Started: Oldest Stories PodcastFor various reasons, I'm changing my system for podcasts. Instead of listening to each podcast through 3 or 4 times, I'm going to try listening to each podcast only twice before reviewing it.
The reasons are as follows:
1) This will allow me to get through more podcasts. In the past, I've not been able to review a lot of podcasts since it takes me forever to get all the way through them. (For example,
I've been stuck on Mike Duncan's body of work since 2020, instead of branching out to other podcasts.)
2) I don't enjoy listening to podcasts 3 or 4 times through. The first time through I love. The second time through I like it. But by the third time through, I'm beginning to get tired of it.
3) Related to the above point, I get less benefit from the 3rd and 4th listening. I pick up a few things that I missed on the first and second listening, but by the 3rd listening, there are diminishing returns.
4) The idea behind listening to a podcast 3 or 4 times is to try to absorb everything. (Sometimes when I listen to podcasts, my mind wanders and I miss stuff. So I want to listen to it lots of times so by the end, I've absorbed everything.) But I've noticed that often times, my mind will wander off at the same point in the podcast each time, even if I listen to it 3 times. (There are some sections that I just have trouble absorbing, for whatever reason.)
Now, this will mean that perhaps moving forward I'll have absorbed each podcast a little less thoroughly than if I had listened to it 3 or 4 times, so you'll have to count that in when you listen to my subsequent reviews, but I think I'm willing to take that trade-off.
I'll keep track of my progress down below.
1st Listening
June 25, 2025--Episode 12 – Anunnaki 3 Enlil Lord of Wind
June 27, 2025--Episode 16 – Lagash 2 Reform and Corruption in Lagash
June 28, 2025--OS 17 - Sargon Rising
June 29, 2025--OS 19 - Sargon at War
June 30--OS 20 Sargon, the Next Generation
July 1--OS 22 - Slanderous Legends of Naram-Sin
July 2--OS 23 - The Fall of Akkad
July 3--OS 24 - The Rebirth of Sumer
July 4--OS 27 - The Study of Sumer and Ancient Aliens
July 5--OS 28 - The Chamorros of Saipan
July 6--OS 29 - The Enuma Elish
July 7--OS 33 - A Time of Ritual and Law
July 8--OS 39 - The Merchants and Families of Assyria
July 9--OS 41 - Shamshi-Adad and the Upper Mesopotamian Empire
July 10--Bonus 1 - The Slaying of Illuyanka
July 11--OS 50 - Hammurabi's Code of Laws
July 12--OS 51 - The New Order
July 13--OS 52 - Theogony of Dunnu and the Education of Scribes
July 14--Bonus 3 - Lament for Ur
July 15--OS 61 - The Conqueror's Triumph and Death
July 16--OS 66 Enter the Arena
July 17--OS 70 - Mighty Monsters of Mitanni
July 18--OS 73 - Corruption in Nuzi
July 20--OS 74 - A New Dawn for Babylon
July 21--OS 77 - Idrimi's Adventure and Tudhaliya's Invasion
July 22--OS 82 - Suppiluliuma Irritates Egypt
July 23--OS 86 The Battle of Kadesh
July 24--OS 91 A Muddy Mesopotamian Mess
July 25--OS 95 Hattusili Secures His Legacy
July 26--OS 96 Fall of the Hittite Empire
July 28--Elamite 4 - Elamite Religion
July 29--Canaan 3 - The City of Ugarit
July 30--Canaan 8 - The Feast of Baal
July 31--Industry 2 - The Stuff of Life
August 1--An Overview of Bronze Age Mesopotamia
August 2--OS 98 - Nabu-Kudurri-Usur
August 3--OS 99 - The Legend of Nebuchadnezzar
August 4--OS 100 - The Babylonian Theodicy
August 5--OS 102 - A Bit More About Tiglath Pileser
August 6--OS 103 - The Babylonian Aristotle, Esagil-Kin-Apli
August 9--OS 105 Four Legs Good, Two Legs Bad
August 11--OS 109 - Israel's Numbers Problem
August 12--OS 112 - Israel's Conquest and Integration in Canaan
August 13--OS 114 - Israel's Judges and Defeats
August 14--OS 115 - The Place of Faith in Biblical History
August 16--OS 117 - Israel's First King
August 18--OS 121 - Israel's Favorite King
August 19--OS 123 - Israel's Great High Priest
August 20--OS 125 - Israel's Divided Kingdoms
August 21--OS 127 - Israel's First Historical King
August 22--OS 129 - Israelite and Phoenician Prosperity
August 23--OS 130 Israel Runs Out of Names
August 24--Oldest Stories is Now a Book!
