OI Podcast Episode 16Afrofuturism: Ancient Egypt in Speculative FictionYtasha WomackTime as a web, weaved in storytelling to offer a remix of narratives exploring who we are and how we got here. Author Ytasha Womack, "Afrofuturism: The Worl

OI Podcast Episode 15, Egyptian Influences/Contemporary Music

Jun 23rd, 2021 28m 31s

OI Podcast Episode 15Egyptian Influences/Contemporary MusicAndrew ListAncient Egypt offers a feast of inspiration. From the mammoth carved temples to the intimate, painted tombs, visitors to these sites often daydream a fantasy of what life

OI Podcast Episode 14, The Lyre Ensemble, Part 2

Jun 22nd, 2021 25m 49s

OI Podcast Episode 14The Lyre Ensemble, Part 2Playing the Gold Lyre of UrContemporary music played on an ancient Lyre. The Lyre Ensemble continues a discussion on the recreation of the Gold Lyre of Ur, focusing on both the possibilities and

OI Podcast Episode 13: The Lyre Ensemble, Part 1

Jun 22nd, 2021 26m 55s

OI Podcast Episode 13The Lyre Ensemble, Part 1Recreating the Gold Lyre of UrWhat might ancient Mesopotamian music sound like?Inspired by both this question and the 2003 looting at the Baghdad Museum, harpist Andy Lowings set out to recreat

OI Podcast Episode 12: Demons In Ancient Egypt with Rita Lucarelli

Jun 22nd, 2021 31m 59s

OI Podcast Episode 12Demons in Ancient EgyptRita LucarelliFrom Pazuzu to Baphomet, demons in modern pop culture are figures of dark terror and fear. In the ancient world, the concepts of demons weren't always so simple.The OI's Steven Tow

In the Wake of the Phoenicians by David Schloen

Nov 20th, 2020 48m 53s

In the Wake of the Phoenicians: Makers of the MediterraneanPresented by David Schloen, OIFrom olive oil to the alphabet, the Phoenicians left a lasting mark on the Mediterranean. The OI's David Schloen guides us through exciting new research

OI Podcast Episode 11: Who Is Medjed?

Nov 20th, 2020 36m 1s

OI Podcast Episode 11Who Is Medjed?Ilaria CariddiAn obscure Egyptian deity has exploded into Japan's popular culture. Who is this mysterious marshmallow? And why is it becoming more popular than Isis and Osiris?The OI's Steven Townshend s

The Public Display of Things from the Holy Land by Morag Kersel

Oct 22nd, 2020 35m 43s

Truth or Consequences: The Public Display of Things from the Holy LandPresented by Morag M. Kersel, DePaul UniversityWhen museums place items on display they take on multiple roles as custodians of sacred relics, shapers of public interpret

OI Podcast Episode 10: Plague Prayers of the Ancient Hittites Part 2

Sep 13th, 2020 13m 20s

OI Podcast Episode 10Plague Prayers of the Ancient Hittites Part 2Theo van den HoutEarly in the 14th Century BCE, the Hittites faced a twenty year plague. How did these ancient Anatolians deal with pandemics? While the methods may be differ

OI Podcast Episode 9: Plague Prayers of the Ancient Hittites

Aug 10th, 2020 30m 16s

OI Podcast Episode 9Plague Prayers of the Ancient HittitesTheo van den HoutEarly in the 14th Century BCE, the Hittites faced a twenty year plague. How did these ancient Anatolians deal with pandemics? While the methods may be different, not

Uncovering History Episode 8: Searching the Hittite Skies

Jul 30th, 2020 18m 23s

Uncovering History Episode 8Searching the Hittite SkiesEmily SmithPhD student in Hittitology, OIJust in time for summer stargazing, Emily Smith joins Steven Townshend for a discussion on comets, eclipses, and other celestial occurrences i

Uncovering History Episode 7: Awakening the Dead for Love Part 2

Jun 22nd, 2020 44m 12s

Uncovering History Episode 7Awakening the Dead for Love Part 2 | Robert Ritner, Rowe Professor of Egyptology, and Foy Scalf, OIIn this episode Steven talks from home with Robert Ritner, the Rowe Professor of Egyptology, OI, and Foy Scalf, h

