Movies We Dig | Film, Antiquity and Everything in Between

For all those who like to read their Greek myths in comic form, this one's for you! With the help of special guest Erica Rose Hampton, we delve into one of the most famous web comics in the world. While you may love it or hate it, it is undeniable that Rachel Smythe's Lore Olympus embraces and modernizes the heavy topics presented to us in myths, making it a compelling piece of modern reception. Plus, who doesn't love revisiting th...

It wouldn't be a series finale episode if we didn't go out with a bang! Joined by the creators of Blood of Zeus, Charley and Vlas Parlapanides, as well as the voice actors for the series' leads of Heron (Derek Phillips) and Seraphim (Elias Toufexis), we delve into the creative process of producing one of our favorite modern retellings of Greek myth. Though our heroic brothers may be at odds in the show, the camaraderie of the write...

"All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players." That's right! We trade in one mysterious bard for another as we tackle Christie's pick for a favorite film, She's The Man. This adaptation of a Disney Channel Original Movie, Motocro... uhh we mean, Shakespeare's Twelfth Night has everything one could hope for: shenanigans, soccer, romance, and early 2000s female empowerment through masquerading as a man. Oh, and ...

Did the Predator aliens invent toxic masculinity? Are billionaire's secretly chill dudes? Would this be Freud's all-time favorite movie? Yes.

We take a (slight) detour from our usual survey grounds to talk about our first personal pick (thank you, Elijah): Alien vs. Predator (2004), aka The Predator Industrial Complex. Join us for a review of this classic tale of human explorers finding themselves caught in a centuries-long stru...

This episode could totally rewrite our chronology of pyramid movies! Join us as we uncover the tomb of unspeakable (unwatchable?) horrors that is the 2014 found-footage horror film, The Pyramid. Joined by super special guest and Egyptologist extraordinaire Briana Jackson, we attempt to make sense of this confusing three-sided pyramid. We talk cannibal cats, abused camera men and why is Anubis is actually a good boy who did nothing ...

Social media may be a dumpster fire these days, but every once in a while it takes us by surprise. In this case, it’s a new take on Homer’s Odyssey as a concept album titled Epic with music and lyrics by Jorge “Jay” Rivera-Herrans. Bopping along to all the highs and lows of this musical experience is the lovely Wren Fleming, a writer and long time friend of the podcast. Maybe we’re all musical theater kids at heart, because this is...

Man's reach should forever exceed his podcast. Join us as we talk with super special guest, Flint Dibble, about James Gray's 2016 biopic on early 20th century British explorer Percy Fawcett, The Lost City of Z. We talk archaeology, colonialism and why this is a stealth prequel to the Twilight Saga. Is this a hagiography of an archaeological pioneer or a troubling attempt to smooth other a complicated legacy? Also, it's pronounced '...

Happy Valentine's Day listeners! To celebrate, grab your favorite smutty romance book and your map of questionable origins as we explore the chaotically-fun film, Romancing the Stone. Joining the conversation is the wonderful Raven Todd DaSilva, who helps us to uncover the film's questionable romance and even more questionable archaeology. We uncover the tragic history of the film's screenwriter, it's intriguing relationship with ...

How can men find their way to war but not find their way to a good podcast? Like suitors around Penelope's megaron, we assemble our biggest survey panel ever to court Uberto Pasolini's latest re-imagining of Homer's Odyssey (or the back half at least): The Return (2024). Joining us are guesting hall-of-famers Joel Christensen and Amy Pistone, as well as super-special new suitor, Joe Goodkin. We talk about reception and storytelling...

Grab your witches hats and your godly boons as we delve into the Underworld once again with Hades II. Keep in mind that while the game is still in early access, spoilers abound (including a big one for Final Fantasy VII)! Helping us out with this gaming katabasis is the wonderful Meg Sullivan of History N' Games. We talk about some of our favorite characters and themes from the game thus far, as well as our predictions for where th...

Are you back Indy? We are at least as we uncover the fifth (and final?) installment of the America's favorite archaeologist: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Joining us is super special guest Bill Farley, who helps us unpack a whole range of topics including the Antikythera mechanism, Processualism, Operation Paperclip, digital de-aging technology and the dangers of living in the past (don't do it kids). Listen now or relive ...

They're digging in the right place? We take another look at the most famous archaeologist of all as we revisit the first three Indiana Jones movies: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), The Temple of Doom (1984) and The Last Crusade (1989). Joined by super special guest, author and archaeologist David West Reynolds, we look back on our own experiences with Indy, enormous impact on the public perception of archaeology and what these film...

In this episode we utilize our amazing artistic abilities to *checks notes* stop time(?) and discuss Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis, a modern retelling/allegory of the Catilinarian Conspiracy that took place during the late Roman Republic. Here to help analyze this fever-dream of a film is Dr. Hannah Čulík-Baird, Associate Professor of Classics at UCLA, co-editor of Res Difficiles, and last but not least, a self proclaimed “un...

In this episode we learn that your hosts do not know how to behave themselves without an awesome guest to keep them in line! That being said, Colin, Elijah, and Christie delve into the latest iteration of Tomb Raider from the new Netflix animated series. It has a fully realized Lara, beautiful animation, and a plot that actually requires the heroine to intervene in order to save the world. Yet it feels a little too late for it to m...