Instant Classics

Instant Classics

Join world-renowned classicist Mary Beard and Guardian chief culture writer Charlotte Higgins for Instant Classics — the weekly podcast that proves ancient history is still relevant. Ancient stories, modern twists… and no degree in Classics required. Become a Member of the Instant Classics Book Club here: https://instantclassics.supportingcast.fm/

Episodes

Cassandra: Prophet Of The Modern World?

October 9, 2025 • 49 mins
Who was the mythical Cassandra and why have pop stars started singing about her? Mary and Charlotte turn sleuth and track the elusive Trojan princess through the pages of ancient texts - from Homer’s Iliad to Virgil’s Aeneid.  Today, Cassandra is most famous as a prophetess who could predict the future, but was cursed to never be believed. As a result, Troy burned and Agamemnon and Cassandra herself were murdered. Generally, that ...
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How did Rome begin?

October 2, 2025 • 34 mins
We all know what Rome became - largest empire of the ancient world, public bathing, gladiators, aqueducts, excellent roads and all that - but how did it begin? Who founded it? When? And why? Mary and Charlotte sift through the various myths that give some insight to these questions.  Peel back the layers of history and Rome’s origins are lost in the bog on which it was built. Archaeology offers us evidence of Bronze Age huts, buri...
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Decoding The Parthenon

September 25, 2025 • 52 mins
The Parthenon is one of the most celebrated and recognisable buildings in the world, but what did it mean to the Ancient Greeks? What role did it play in Greek society? And what did it look like in its heyday? Together, Mary and Charlotte decode the Parthenon.  By happy coincidence, Mary is not just co-host of Instant Classics, but author of Charlotte’s favourite book on the subject: The Parthenon (Profile/Harvard University Press...
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Free Speech - An Ancient History

September 18, 2025 • 47 mins
In the wake of recent conflicts over free speech and acts of political violence, Mary and Charlotte discuss how - then as now - free speech dominated the political agenda in the ancient world, with wildly different interpretations about what it meant and who got to decide.  They discuss two distinct, yet complimentary principles in Ancient Athenian democracy: Parrhesia (free or frank speech) and isegoria (the equal right to speak)...
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The Odyssey#2: "Tell Me About A Complicated Man, Muse"

September 16, 2025 • 25 mins
Tell me about a complicated man, muse… In this episode of Instant Classics Book Club, Mary and Charlotte dwell on the first ten lines of The Odyssey (as translated by Emily Wilson) and show how it contains not only a summary of the story that follows, but introduces the themes, the subject, and the way the story will be told. Whoever Homer was, they were not a blind sage belting out rudimentary lyrics to listeners round a camp fir...
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What Sappho Still Teaches Us About Love

September 11, 2025 • 51 mins
In Ancient Greece, the Iliad was the poem above all other poems - an epic full of war and bloodshed that tells of the great heroes who fought and died for Troy.  But not so long after the supposed composition of the Iliad, a woman on the Mediterranean island of Lesbos, close to the coast of modern-day Turkey, introduced a new and enduring note to poetry: desire.  Her name was Sappho. She was revered through the Ancient World, but...
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A Day At The Races In Ancient Rome

September 4, 2025 • 42 mins
Think ‘Roman sport’ and images of Kirk Douglas, Russell Crowe, Paul Mescal and other Hollywood gladiators may come to mind. But while the Romans were partial to blood-sports, chariot-racing was the really big thing.  The archaeological remains of chariot-racing tracks have been found all over the Roman Empire, but none suggest a scale or grandeur close to the Circus Maximus in Rome. At full capacity, we think it could take a quart...
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The Odyssey#1: Journey Begins

September 2, 2025 • 17 mins
In this first episode of the Instant Classics Book Club, Mary and Charlotte explain why The Odyssey is such a pleasure, as well as historically significant, and provide the basic facts necessary to get going.  Sign up here: https://instantclassics.supportingcast.fm/ Pick a translation - any translation - and get reading with us. The Odyssey, along with its sister text, The Iliad, is often considered the bedrock of western lite...
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Introducing the Instant Classics Book Club - The Odyssey

September 1, 2025 • 3 mins
Sign up here: https://instantclassics.supportingcast.fm/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Which Roman Emperor is Donald Trump?

August 28, 2025 • 43 mins
For a long time being a classicist didn’t exactly make you a hit at a party. Then along came Donald Trump and suddenly everybody wants to know: Which Roman emperor is he most like?  In this inaugural episode of Instant Classics, Mary Beard and Charlotte Higgins confront the question they are asked the most. And, as ever when Mary Beard is involved, the answer isn’t always as simple as you might think.  Mary and Charlotte explain ...
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Instant Classics - Trailer

August 19, 2025 • 1 min
A new podcast hosted by Mary Beard and Charlotte Higgins. Ancient stories, modern twists… and no degree in Classics required. Episode 1 Available on Thursday, August 28th, 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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