Category: Ancient Jewish History

Masada—From Jewish Revolt to Modern Myth, with Jodi Magness

Ancient Jewish History, Israel, Memory

In this episode, Jodi Magness about the history of Masada, its role in public memory, and why it matters. Her book Masada: From Jewish Revolt to Modern Myth, which synthesizes the history of the site as well as how it has been received in modern times, offers a starting point for a wide-ranging conversation about what Masada means in terms of both scholarship and public memory.

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Jewish Origins with Steven Weitzman

Ancient Jewish History, Historiography, Jewish History, Religion

Steven Weitzman joins us to talk about his book The Origin of the Jews: The Quest for Roots in a Rootless Age, and what the question of Jewish origins has to tell us about a range of issues including nationalism, the relationship between Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, and the ways the study of the past has often been put to use for political or ideological purposes.

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