T&J
A limited series podcast devoted to sixth century Byzantium and the greatest recorded love story on earth – that between Empress Theodora and her husband, the Emperor Justinian.
Episodes
8 episodes
Textiles and Jewelry with Betsy Williams
Bonus episode courtesy of my new South African and Articles of Interest fans! What was the Birkin bag of the T&J era? Could someone tell the difference between a Roman and a Persian based on dress alone? Were couches and bedding like what w...
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Episode 7
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47:47
Enslavement
T&J themselves owned enslaved human beings, and they were far from alone. Enslavement in the Roman Empire was the practice of both prostitutes and priests, even rabbis. Justinian hires some VIP jurists to Marie Kondo centuries of Roman law....
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Episode 6
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1:08:05
Gothic as a Modifier
One thing we can definitively say is that the Goths weren’t dressing in all-black and ornamenting their buildings with gargoyles. So how did the name of a single barbarian people make it to the 21st century and still mean so much?
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Episode 5
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53:41
Barbarian Makeover Pt. 2
Justinian, now emperor, decides he wants to restore the Roman Empire to its full territorial glory. Piece of cake, right? Good thing T&J have their favorite couple on-hand to help make it all happen.
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Episode 4
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1:01:33
Barbarian Makeover Pt. 1
We cross over the Danube River to uncover the many dichotomies between the Romans and their scruffier neighbors to the north. Justinian’s Uncle Justin leaves Thrace for Constantinople and sets off a chain of events that will lead T&J onto t...
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Episode 3
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47:41
One Iota
The smallest of the Greek letters – or what we'd think of as the letter 'i' – blows early Christian doctrine wide open. T&J link up and find themselves on opposite sides of the bitter theological divide.
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Episode 2
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1:00:03