Myth at the heart of the Roman Empire

An introduction to the stories of the foundation of Rome and how these myths reinforce Roman identity even today.

The foundation of Rome

Insights into how Emperor Augustus connected himself to the foundational myths and gods of Rome.

The House of Augustus

How this monument conveys messages of the abundance and power of the Roman Empire under Augustus.

The Ara Pacis

How this statue embodies the beginnings of the illustrious history of the Roman Empire.

The wolf and twins sculpture

How the Lapis Niger, within the Roman Forum, becomes a significant memorial for the foundation myths of ancient Rome.

The Lapis Niger

How the 17th century Pope Innocent X stressed his own continuity with ancient Rome's foundational myths by commissioning these stunning pictures.

The D'Arpino frescoes

How story and myth are embedded into the monuments and artefacts of ancient Greece and Rome.

A330: Myth in the Greek and Roman worlds

Open University academic Valerie Hope talks about choices behind the material in this album.

Myth and the Roman Empire

Chris Emlyn-Jones, Valerie Hope and Paula James reveal the enduring importance of myth.

Why study myth?

How and why did ancient Romans use myth to validate their power? Emperor Augustus legitimised his rule by entwining his own ancestry with the mythical stories of Rome's foundation, and created a divine aura around Rome as capital of the vast empire. This album visits key emblems associated with Rome's beginnings: the Forum and the Capitoline Hill with its statue of the she-wolf and Romulus and Remus; the Emperor Augustus's palace and ceremonial altar, and the 17th Century D'Arpino frescos of foundation myths commissioned by Pope Innocent X to underpin his authority. By monumentalising and glorifying their real and legendary past, Romans painted their own history and this continues to encapsulate Roman identity today. This material forms part of The Open University course A330 Myth in the Greek and Roman worlds.

Myth at the heart of the Roman Empire - for iPod/iPhone

The best podcast episodes on global issues affecting everyone. Covering topics such as the #metoo movement, climate change, the impact of technology and some of the biggest global issues facing us right now. For anyone interested in learning more about the world, and some of the issues we're facing, pick an episode below and start listening! Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!

OwlTail

Elizabeth Kolbert covers climate change for the New Yorker. She's the Pulitzer prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction. And she recently wrote a paragraph I can't stop thinking about. "The problem with global warming—and the reason it continues to resist illustration, even as the streets flood and the forests die and the mussels rot on the shores—is that experience is an inadequate guide to what’s going on. The climate operates on a time delay. When carbon dioxide is added to the atmosphere, it takes decades—in a technical sense, millennia—for the earth to equilibrate. This summer’s fish kill was a product of warming that had become inevitable twenty or thirty years ago, and the warming that’s being locked in today won’t be fully felt until today’s toddlers reach middle age. In effect, we are living in the climate of the past, but already we’ve determined the climate’s future."Kolbert lives, to an unusual degree, in the planet's future. She travels to the places around the world where the climate of tomorrow is visible today. She has watched glaciers melting, and seen species dying. And she is able to convey both the science and the cost with a rare lucidity. Talking with Kolbert left me with an unnerving thought. We look back on past eras in human history and judge them morally failed. We think of the Spanish Inquisition or the Mongol hordes and believe ourselves civilized, rational, moral in a way our ancestors weren't. But if the science is right, and we do unto our descendants what the data says we are doing to them, we will be judged monsters. And it will be all the worse because we knew what we were doing and we knew how to stop, but we decided it was easier to disbelieve the science or ignore the consequences. Kolbert and I talk about the consequences, but also about what would be necessary to stabilize the climate and back off the mass extinction event that is currently underway. We discuss geoengineering, political will, the environmental cost of meat, and what individuals can and can't do. We talk about Trump's cabinet, about whether technological innovation will save us, and if pricing carbon is enough. We talk about whether hope remains a realistic emotion when it comes to our environmental future.Books:-Edward Abbe’s “Desert Solitaire”-Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring”-David G. Haskell’s “The Forest Unseen”-Bill McKibben’s “The End of Nature” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vox Conversations

