The Dirt Podcast

Latest Episodes:

This Episode is Revolting May 05, 2019

Show notes

It's another Very Special Sponsored Episode this week, about the archaeology of protest, revolt, and rebellion. Join Anna and Amber alongside coal miners in West Virginia, Jewish rebels in the first century CE, enslaved Africans in the Danish Virgin Islands, and more stories of human defiance and resilience in the face of oppression.

Spilling the Antiqui-Tea: Artifact Trafficking and the Antiquities Black Market Apr 28, 2019

Show notes

Psst. Do you want to buy some archaeology? WELL WE DON'T HAVE ANY TO SELL YOU, BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE WRONG. But that hasn't stopped other people from doing it! Join us this week for a Very Special Sponsored Episode on the antiquities black market, the harm it does to archaeology and to real living people all over the world, and some of the folks doing extremely cool things to protect cultural heritage.

Here Be Unicorns: The Ancient Indus Valley Apr 21, 2019

Show notes

Join Anna and Amber on an excursion to the Indus Valley, and an exploration of some of the ancient societies therein. Learn about the thrills of city planning and indoor toilets, experience the mystery and absurdity of the Indus "unicorn," and enjoy a surprising number of Anna's best seal impersonations.

Let's Talk about (Inter)Sex Apr 14, 2019

Show notes

This week's episode was inspired by news coverage of Revolutionary War hero Casimir Pulaski, who, according to his skeleton, may have been intersex. But what does it mean to be intersex, and how do we incorporate this very real form of existence into our understanding of the archaeological record? Learn along with Anna and Amber from forensic archaeology, American history, Indigenous American culture, and a truly heart-wrenching tale from Iran.

Ur Never Going to Believe This Apr 07, 2019

Show notes

Join Anna and Amber on a tour of third millennium BCE Mesopotamia, where they explore the Royal Tombs of Ur. It has everything: musical instruments, very extra jewelry looks, a Great Death Pit (!), a famous excavator with a flair for the dramatic, even a surprise find nearly a century later in a museum basement. Who was buried there? What makes these tombs so special? What did Sumerian music sound like? How great was that death pit?

Archaeologists Dig Dinosaurs... April Fools! Apr 01, 2019

Show notes

Hello, and welcome to The Dirt, a podcast all about dinosaurs! Since we’re archaeologists (and thus don’t study dinosaurs, ahem) we know nothing about this subject, so for this special April Fools’ Day episode, Anna sits down with paleontologist Chris Capobianco from Harvard University’s Museum of Comparative Zoology. Learn about how quickly a fossil forms, the process of preparing fossils for research or exhibition, what dinosaurs really looked like, how exactly one goes about becoming a paleontologist, and what the future may hold for the discipline (and humanity.

Helen Hunt Jackson: Woman with a Hobby Mar 31, 2019

Show notes

Our very first LIVE SHOW, from Cosumnes River College in Sacramento! In honor of Women's History Month, we celebrate the life and career of Helen Hunt Jackson, the raddest lady activist and author you've never heard of. In her lifetime, Jackson was a vocal and tireless advocate for Native American rights during the federal land grabs of the 1800s.

These Boots Were Made for Talking: A Very Brief History of Footwear Mar 24, 2019

Show notes

Anna and Amber rummage around on the floor of history's closet to bring you a brief history of shoes from around the world! Learn why caves in the southwestern USA are full of shoes. Find a shoe museum near you for some sole-searching. Enjoy a description of Anna's favorite goofy historical fashion statement. All this and more!

What Spake Zarathustra? Mar 17, 2019

Show notes

It's almost officially springtime in the Northern Hemisphere, and the vernal equinox brings with it another reason to celebrate: Nowruz! Commonly known as Persian New Year, Nowruz has its roots in a millennia-old religion founded by a man named Zartosht whose ideas had a profound impact on the world. Anna introduces fire temples and what ancient writers had to say about Zoroastrianism, while Amber hypes the Bronze Age in Central Asia and suggests some ways in which Zoroastrian ideas have affected other religions.

Piltdown and Out Mar 10, 2019

Show notes

It's been hectic over at The Dirt HQ! Rather than leaving your feeds dark for a month, here's a Patreon-exclusive episode from earlier this year:

Last month, you joined us on a tour of human evolution, and our many ancestors therein. We also shared a bit from Dirt After Dark about pseudoarchaeology and its racist underpinnings. For this month’s Deep Cuts, why not a bit of both? We present to you the Piltdown Man, the most contentious human ancestor there never was.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

The Dirt Podcast

Related Podcasts

1

2

3

4

5

6