Uncovering History Episode 6: Awakening the Dead for Love

Apr 30th, 2020 41m 7s

Awakening the Dead for Love | Robert Ritner, Rowe Professor of Egyptology, and Foy Scalf, OIIn this episode Steven talks from home with Robert Ritner, the Rowe Professor of Egyptology, OI, and Foy Scalf, head of the OI research archives to ex

Judean and Egyptian Novellas of the Achaemenid and Hellenistic Periods by Joey Cross

Apr 14th, 2020 58m 36s

Joey Cross, PhD candidate in the department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago, presents an at-home lecture that explores the elements of storytelling in the Achaemenid and Hellenistic periods, while shinin

The Rise of Ancient Israel and Other Problematic Entities by Ayelet Gilboa

Mar 31st, 2020 1h 16m

Oriental Institute Membership lecture for CentennialThe Rise of Ancient Israel and Other Problematic EntitiesAyelet Gilboa, Director of the Zinman Institute of ArchaeologyThis audio recording was originally presented as an illustrated lect

Exploring the Roots of the Vine by Stephen Batiuk

Mar 18th, 2020 54m 29s

Exploring the Roots of the Vine: The History and Archaeology of the Earliest WinesStephen BatiukStephen Batiuk examines new archaeological fieldwork and biomolecular chemistry and genetics that are pushing the origins of wine back to the Ne

On Judicial Violence in Mesopotamia: The Problem of An Eye For An Eye by Martha Roth

Mar 5th, 2020 55m 36s

OI Centennial Year Members' Lecture"On Judicial Violence in Mesopotamia: The Problem of an Eye for an Eye"Martha RothChauncey S. Boucher Distinguished Service Professor of AssyriologyDepartment of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations

Star Wars and Religion by Russell Johnson

Mar 2nd, 2020 55m 10s

Star Wars and ReligionRussell JohnsonUniversity of Chicago Divinity SchoolRussell Johnson, University of Chicago Divinity School, uses the core episodes of George Lucas's epic vision to explore several of the worlds religious traditions. T

Anatolians on the Move: From Kurgans to Kanesh by Petra Goedegebuure

Feb 19th, 2020 59m 39s

The Marija Gimbutas Memorial LectureAnatolians on the Move: From Kurgans to KaneshPetra GoedegebuureAssociate Professor of HittitologyLast year Sir Colin Renfrew opened the Marija Gimbutas lecture series acknowledging that she was essenti

A New Iron Age Kingdom in Anatolia by James Osborne and Michele Massa

Jan 9th, 2020 59m 59s

A New Irong Age Kingdom in AnatoliaJames OsborneAssistant Professor of Anatolian ArchaeologyMichele MassaBritish Institute at Ankara, Honorary FellowIn 2019, discoveries made by the Konya Regional Archaeological Survey Project, directed

What We Learned from 25 Years of Research at Catalhoyuk by Ian Hodder

Dec 12th, 2019 1h 9m

Braidwood Visiting Scholar LectureWhat we learned from 25 Years of Research at Catalhoyukby Ian HodderStanford University, Director of the Catalhoyuk Archaeological ProjectThis audio recording was originally presented as an illustrated le

Seven Brides with Seven Stingers: The Scorpion Wives of Horus by Robert Ritner

Nov 19th, 2019 59m 27s

Seven Brides with Seven Stingers: The Scorpion Wives of HorusPresented by Robert Ritner, Professor of Egyptology, University of ChicagoA lectured delivered on October 9, 1996, in Breasted Hall of the Oriental Institute, introduced by William

The OI in Iraq by McGuire Gibson

Nov 8th, 2019 57m 32s

The OI in IraqMcGuire GibsonProfessor of Mesopotamian ArchaeologyThis lecture was live streamed on Wednesday, November 6, 2019 at 7 PM Central Time. This audio recording was originally presented as an illustrated lecture. The video of this

How Ancient Israel Began by David Ilan

Oct 23rd, 2019 1h 8m

David A. Kipper Ancient Israel Lecture Series:How Ancient Israel Began: A New Archaeological PerspectiveDavid Ilan, Hebrew Union College; Director, Tel DanOver the last 100 years , a number of models have been proposed to explain the origin

Sex in Babylonia by Jerry Cooper

Aug 28th, 2019 57m 58s

Everything You've Always Wanted to Know about Sex in Babylonia . . .Lecture by Jerry Cooper, W. W. Spence Professor of Semitic Languages Emeritus, The Johns Hopkins UniversityThis breezy look at 3000 years of sex in ancient Mesopotamia will