What's the last thing you saw/heard/played etc. ?

[AEGYPTUS]

I really enjoyed Gladiator, I have to agree the music was sad but truly sublime I love Lisa Gerrard she is a talented vocalist, also, Hans Zimmer is a great composer!!!

Edited February 18, 2012 by AEGYPTUS

[Artimi]

 

I seemed to be hooked this series historical snippets with modern music,.

 

I think partly because of the music.

[NoJobRob]

Not sure if this has been shared anywhere yet, but I recently found this long series of podcasts about ancient Rome. You can even download the files and make a playlist out of them, and keep them handy for whenever you want to listen to them.

 

http://www.learnoutloud.com/Podcast-Directory/History/European-History/The-History-of-Rome-Podcast/25263#plink

[Crispina]

I bookmarked the site. Thanks.

[caesar novus]

found this long series of podcasts about ancient Rome.

Can anyone vouch for the quality of this, like by choosing a bit of history you are familiar with and see how true his story is? Probably this is fine, but I remember downloading all kinds of Roman history in the early days of podcasts and gradually realized they were often questionable accounts by enthusiasts just skimming thru a book and stereotyping at will. Sure, that is what I do in this very forum, but at least here it is exposed for people to dispute and correct.

[GhostOfClayton]

An excuse to point you in the direction of a wonderful BBC Radio 4 programme that we just haven't talked enough about (to my knowledge) on this forum:

 

A History of the World in 100 Objects

 

A joint project of BBC Radio 4 and the British Museum, comprising a 100-part radio series written and presented by British Museum director Neil MacGregor. In 15-minute presentations MacGregor uses objects of ancient art, industry, technology and arms, all of which are in the British Museum's collections, as an introduction to parts of human history.

 

From our point of view, the only Roman Artefact is the 'Head of Augustus', but they're all fascinating.

 

 

Available on BBC iPlayer (if you're resident in this sceptered isle) or as a podcast on iTunes (if you're not).

[GhostOfClayton]

found this long series of podcasts about ancient Rome.

Can anyone vouch for the quality of this, like by choosing a bit of history you are familiar with and see how true his story is? Probably this is fine, but I remember downloading all kinds of Roman history in the early days of podcasts and gradually realized they were often questionable accounts by enthusiasts just skimming thru a book and stereotyping at will. Sure, that is what I do in this very forum, but at least here it is exposed for people to dispute and correct.

 

Because of the sheer amount of time I spend travelling these days, I've been listening to this podcast (available on Apple iTunes, as well). He started on the very founding of Rome, Romulus and Remus, etc, and so far I have listened almost as far as the battle of the Teutoberg Forest. I have nothing but praise for the man and his podcast. It's professionally put together, well read, well researched, and strikes the perfect balance between what could be a dry acedemic lecture, and what could be pure entertainment. The length (at between 20 and 30 minutes each) is just right.

 

As to the content, the detail is there (Battle of Teutoberg Forest is number 55, which should give you an idea). He hasn't got to my area of expertise yet, but what I can say is that he has made errors, but only a handful, which have been corrected in the following episode. He clearly has a listenership that is prepared to let him know of any inaccuracies, so we can be happy about the content, I think. He is also at pains to point out where certain stuff is historical opinion, or although part of the accepted historical record, not really credible.

 

Listen to it if you have the opportunity. You won't regret it. But I accept you'll need to devote quite a chunk of your life to it.

Edited April 30, 2012 by GhostOfClayton

[DecimusCaesar]

The last Roman themed program I watched was Mary Beard's 'Meet the Romans'. I haven't seen a single full episode yet, but from what I saw the program was very good. I'm personally quite interested in the various inscriptions left on Roman graves, and this documentary emphasised this quite heavily. Unfortunately I've lost track of the rest of the series, so I really hope that the BBC releases this series on DVD. Any other UK residents been tuning into the program?

[GhostOfClayton]

found this long series of podcasts about ancient Rome.

Can anyone vouch for the quality of this, like by choosing a bit of history you are familiar with and see how true his story is? Probably this is fine, but I remember downloading all kinds of Roman history in the early days of podcasts and gradually realized they were often questionable accounts by enthusiasts just skimming thru a book and stereotyping at will. Sure, that is what I do in this very forum, but at least here it is exposed for people to dispute and correct.

 

OK - a follow up on my previous post. My area of so-called expertise is the time of Hadrian. Moving backwards, it tapers off slowly back to late Republic, and forwards I'm not really too comfortable past the Severans.

 

I've now listened as far as the co-emperor-ship of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. I haven't changed my opinion one jot. If anything, I now recommend it more highly.