American Medieval is a podcast about the history of the Middle Ages, but with an American twist. Each week, host Prof. Matthew Gabriele is joined by expert guests to explore not medieval history, but how and why the Middle Ages have such a hold on our collective imagination. After all, if America has never been modern, it’s because we’ve always been slightly medieval.New episodes released every Wednesday. Be inscribed into the Book of Life, Drink with us Historians, and get ad-free episodes by subscribing at patreon.com/americanmedieval
Latest episodes
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56 min
October Medieval News with David M. Perry & Thomas Lecaque
We back. We talk cool medieval hillforts with Roman technology, and the passing of a medieval historian everyone should know about (and read). GuestThomas Lecaque is an Associate P…
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1 h 00
Medieval True Crime with Sara McDougall
Prof. Gabriele and Sara McDougall talk about her new book, a medieval true crime thriller about an alleged sexual assault in medieval France, and how we can know so much about the…
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54 min
Creatures of Myth with Julia Perratore and Joanne Pillsbury
We’re back at the Cloisters (in NYC) in this episode! Prof. Gabriele is joined by Joanne Pillsbury and Julia Perratorre to talk about the exhibition “Creatures of Myth and Imaginat…
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56 min
Stealing St. Nick with M.T. Anderson
Prof. Gabriele is joined by the National Book Award winning author M. T. Anderson to talk about his new book Stealing Saint Nick. We talk about the saint, the heist and its cast of…
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1 h 06
September Medieval News with David M. Perry & Thomas Lecaque
Medieval in the neeeeeeews… This week we talk Bayeux Tapestry, the anti-LLM vibes in our classrooms, and how to ethically use technology in studying the past. Plus no one knows abo…
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52 min
Medieval Dungeon Crawling with Stephen Yeager
Prof. Gabriele and Stephen Yeager talk about how medieval “aventure” (adventures) have a lot in common with Twitch streams and the epic Dungeon Crawler Carl phenomenon. Who knew? G…
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53 min
Medieval Caves with Alexander D’Alisera
Prof. Gabriele and Alex talk about caves. Geologic time. Mystical experiences. Hiding stuff from the fuzz. Plus the idea of total darkness is freaky.GuestAlexander D’Alisera is an…
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1 h 06
Turin Shroud (Crossover with Tiny Matters Podcast)
In this crossover episode with Tiny Matters, we talk about a new scientific study (and some older studies) of the Turin Shroud. Prof. Gabriele talks about its history and about med…
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52 min
August Medieval News with David M. Perry & Thomas Lecaque
In our 1st episode of its kind, we talk about the Middle Ages [in a “Pigs in Space” voice”] in the news. Prof. Gabriele is joined by David M. Perry and Thomas Lecaque to talk about…
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54 min
“Neomedieval” Detroit with Rachel Gabriele
Hey! It’s a great episode, perhaps the best episode because our guest this week [Borat voice] MY WIFE! Rachel Gabriele talks with us about Detroit and how the city tells stories ab…
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58 min
Medieval Tattoos with Esther Liberman Cuenca
There was no word for tattoo (in Europe) before the 18th century or so, but people had tattoos. Esther Cuenca talks about how to get at the lives of the 90% of the population who o…
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56 min
Medieval Conspiracy Theories with Elise Wang
This episode is about stories and what they do. Medievals told them (as we do today, often without knowing it!) that conveyed truth, but not necessarily fact. This is where conspir…
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57 min
Let’s go to Hell with Stephen Hopkins
Stephen Hopkins has been thinking about Hell for a long time, and so have medieval Christians. But only one of them grew up in Ohio. Plus there are 2 killer puns towards the end th…
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56 min
Medieval Sicily and the Mediterranean with Sarah Davis-Secord
Sicily isn’t just cannoli (but it is, and they’re great). In the Middle Ages, this was an island filled with Latin Christians, Greek Christians, Muslims, and Jews — and one that ke…
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1 h 00
American (Medieval) Monsters with Surekha Davies
Monstrification. Prof. Gabriele talks with Surekha Davies about Star Trek and how that led to a career studying monsters in the European imagination, plus how embracing wonder help…
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57 min
The Medieval F-Word (“Feudalism”) with Ada Kuskowski
The medieval F-word. Ada Kuskowski and Prof. Gabriele talk about “Feudalism” and how it’s a term that’s more about modernity than the Middle Ages. It’s Adam Smith’s fault.GuestAda…
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1 h 05
Medieval Plays in Modern Times with Andrew Albin
Imagine walking down the street and seeing a fox arguing with a wolf, or some dudes on a cart talking about the end of the world. That’s (part of) medieval drama, baby. Prof. Gabri…
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58 min
Opera and Medievalism with Hannah Weaver
Matt and Hannah talk opera and how it uses the Middle Ages, because there is A LOT of medievalism in opera - far beyond the stereotypes we have in our head about Wagner. There’s so…
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59 min
Medieval Techno-Optimism with Jennifer Jahner
This episode we talk about Roger Bacon, maybe not perfect for Instagram but not far off. There’s some medieval science (and using data to understand the medieval world), some alche…
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51 min
The 100 (200?) Years War with Michael Livingston
Michael and Matt talk about wars between England and France. There were a lot of them, or maybe there was just one. Plus we talk about humility in doing the work of history and how…