Instant Classics

Exploring Anne Carson

It’s not every year that a classicist wins the Nobel Prize for Literature (in fact, it hasn’t happened since 1959), so Mary and Charlotte interrupt the schedule to reflect on Anne Carson’s extraordina...

2026-10-22

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Roman Cancel Culture

We think of cancel culture as a 21st-century phenomenon, but it’s been going on since the ancient Egyptians (if not earlier) and the Romans were enthusiastic adopters as a strategy for control. Mary a...

2026-10-15

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What did Roman emperors really look like?

There are thousands of surviving busts and sculptures of Roman emperors, but… do we actually know what they looked like? The problem is that the function of these statues was less to do with realistic...

2026-10-08

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The Bayeux Tapestry: Britain’s Lost Latin masterpiece

Mary and Charlotte delve into the stitching of the Bayeux Tapestry, a 224-foot long narrative embroidery charting William the Conqueror’s successful invasion of England in 1066. Little is certain abou...

2026-10-01

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Classic Chats: Daniel Mendelsohn on translating the Odyssey

Mary and Charlotte talk to Daniel Mendelsohn, one of America’s most revered classicists, whose new translation of the Odyssey was published last year.  Daniel’s decision to translate the Odyssey...

2026-09-24

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How Homer’s Odyssey Conquered the English-speaking World

Last episode, Mary and Charlotte looked at how Homer’s Odyssey was reinterpreted in the Ancient World by writers like Euripides, Virgil and Ovid. In this episode, they show how it shaped English ficti...

2026-09-17

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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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Instant Classics

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