Elizabeth Kolbert covers climate change for the New Yorker. She's the Pulitzer prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction. And she recently wrote a paragraph I can't stop thinking about. "The problem with global warming—and the reason it continues to resist illustration, even as the streets flood and the forests die and the mussels rot on the shores—is that experience is an inadequate guide to what’s going on. The climate operates on a time delay. When carbon dioxide is added to the atmosphere, it takes decades—in a technical sense, millennia—for the earth to equilibrate. This summer’s fish kill was a product of warming that had become inevitable twenty or thirty years ago, and the warming that’s being locked in today won’t be fully felt until today’s toddlers reach middle age. In effect, we are living in the climate of the past, but already we’ve determined the climate’s future."Kolbert lives, to an unusual degree, in the planet's future. She travels to the places around the world where the climate of tomorrow is visible today. She has watched glaciers melting, and seen species dying. And she is able to convey both the science and the cost with a rare lucidity. Talking with Kolbert left me with an unnerving thought. We look back on past eras in human history and judge them morally failed. We think of the Spanish Inquisition or the Mongol hordes and believe ourselves civilized, rational, moral in a way our ancestors weren't. But if the science is right, and we do unto our descendants what the data says we are doing to them, we will be judged monsters. And it will be all the worse because we knew what we were doing and we knew how to stop, but we decided it was easier to disbelieve the science or ignore the consequences. Kolbert and I talk about the consequences, but also about what would be necessary to stabilize the climate and back off the mass extinction event that is currently underway. We discuss geoengineering, political will, the environmental cost of meat, and what individuals can and can't do. We talk about Trump's cabinet, about whether technological innovation will save us, and if pricing carbon is enough. We talk about whether hope remains a realistic emotion when it comes to our environmental future.Books:-Edward Abbe’s “Desert Solitaire”-Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring”-David G. Haskell’s “The Forest Unseen”-Bill McKibben’s “The End of Nature” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

Elizabeth Kolbert: We have locked in centuries of climate change

Jordan Peterson and Joe Rogan delve deep on free speech for 3 hours! Somehow it gets more interesting through the episode, not less! Hear why often it's best to "be tolerant of the intolerable".
Canada tried to pass laws compelling people to use pronouns like zi and zur. Should you be compelled to call someone a certain pronoun? Jordan Peterson pushed back saying he had no problems using pronouns like zi and zur for people who have non-traditional genders, but that he had a problem being compelled by law to use certain pronouns. 
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." Voltaire. 
We have gone from homosexuality being illegal in most of the west 60 years ago to same sex marriage being legal today. "Free speech is the master value because it is the value which allows us to update all other values." Sam Harris.

Free speech, only a small topic!

Jordan Peterson is a clinical psychologist and tenured professor of psychology at the University of Toronto. https://www.youtube.com/user/JordanPetersonVideos  100% off the Future Authoring Program code: "ChangeYourself" - The offer is valid until the end of Nov 30th.

The Joe Rogan Experience

Jordan Peterson is a clinical psychologist and tenured professor of psychology at the University of Toronto. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/JordanPetersonVideos" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/user/JordanPetersonVideos</a> 100% off the Future Authoring Program code: "ChangeYourself" - The offer is valid until the end of Nov 30th.

#877 - Jordan Peterson

Best Episodes on Global Issues

The best self improvement podcast episodes. From improving productivity, to finding purpose in your life to what constitutes freedom, this topic is on anything and everything that can help people to improve their lives. Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!

"We are a lot harder to read than we think" At work, studies show that others have a better perceptions of our strengths and weaknesses than we do. I've come to believe that I must validate how others view me, I cannot assume my understanding is correct without validation. This episode is fascinating, learn how to have a more accurate view of how others see you.

"The short answer is: people don't see us the way we see ourselves."

Heidi Grant Halvorson, author of "No One Understands You and What to Do About It," explains the science of perception.

HBR IdeaCast

Understand How People See You

"Agility = the opposite of rigidity". "The ability to change your mind is a superpower." When someone gives you feedback, try not to think 'is this true or not?' Try to think 'what can I learn from this?' Sometimes you learn you don't agree but you have a good reason why. "The good learn from everyone and everything. The average from themselves. The stupid already know everything." Socrates.

"Enrollment agility = what to do with our thoughts and emotions internally that

Susan David, author of "Emotional Agility" and psychologist at Harvard Medical School, on learning to unhook from strong feelings.

Myth at the heart of the Roman Empire - for iPod/iPhone

Weekly hand curated podcast episodes for learning