Melvadius Posted December 27, 2012 Report Share Posted December 27, 2012 The BBC has made available a large archive of its In Our Time archive of radio discussions dating back to 1998. Although unclear if available to foreign browsers definately now available to those UK based. If you have not come across these before they are a series of 45 minute discussions on almost any topic dating from the relativly recent past into early historic period, several of these are Roman related. The format of each is for the presenter, Melvyn Bragg, to moderate a discussion of three guest experts. The most recent of which (27 Dec) was a discussion on a Roman related topic of the Mithraic cult, its origins in Persian beliefs and how it operated, eventually touching on its relations with early Christianity. The Mithraic episode should be available from tomorrow but to give an idea of the range and diversity of topics covered episodes in December 2012 included: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klingan Posted December 27, 2012 Report Share Posted December 27, 2012 Definitely going to take a look (pun intended) at this as soon as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GhostOfClayton Posted December 27, 2012 Report Share Posted December 27, 2012 Although unclear if available to foreign browsers definately now available to those UK based. It's available in Switzerland, so that's a promising start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klingan Posted December 27, 2012 Report Share Posted December 27, 2012 I can confirm Sweden! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virgil61 Posted January 29, 2013 Report Share Posted January 29, 2013 The latest "In Our Time" podcast deals with the Romulus and Remus myth w/Mary Beard, Tim Cornell and Peter Wiseman. Interestingly I just finished Beard's short but very satisfying "Rome in the Late Republic" (great bibliography) and have Wiseman's translation of Caesar's "Gallic Wars" on my bookshelf (that translation still unread). Googling apparently Mary Beard's been hammered online by a certain number of Brits this last week or so. You can subscribe to it on itunes in the podcast section here in the U.S. not sure about elsewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GhostOfClayton Posted January 29, 2013 Report Share Posted January 29, 2013 Googling apparently Mary Beard's been hammered online by a certain number of Brits this last week or so. Just to give context. Prof. Beard appeared on the BBC's 'Question Time' programme (the BBC's flagship political panel discussion programme) which was broadcast that week from the town of Boston. Since the accession countries joined the EU, Boston has undergone a significant population growth, primarily from Eastern Europe and consisting of economic migrants moving into Boston to work in the agricultural sector, which is massive in the immediate area. Part-time and temporary jobs picking, and preparing vegetables are plentiful, and there are well documented issues with filling the labour demand from the local population - the perception is that no local would be prepared to work that hard for so little money, but given the sheer demand for labour, that can only be a small part of a very complex issue. As inevitably as night follows day, the burgeoning migrant population has been followed by percieved extra pressure on local services (though no clear evidence for this has been documented). Emotions in the town from the right side of the political spectrum have been running high for some time, as you can imagine. Prof. Beard was dragged involuntarily into the fray by commenting that a recent Boston council report (which failed to uphold many of the right's views) was probably correct. This did not endear her to the 'kick them all out, they're stealing our jobs and our women' brigade who seem threatened by inteligent women, and more so by those who are more interested in what they say and do, rather than how they look. Needless to say, protected by the anonimity of the internet, many threw reasoned argument out of the window and resorted to outright mysogeny and hero-worship of UKIP (the 'everyone-knows-we're-racists-but-we-can't-admit-we-are-it's-political-correctness-gone-mad' party). To protect against litigation, it's only my opinion that UKIP are racists. They don't actually say they are. They merely have policies that racists would be naturally attracted to. In my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virgil61 Posted January 29, 2013 Report Share Posted January 29, 2013 Googling apparently Mary Beard's been hammered online by a certain number of Brits this last week or so. Part-time and temporary jobs picking, and preparing vegetables are plentiful, and there are well documented issues with filling the labour demand from the local population - the perception is that no local would be prepared to work that hard for so little money, but given the sheer demand for labour, that can only be a small part of a very complex issue. Seems like similar to the problems we're having here merely insert "Mexicans" instead of Eastern Europeans. She certainly took a drubbing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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