With sail came trade—and with trade came connection between cultures. When did that begin in the West? In this episode we go to ancient Mesopotamia, the Levant, Egypt, and the islands of the Mediterranean; we learn about the Phoenicians (who didn’t call themselves Phoenicians); we set sail with Odysseus; and Carthage meets Rome. Josephine Quinn, the first woman to hold the distinguished Professorship of Ancient History at Cambridge University, joins host Jonathan Bate to talk about the maritime dimensions of her bestselling book How the World made the West: A Four Thousand Year History.

You can follow Jonathan on Twitter/X here and the Humanities Institute here.
For more on ASU's Blue Humanities Initiative, follow this link.
New episodes featuring leading scholars will be uploaded regularly.
This episode was edited by Dave Waugh at Scrubcast.
Music: from Claude Debussy, La Mer (rights-free recording).

In this episode of the Blue Humanities podcast, we turn from the oceans to the rivers that feed the sea. Host Jonathan Bate joins Britain’s leading writer of the natural world, Robert Macfarlane, to discuss his new book Is a River Alive? Their discussion ranges from the “Rights of Nature” movement to Macfarlane’s breathtaking journeys along great rivers in Ecuador, India and Canada, where he immerses himself in wonders and meets activists who are striving to save the rivers that are the arteries of life on earth.

You can follow Jonathan on Twitter/X here and the Humanities Institute here.
For more on ASU's Blue Humanities Initiative, follow this link.
New episodes featuring leading scholars will be uploaded regularly.
This episode was edited by Dave Waugh at Scrubcast.
Music: from Claude Debussy, La Mer (rights-free recording).

When, why and in what ways did modern historians turn their attention to oceanic encounters and crossings? In this episode of the Blue Humanities podcast, presenter Jonathan Bate talks to David Armitage, Lloyd Blankfein Professor of History at Harvard University, about the Atlantic and Pacific turns in historiography. Professor Armitage has written, edited and contributed to many books in the field, including The British Atlantic World (2002, 2009), Essays in Atlantic History (2004), Pacific Histories (2014) and, most recently, Oceanic Japan: The Archipelago in Pacific and Global History (University of Hawai’i Press, 2025). Their discussion ranges from the extinction of the Steller’s sea cow to a floating operatic stage featured in the James Bond film Quantum of Solace.

You can follow Jonathan on Twitter/X here and the Humanities Institute here.
For more on ASU's Blue Humanities Initiative, follow this link.
New episodes featuring leading scholars will be uploaded regularly.
This episode was edited by Dave Waugh at Scrubcast.
Music: from Claude Debussy, La Mer (rights-free recording).