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 of that work that expects no prior knowledge, and finally, an analysis of the cultural, biographical, and historical forces that gave rise to the work in question. Original symphonic and ambient background music is woven throughout each show, and all episodes offer free full, illustrated, footnoted transcriptions as well as quizzes for purposes of review. The show has no advertisements, and its host takes pride in a professional approach that avoids chitchat and ephemera and gets straight to the educational content. You can listen to the episodes in any order, although most listeners begin at the beginning and proceed from there, as the podcast itself is chronologically organized.
Doug Metzger finished his Ph.D. in literature in 2011. His chief scholarly interest, following his dissertation work, continues to be 19th-century realism and postbellum American philosophy.
Latest Episode
Previous Episodes
- Episode 114: The Life of Muhammad, Part 1: Cobwebs 16.07.2025
- Episode 113: Antarah ibn Shaddad 15.06.2025
- Episode 112: Pre-Islamic Arabic Poetry 14.05.2025
- Episode 111: Pre-Islamic Arabia 15.04.2025
- Episode 110: Questions 22.03.2025
- Episode 109: Cornerstones 15.03.2025
- Episode 108: Isidore of Seville 15.02.2025
- Episode 107: Venantius Fortunatus 15.01.2025
- Episode 106: Gregory of Tours, Part 2 14.12.2024
- Episode 105: Gregory of Tours, Part 1 07.11.2024
- Episode 104: An Introduction to the Talmud 09.08.2024
- Episode 103: Boethius 22.09.2023
- Episode 102: An Old Man's Book (Augustine's City of God, Part 2 of 2) 04.03.2023
- Episode 101: Against the Pagans (Augustine's City of God, Part 1 of 2) 04.02.2023
- Episode 100: Late Have I Loved You (Augustine's Confessions, Books 9-13) 31.12.2022
- Episode 99: The Boy Who Stole Pears (Augustine's Confessions, Books 1-7) 10.12.2022
- Episode 98: The Life and Works of Saint Jerome 11.11.2022
- Episode 97: Blood and Ivy (Nonnus' Dionysiaca, Books 25-48) 08.05.2022
- Episode 96: The Last Pagan Epic (Nonnus' Dionysiaca, Books 1-24) 01.11.2021
- Episode 95: Rutilius Namatianus 18.10.2021
