The History Cafe

This month on the History Cafe, we are talking about the notorious emperor Nero.  Perhaps most famous for “fiddling while Rome burned,” (and to be fair, when everything was pretty much burned down, Nero built one of the largest palaces ever constructed in Rome, complete with gardens, courtyards, and all the gold one might imagine … Continue reading The Emperor Nero with Will Guast →

This month’s podcast is a double story.  The first narrative is about my recent research into high-speed couriers in the late-medieval period.  It turns out that the city of Valencia (as well as, probably, the king of Aragon and the king of Mallorca) had a group of runners specifically dedicated to transporting their official communication … Continue reading Couriers in Medieval Valencia →

Last time we discussed Charles de Gaulle’s life from his birth through to the beginning of World War II.  This time, we cover de Gaulle’s participation in World War II and his political actions in the post-war period.  For more information, see Part I. In Part I, we began with a nice plate of cheese. … Continue reading Charles de Gaulle with Tim Little – Part II →

Today on the History Cafe, we have part I of an extensive survey of the life of the French statesman and soldier, Charles de Gaulle. Our guest, Tim Little, served as the professor of history at Marlboro college for thirty-five years. He retired (more or less – he still teaches an occasional class) in 2009 … Continue reading Charles de Gaulle with Tim Little – Part I →

Today we have the assistant professor of medieval history from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, Lauren Mancia.  Lauren works on monastic devotional practices and  culture in Normandy, specializing in the writings of the Abbot John of Fécamp (ca. 990-1078 A.D.)  In this podcast, she talks to us about a major shift … Continue reading Affective Piety with Lauren Mancia →