago42:50

42:50

When Lusia Harris convinced her parents to let her try out for High School basketball, she never could've anticipated she'd end up scoring the first basket in Olympic Women’s Basketball history. Facing unprecedented hurdles at every step of her career, she broke records, made history, and changed women’s sports forever... and that’s just the beginn…

1
A COUNTRY HOUSE CHRISTMAS Phyllis Sandeman - 2022 Christmas Special 44:25

1+ y ago44:25

44:25

The darkest time of year inspires us all to reflect on the meaning and power of Home. Experience Christmas in a grand country house through the eyes of an Edwardian child in this charming reading of Phyllis Elinor Sandeman’s memoir, A Country House Christmas performed by returning What'sHerName favorite Jay Stelling. Guest Jay Stelling is an illust…

1
THE QUEEN OF THE WEST Dale Evans 1:00:36

1+ y ago1:00:36

1:00:36

She always wanted to make it to Broadway. Instead she became Hollywood’s most iconic cowgirl, roping and riding (and most importantly – singing!) her way into the hearts of millions of fans. So when your life is one giant triumph – but not the triumph you aimed for – what do you do? Olivia interviews Theresa Kaminski, author of the wonderful new bi…

1
THE BRIDGE Brigid of Kildare 56:27

1+ y ago56:27

56:27

St. Brigid tended an eternal flame in Kildare, Ireland, while caring for people, animals, and the earth. And though she lived 1500 years ago, her story is seeing a huge resurgence in the 21st century. Come on location with Katie to the Solas Bhride Centre in Kildare to meet Brigidine nun, Sister Rita Minehan. We promise a balm for your weary soul! …

1
THE NURSE Mary Seacole 1:01:14

1+ y ago1:01:14

1:01:14

What would it look like to live a life without fear? Mary Seacole’s story may hold the answer! She spent her life rushing from one catastrophe to the next, doing anything she could to ease human suffering – without a single thought for her own safety. From disease-infested Panamanian goldmines to the horrific battlefield hospitals of Crimea – Mary …

1
THE POISONER Goeie Mie 40:36

2y ago40:36

40:36

The most prolific poisoner of all time couldn’t possibly have been a woman. Right??! Goeie Mie, “Good Maria,” was such a selfless and kindly nurse that desperate folks in 19th-century Leiden called her when they were sick, knowing she’d come even if they couldn’t pay. But they got worse, and worse, and usually died in misery. Goeie Mie had life ins…

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