The Levantini Podcast

Malka Simkovich is the director and editor-in-chief of the Jewish Publication Society, as well as the author of three books and over a hundred articles. She is the author of Letters from Home, The Creation of Diaspora in Jewish Antiquity, which examines letters that Jews in the ancient world were sending to one another and helps us better understand the relationship and bonds that these two communities had. You can purchase a copy ...

We've curated a special highlight version of the podcast for those in a hurry. You can listen to the full episode here.  You can help us grow by rating the podcast!

Ahmad Al-Jallad discusses his recent research deciphering the Dhofari script, which is shedding new light on the linguistic and cultural map of pre-Islamic Arabia. You can download a copy of his research on his Academia page here and listen to his previous epis...

We've curated a special highlight version of the podcast for those in a hurry. You can listen to the full episode here. 

Jonathan Klawans is a specialist in the religion and religious literature of ancient Judaism and a Professor at Boston University. In 2001 he published an article titled 'Was Jesus' Last Supper a Seder?'  that argued it was not a Passover meal nor a Seder and the article has received continued attention ...

We've curated a special highlight version of the podcast for those in a hurry. You can listen to the full episode here. 

Haggai Olshanetsky, a historian and archaeologist focusing on the Hellenistic and Roman periods at the University of Warsaw, came back on the show to discuss a paper he authored in 2024 that re-examines Queen Zenobia’s relationship with Judaism and how she may have converted in order to support her poli...

Haggai Olshanetsky, a historian and archaeologist focusing on the Hellenistic and Roman periods at the University of Warsaw, came back on the show to discuss a paper he authored in 2024 that re-examines Queen Zenobia’s relationship with Judaism and how she may have converted in order to support her political and military objectives. Zenobia ruled in Palmyra which is in modern day Syria during the 3rd century and she’s o...

We've curated a special highlight version of the podcast for those in a hurry. You can listen to the full episode here. 

Haggai Olshanetsky is a historian and archaeologist focusing on the Hellenistic and Roman periods at the University of Warsaw. He came on the show to discuss his research arguing that the Second Jewish Revolt against Rome, otherwise known as the Bar Kokhba Revolt, may have had more than one leader, specifical...

Haggai Olshanetsky is a historian and archaeologist focusing on the Hellenistic and Roman periods at the University of Warsaw. He came on the show to discuss his research arguing that the Second Jewish Revolt against Rome, otherwise known as the Bar Kokhba Revolt, may have had more than one leader, specifically Jewish veterans of the Roman army, and it was only later that Bar Kokhba assumed leadership of the revolt. 

Here is a ...

We've curated a special highlights version of the podcast for those in a hurry. You can listen to the full episodes here and here. 

Baruch Halpern discusses his book David’s Secret Demons: Messiah, Murderer, Traitor, King. The book examines the textual and archaeological evidence of David to help paint a better picture of his life, reign, and impact. This second episode covers the Absalom Revolt and Solomon’s rise t...

Baruch Halpern discusses his book David’s Secret Demons: Messiah, Murderer, Traitor, King. The book examines the textual and archaeological evidence of David to help paint a better picture of his life, reign, and impact. The first episode focuses on the origins of David and his part in overthrowing the House of Saul. The second episode covers the Absalom Revolt and Solomon’s rise to power. There’s a link above to ...

Baruch Halpern discusses his book David’s Secret Demons: Messiah, Murderer, Traitor, King. The book examines the textual and archaeological evidence of David to help paint a better picture of his life, reign, and impact. This second episode covers the Absalom Revolt and Solomon’s rise to power. The first episode covers David's origins and his role in overthrowing the House of Saul. There’s a link above to purchase...

Tal Ilan is a retired professor of Jewish studies at the Free University, Berlin (Germany), and has researched the Diaspora Revolt of 115-117 CE against the Romans that broke out across Libya, Egypt and Cyprus. The rebellion is less well known than the two other Jewish revolts against Rome, namely the Great Revolt which resulted in the destruction of the Second Temple and the Bar Kochba Revolt. The Diaspora Revolt had disastrous co...