Instant Classics

How Homer's Odyssey Conquered the Ancient World

Ever since the Odyssey was composed, people have retold the story, played with it or used it as a departure point for similar or related stories. In this episode, Mary and Charlotte look at what happe...

2026-09-10

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The Vestal Virgins - just how virginal were they?

Few elements of ancient Rome have inspired quite such lurid speculation – by the Romans as well as ourselves – as the vestal virgins. Mary and Charlotte enter the (imaginary) temple of Vesta to separa...

2026-09-03

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Classic Chats: Robert Harris on ‘Agrippa’

Mary and Charlotte talk to best-selling author Robert Harris about his new novel ‘Agrippa’. Robert Harris has published 16 novels, of which nine have been made into films, including The Ghost Writer, ...

2026-08-27

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Marcus Agrippa: Power behind the throne

Of all the Roman Emperors, Augustus has the reputation of being the most… well… august. That is to say, competent, level-headed and judicious. Not to mention one of the few who died of natural causes....

2026-08-20

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BONUS Emily Wilson on translating the Odyssey

A few months back we spoke to Emily Wilson on our subscriber series Exploring the Odyssey. Emily has been in the news recently, partly because her acclaimed 2017 translation of The Odyssey inspired Ch...

2026-08-18

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Classic Chats: Charlotte Higgins on Ukrainian Lessons

Mary talks to Charlotte about her book Ukrainian Lessons: Art in a Time of War. For the last four years, Charlotte has returned repeatedly to Ukraine to report on the cultural life of the nation as it...

2026-08-13

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BONUS: Which Translation of the Odyssey should I read?

With the world gripped by Odyssey fever, Mary and Charlotte keep being asked the same question: which translation should I read? So here is a quick bonus episode to help you decide.  Mary and Ch...

2026-08-10

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Classical Beach Reads

Summer is here (in the northern hemisphere at least) and with many listeners eyeing trips to the beach, Mary and Charlotte are here with some cracking beach read suggestions. Move over Carley Fortune,...

2026-08-06

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Classic Chats: Count Binface (Bonus episode)

In this Clacton byelection special, Count Binface takes a break from the campaign trail and zooms in from his spaceship to chat with Mary and Charlotte about his deep interest in Ancient Greece and Ro...

2026-08-03

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Classic Chats: Tom Hiddleston on Pompeii

Last week, actor Tom Hiddleston launched his new series - not the further adventures of Loki (at least, not yet), but Pompeii: Out of Time with Tom Hiddleston. Mary and Charlotte talk to Tom who revea...

2026-07-30

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Christopher Nolan's Odyssey 3: The Pedants Revolt

Last week, Mary and Charlotte gave their instant verdict on Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey only hours after emerging from the premiere, dazzled somewhat by the proximity of so much A-list talent. A week ...

2026-07-23

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Christopher Nolan's Odyssey 2: Instant Verdict

Mary and Charlotte emerge from the premiere of The Odyssey, pausing only for a night’s rest, before regathering in the morning with strong coffees to give their instant verdict on Christopher Nolan’s ...

2026-07-16

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Christopher Nolan's Odyssey 1: What you need to know before you go

Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of The Odyssey - the most eagerly anticipated event since Odysseus spied the shores of Ithaca - is almost with us at last. Mary and Charlotte have been exploring Homer’s...

2026-07-09

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USA 250: “I’m Spartacus!”

Mary and Charlotte welcome Professor Maria Wyke back on the show to talk about two of the most famous words in cinema: “I’m Spartacus!” Hollywood has always had an obsession with Ancient Rome. So much...

2026-07-02

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USA 250: Building a new Rome

Shortly after its formation, the United States of America initiated a building program for both state and federal governments, turning to Ancient Greece and Rome for inspiration. As Mary and Charlotte...

2026-06-25

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USA 250: President Jackson and the Emperor’s Tomb

Last year, Mary spent nine months in Washington D.C. During this time, she became interested in visual iconography and real objects of Ancient Greece and Rome on display in the city’s museums and stre...

2026-06-18

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USA 250: America’s Roman Revolution

In case you haven’t noticed… the USA is celebrating a special anniversary. Mary and Charlotte talk to one of America’s leading scholars of ancient Rome and its modern reception, Joy Connolly, about wh...

2026-06-11

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What did the Romans dream about?

Nearly 2000 years before Sigmund Freud published The Interpretation of Dreams, a sage in Ephesus (now in Turkey) wrote a book whose title translates as… The Interpretation of Dreams. Armed with Artemi...

2026-06-04

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Cleopatra 5: Cleopatra on Screen

Mary and Charlotte talk to Professor Maria Wyke, classicist and film historian, about Cleopatra’s rebirth on the screen. By far the most famous Cleopatra film is the 1963 epic starring Elizabeth Taylo...

2026-05-28

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Cleopatra 4: Cleopatra on the Page

Mary and Charlotte talk to Lucy Hughes-Hallett, acclaimed biographer and author of ‘Cleopatra: Histories, Dreams and Distortions’, about Cleopatra’s afterlife on the page. Lucy begins by observing tha...

2026-05-21

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Instant Classics

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