August 25--OS 132 Judah Ascends
August 26--The Book of Job in a Near Eastern Context
August 27--Isaiah 55
August 28--OS 134 - Poverty Pessimism, and Comedy in Ancient Mesopotamia
August 29--OS 135 - Middle Class Demons of Mesopotamia
September 1--OS 136 - The Fifty Shades of Marduk
September 2--OS 137 - The Oldest Dreams
September 3--OS 139- An Iron King for an Iron Age
September 4--OS 141- the Unintended Aramization of Assyria
September 5--OS 143 - Assurnasirpal Has Too Much Energy
September 8--Bonus: The Early History of New Eastern Cavalry
September 9--OS 148 - Shalmaneser Takes the Throne
September 10--OS 150 - The Battle of Qarqar
September 11--OS 152 - The Smothered Spark of Babylon's Dark Age
September 12--OS 154 - The Assyrian Civil War: Magnate Edition
September 15--OS 156 - The Mythical Semiramis in Ancient History
September 16--OS 158 - The Glorious Magnates of Assyria
September 17--OS 160 - Graham Hancock and the Philosophy of Archeology
September 18--OS 161 - A Kingdom of Honey and Blood: The Suhu Rebellion
September 19--OS 163 - The Birth of Urartu
September 20--OS 164 - The Rise of Urartu
September 22--OS 166 - The Forges of Urartu
September 23--The Assyrian Deep State
September 24--Establishing Assyrian Dominance
September 25--The Full Story of Ea-Nasir's Copper
September 26--The Four Failures of Tiglath-Pileser III
September 29--Mesopotamia and the Occult: The Passionate Woman in Depth
Finished First Listening: Starting Second Listening
September 30--OS 2.5 - Before the Beginning
October 1--OS 05 - Gilgamesh has Adventures
October 2--OS 08 - Ishtar Gains Power
October October 3--OS 16 - Reform and Corruption in Lagash
October 6--OS 17 - Sargon Rising
October 7--OS 19 - Sargon at war
October 8--OS 21 - Surpassing Sargon with Naram-Sin
October 9--OS 23 - The Fall of Akkad
October 10--OS 24 - The Rebirth of Sumer
October 12--OS 25 - The Last Sumerian, Ibbi-Sin
October 13--OS 28 - The Chamorros of Saipan
October 14--OS 30 - The Tablet of Destinies
October 15--OS 33 - A Time of Ritual and Law
October 16--OS 35 Middle Bronze Age Warfare
October 17--OS 38 Rim-sin the Pretty Good
October 19--OS 39 The Merchants and Families of Assyria
October 21--OS 42 Hammurabi's Kingdom and Character
October 22--OS 44 - Hammurabi's Military and Elamite Rule
October 23--OS 44 - Hammurabi's Rebels and Oracles
October 24--OS 48 - Hammurabi's Women and Slaves
October 27--OS 50 - Hammurabi's Code of Laws
October 28--OS 51 - The New Order
October 29--OS 53 - Poem of the Righteous Sufferer
October 30--Bonus 2 - Fanciful Notions of Antiquity
October 31--OS 56 - Obscure Struggles in Assyria
November 3--OS 58 - Rise of the Hittites
November 5--OS 61 - The Conqueror's Triumph and Death
November 6--OS 64 - Village Economics
November 7--OS 66 - Enter the Arena
November 10--OS 67 - Late Bronze Age Warfare
November 11--OS 68 - The Song of Kumarbi
November 12--OS 69 - Kumarbi Strikes Back
November 14--OS 71 - Hurrian Wisdom
November 17--OS 73 - Corruption in Nuzi
November 18--OS 75 - Building Babylonia
November 19--OS 77 - Idrimi's Adventure and Tudhaliya's Invasion
November 20--OS 79 - Magic and Medicine in Hattusa
November 21--OS 81 - King Tushratta Begs and Runs Away
November 22--OS 82 - Suppiluliuma Irritates Egypt
November 24--OS 85 - New Cities and New Villians
November 25--OS 87 - Rebirth of an Old City
December 1--OS 90 - Tukulti-Ninurta's Victories
