LM

Great immigrant and Greek representation

Reviewed: 01-14-24

This podcast is not only funny, it’s excellent immigrant representation. Stavvy, Eldis, and guests are hilarious and give great advice. Opa!

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Engaging, informative, and accessible

Reviewed: 10-20-23

I’m an academic with a background in humanities, so I need even my commuter entertainment to be well researched, which can be tough. Janega’s narrative historical survey of medieval women in Western Europe checks all those boxes for the nerd who loves all things medieval but isn’t into fiction. This isn’t a book an advanced graduate student of medieval feminism is going to be assigned in class, but I’m seriously considering assigning her final chapter summarizing how culture, history, and gender intersect to influence how we collectively think about women in my freshman undergraduate courses. I highly Rec!

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Excellent synthesis of a tragic story

Reviewed: 08-08-23

This is a sensitive and compassionate rendering of a case where even the perpetrators are victims. The historical and legal context is important for understanding why this case is legally controversial (the social reasons are fairly obvious in my opinion—two girls tried to murder another girl). Hale presents uncomfortable moments and realities without dramatizing or romanticizing them, which I appreciate. She lets participant statements and actions speak for themselves and shows it’s possible to have sympathy for the cruelty of the Wisconsin legal system’s treatment of Morgan and Anissa without sacrificing compassion for Peyton/Bella or the parents of all three girls.

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A perfectly fine history

Reviewed: 04-16-23

Others who are disappointed in the history maybe don’t realize there is basically nothing documented about Boudicca beyond what a couple of non-contemporary historians say and some archaeological evidence. I enjoyed this history—it fills the gaps by showing us how other attestations (histories, documents) and better known and understood cultural practices from historical contemporaries help researchers fill in the gaps. As far as a history of a person with no extant, totally reliable records to draw from this is great. In my opinion!

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A great overview

Reviewed: 03-29-23

I know next to nothing about the Medicis or medieval Italian banking history so I really enjoyed this. I do, however, know quite a bit about renaissance art history. Readers who see this history as homophobic are either misinterpreting or have never encountered discussion of how the personal lives of artists informed the direction of renaissance art. Italian renaissance art geniuses were often gay! Just how it was. And the text doesn’t go into that in any particularly judgmental way. Rather, it is a clear explanation of how homosexuality inspired some of the most beautiful works of art in the world.

My main criticism is how the medieval era was described. The Dark Ages does not mean there was a dearth of culture or knowledge or art. I thought those descriptions in this book were odd.

Anyway, I enjoyed this history. It’s narrative and engaging, and I learned a lot without feeling like I was missing a lot of critical dates or names.

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Story great, narration annoying

Reviewed: 11-23-22

I don’t listen to histories for dramatic acting. I wish they’d release a new recording without cartoonish accents and borderline offensive caricatures of how a foreigner using English sounds. Seriously: Italians, Scots, French etc. people are narrated with really annoying fake accents. What gives? It ruins an otherwise engaging narrative.

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1 person found this helpful