Recent Guests
Dr. Kara Cooney
Kara Cooney is a professor of Egyptian Art and Architecture and Chair of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at UCLA. Cooney’s research in coffin reuse, primarily focusing on the 21st Dynasty, is ongoing. Her research investigates the socioeconomic and political turmoil that have plagued the period, ultimately affecting funerary and burial practices in ancient Egypt. This project has taken her around the world over the span of five to six years to study and document more than 300 coffins in collections around the world, including Cairo, London, Paris, Berlin, and Vatican City. Her first trade book, The Woman Who Would Be King: Hatshepsut’s Rise to Power in Ancient Egypt is an illuminating biography of its least well-known female king and was published in 2014 by Crown Publishing Group. Her latest book, When Women Ruled the World: Six Queens of Egypt, was published in 2018 by National Geographic Press.
Betty Robertson
BAFTA Nominated Writer and Narrative Designer Betty Robertson loves her own voice. She’s a multidisciplinary autodidact with a background in Animation. When she’s not writing (for work), she’s still writing one thing or she’s writing another. Betty is currently stationed in Montréal and working at Ludia.
Dr. Joseph “Joe” Manning
Joe Manning is the William K. and Marilyn M. Simpson Professor of Classics and History at Yale University. He has two primary research focuses, the Economic and legal History of the Hellenistic world, and Egyptian history in the long run. His main concern has been the historical interpretation of the Greek and demotic documentary texts of the Ptolemaic period, the role of archaeology in the context of Ptolemaic economic history, and the applicability of social science theory, particularly New Institutional Economics and Social Network Analysis, towards an understanding the contextualization of the historical developments in the Ptolemaic empire. His work now takes him in some new and exciting directions, including working on the modeling of Egyptian history using cultural evolutionary theory for the Seshat Project, the study of comparative bureaucratic developments in the Mediterranean and China, the history of property in the context of ancient law, and a new major project exploring and specifying the underlying links between short-term climate change, war, rebellion and economic performance in the Hellenistic world.
Afiya Augustine
Afiya Augustine is an eternal student and lifelong dreamer with aspirations of finding her true calling. When the Trinidadian born isn't working as a Director in education, the Brooklyn-based content creator is crafting for her online accessories shop, Pretty Poet Ink, she is working on her podcast, Adult-ish, or writing on her blog, Alja The Writer. In her spare time, she enjoys a cocktail while trolling IG for funny memes. Check her out and get to know her!
John Haberstroh
John Haberstroh is a Ph.D. Candidate in History (Ancient Mediterranean) at the University of California, Riverside. His dissertation examines the intersections between local and Panhellenic cultures, identities, and politics at the major extraurban sanctuaries of the northeast Peloponnese (Nemea, Isthmia, the Argive Heraion, and the Asclepieion). His primary research interests focus on the deconstruction of Panhellenism (i.e., collective Greek identity), Greek athletics, festivals, and sanctuaries, and Greco-Persian interactions. John volunteers with the Save Ancient Studies Alliance as the leader of the "Access Team" which is creating an open-access online database of resources for the study of the ancient world. John was the Fowler Merle-Smith fellow at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens in 2017-2018 and is one of ten Mellon-Council for European Studies Dissertation Completion Fellows for 2021-2022. When John is not thinking, reading, or writing about the ancient Mediterranean, he is probably dreaming about training for his next marathon, listening to heavy metal, or making snacks for his two kids. You can read about John's travels to Greece, thoughts on teaching, and long-distance running on his blog: https://arunthroughtime.com/.