Welcome to The Western Traditions Podcast!

Series 1: The Ancient World Episodes

Episode I.03 - Introduction to Prehistory
May 29, 2025

Episode I.03 - Introduction to Prehistory

The history before history. For most of human existence, there was no such thing as writing. Yet our ancestors did leave records and remains that we can study to learn more about the human past. RECOMMENDED READS - Click Imag...

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Episode I.02 - Introduction to the Ancient World
May 21, 2025

Episode I.02 - Introduction to the Ancient World

History and prehistory. Before the dawn of writing, the human past is shrouded in darkness. The episodes of the Ancient World explore events before and just after the rise of civilization. RECOMMENDED READS - Click Image for ...

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Episode I.01 - The General Prologue
March 20, 2025

Episode I.01 - The General Prologue

The introduction to the Western Traditions podcast. The Great Books of the Western World and the Bible. The great men and women of western civilization. RECOMMENDED READS - Click Image for Link:

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Episide 25 - Fourth Mesopotamia
June 7, 2022

Episide 25 - Fourth Mesopotamia

The Persians rise to power. Israel returns from exile. RECOMMENDED READS - Click Image for Link:

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Episode 24 - Third Mesopotamia
May 9, 2022

Episode 24 - Third Mesopotamia

Two empires: Assyrian and Babylonian. The fall of Israel and Judah.

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Episode 23 - Ancient Israel
April 27, 2022

Episode 23 - Ancient Israel

The story of the Bible and archaeological counter-perspectives. RECOMMENDED READS - Click Image for Link:

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Episode 22 - Fourth Egypt
March 31, 2022

Episode 22 - Fourth Egypt

The New Kingdom. Egypt, under the leadership of men and women, such as Ramses II and Hatshepsut, reaches its final pinnacle of achievement before declining one last time into the background of history.

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Episode 21 - Ancient Crete
March 3, 2022

Episode 21 - Ancient Crete

The descendants of the early European farmers found a unique civilization on the island of Crete and prepare the way for Greek culture.

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Episode 20 - Third Egypt
Feb. 16, 2022

Episode 20 - Third Egypt

The Middle Kingdom of Egypt. Renewal and flourish. The evolution of religious belief. The Hyksos take power and bring Egypt to another intermediate period.

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Episode 19 - Bronze Age Anatolia
Feb. 1, 2022

Episode 19 - Bronze Age Anatolia

The Hittites take over the Anatolian peninsula in the 2nd millennium BC. The first Indo-European speaking power takes the stage and meets with the Egyptians and the Mesopotamians.

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Episode 18 - Second Mesopotamia
Jan. 7, 2022

Episode 18 - Second Mesopotamia

The story returns to Mesopotamia. Here, in the early second millennium BC, Babylon rises to power. The episode further considers societal and technological developments for all of mankind at the height of the Bronze Age.

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Episode 17 - Second Egypt
Nov. 24, 2021

Episode 17 - Second Egypt

Old Kingdom Egypt. Great kings and great pyramids. Egypt makes its lasting mark on human history.

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Episode 16 - Canaan and Phoenicia
Oct. 29, 2021

Episode 16 - Canaan and Phoenicia

The land of milk and honey. Natufian culture transitions over thousands of years into the Semitic Canaanite culture of the Levant. RECOMMENDED READS - Click Image for Link:

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Episode 15 - First Egypt
Oct. 11, 2021

Episode 15 - First Egypt

Another civilization springs up alongside the Nile River. But before there were pharaohs, there was a lot of history in Egypt, from the Paleolithic to the opening of the Bronze Age. RECOMMENDED READS - Click Image for Link:

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Episode 3 - introduction to Prehistory
Sept. 23, 2021

Episode 3 - introduction to Prehistory

The history before history. For most of human existence, there was no such thing as writing. Yet our ancestors did leave records and remains that we can study to learn more about the human past.

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Episode 2 - Introduction to the Ancient World
Sept. 23, 2021

Episode 2 - Introduction to the Ancient World

History and prehistory. Before the dawn of writing, the human past is shrouded in darkness. The episodes of the Ancient World explore events before and just after the rise of civilization. RECOMMENDED READS - Click Image for ...

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Episode 14 - First Mesopotamia
Sept. 16, 2021

Episode 14 - First Mesopotamia

The first known civilization arises in Mesopotamia around the year 3,500 BC. RECOMMENDED READS - Click Image for Link:

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Episode 13 - Introduction to Unit II: The Civilizations of the Ancient Near East
Aug. 20, 2021

Episode 13 - Introduction to Unit II: The Civilizations of the Ancien…

A brief review of the unprecedented Near Eastern transition into urban life. RECOMMENDED READS - Click Image for Link:

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Episode 12 - The Proto-Indo-Europeans
July 23, 2021

Episode 12 - The Proto-Indo-Europeans

A semi-legendary tribe, far to the north of lands previously described, expands into Europe and Asia carrying language and culture that will be passed down all the way to the present. RECOMMENDED READS - Click Image for Link:

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Episode 11 - Proto-Cities
June 9, 2021

Episode 11 - Proto-Cities

The Natufian culture, the Rise of Jericho and Catal Huyuk, Neolithic religion and the cult of the skulls. RECOMMENDED READS - Click Image for Link:

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Episode 10 - Cataclysms
May 26, 2021

Episode 10 - Cataclysms

Great floods, the Younger Dryas Impact and the Toba eruption all present obstacles and challenges to the survival of early modern humans.

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Episode 9 - The Bronze Age
May 11, 2021

Episode 9 - The Bronze Age

Early modern humans begin to work with copper and then bronze as their societies change and expand. RECOMMENDED READS - Click Image for Link:

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Episode 8 - The Neolithic
April 21, 2021

Episode 8 - The Neolithic

Early modern humans adapt to a changing world. The Natufian culture rises in the Levant. The developments of agriculture and domestication create the foundations of the world in which we live today. RECOMMENDED READS - Click ...

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Episode 7 - The Mesolithic
April 8, 2021

Episode 7 - The Mesolithic

Early modern humans begin the transition toward the Neolithic, tracking smaller game, experimenting with agriculture and building Gobekli Tepe. RECOMMENDED READS - Click Image for Link:

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