December 2--OS 92 - Nergal and Ereshkigal
December 3--OS 95 Hattusili Secures His Legacy
December 4--Elamite 1 - Back to the Beginning
December 5--The Oldest Games
December 6--Canaan 1 - Bronze Age Levant
December 7--Canaan 1 - The Amarna Age in Canaan
December 8-- Canaan 4 - Ugarit's Final Century
December 9--Canaan 7 - The Baal Cycle
December 10--Canaan 8 - The Feast of Baal
December 11--Canaan 9 - Baal and Mot
December 12--Sumer in Genesis
December 13--Listener Questions
December 15--Industry 2 - The Stuff of Life
December 16--Passionate Daughter Ishtar
December 17--Industry 4.5 - Last Century's Fashions (pt 2 of 2)
December 18--Industry 5 - The Bronze of the Age
December 19--OS 99 - The Legend of Nebuchadnezzar
December 21--OS 100 - The Babylonian Theodicy
December 22--OS 102 - A Bit More About Tiglath Pileser
December 23--OS 103 - The Babylonian Aristotle, Esagil-Kin-Apli
December 24--OS 104 - Arameans Everywhere
December 25--OS 105 Four Legs Good, Two Legs Bad
December 26--OS 106 The Fate of Anatolia
December 27--OS 107 - The Bible as History and Skeptical Views
December 29--OS 109 - Israel's Numbers Problem
December 30--OS 110 - Israel and the Hebrews
December 31--OS 111 - Israel's Wandering and Settlement
January 1, 2026--OS 113 - Israel's Settlements and Philistine Neighbors
January 2--OS 114 - Israel's Judges and Defeats
January 3--OS 115 - The Place of Faith in Biblical History
January 5--OS 117 - Israel's First King
January 6--OS 119 - Israel's Young Shepherd
January 7--OS 122 - Israel's King David
January 8--OS 124 - Israel's Wisdom and Wealth
January 9--OS 126 - Israel's Great Confusion
January 10--OS 127 - Israel's First Historical King
January 11--OS 129 - Israelite and Phoenician Prosperity
January 12--OS 131 - Israel's Brutal Judgement
January 13--OS 132 Judah Ascends
January 14--The Book of Job in a Near Eastern Context
January 15--Isaiah 55
January 16--OS 135 - Middle Class Demons of Mesopotamia
January 17--OS 136 - The Fifty Shades of Marduk
January 18--OS 137 - The Oldest Dreams
January 19--OS 139- An Iron King for an Iron Age
January 20--OS 141- the Unintended Aramization of Assyria
January 21--OS 145 - The Early Neo-Assyrian Army
January 23--OS 146 - How Assyria Operated
January 25--OS 148 - Shalmaneser Takes the Throne
January 26--OS 151 - The Glowing Embers of Babylon's Dark Age
January 27--OS 152 - The Smothered Spark of Babylon's Dark Age
January 28--OS 155 - The Angry Puppet: Shamshi-Adad V
January 29--OS 158 - The Glorious magnates of Assyria
January 30--OS 160 - Graham Hancock and the Philosophy of Archeology
January 31--OS 162 - The Rise of Phrygia
February 2--OS 166 - The Forges of Urartu
February 3--The Assyrian Deep State
February 4--Establishing Assyrian Dominance
February 5--Deportation, Castration, and Education-The Foundations of Neo-Assyria
February 6--Mesopotamia and the Occult: The Passionate Woman in Depth
February 7--Mesopotamia and the Occult: Dying and Rising in Depth
February 9--Mesopotamia and the Occult: The Mortal King in Depth
February 10--Mesopotamia and the Occult: Discussions on the Ancient World
February 11--Tiglath Pileser Defeats Israel - Oldest Stories Podcast
February 12--The Ill-Omened Origins of Sargon II
February 13--A Tour of Dur-Sharrukin
February 15--The Environment in which the Assyrian Army Emerged
February 16--The Composition of the Sargonid Army
February 17--The Great Invasion of Urartu
