We're Not So Different

just Luke this time as Eleanor is away on a well-deserved vacation. in lieu of our normal episodes and because Luke isn't a scholar of the Middle Ages, we decided to do a show about the medieval influences on the Star Wars franchise, something that Luke does know a lot about. enjoy!

new episode! Luke and Eleanor are back to talk about the Mongols, their many invasions and innovations, and, of course, Temujin, aka Genghis Khan! check it out as we start to wrap up our series on Medieval China

Luke and Eleanor are back to discuss the Great Wall of China. We discuss the numerous walls built over time, the Ming Great Wall that we know today, and how the Wall actually, usually served its purpose as a defensive structure. Imagine that!

Luke and Eleanor are back and continuing the series on Medieval China. this time, we responded to a few questions about sex, both in Medieval China and more generally across the Middle Ages. what can we say? our listeners want to hear about sex and we're happy to oblige

Luke and Eleanor are back to continue the series on Medieval China. this time, we answer a couple of patron questions about life and culture in Imperial China. the first question concerns how the Chinese saw themselves and who they considered the barbarians on their frontier borders while the second question revolves around the creation and trade of ceramics and porcelain out of Medieval China. check it out and learn something new!

we're back, baby! Luke and Eleanor answer some questions before continuing the series on Medieval China by discussing gunpowder. we talk about its discovery, its original purpose as an elixir for eternal life, and its eventual use in a martial context. check it out!

We are back with a brand new episode! Luke and Eleanor continue their series on Medieval China by talking about the Silk Road. It wasn't just commerce and trade goods that flowed along the road, it also carried inventions, armies, and even cultures from the Pacific to the Mediterranean.

hello! no new episode this week due to real world stuff getting in the way, so we're unlocking one of our Patreon episodes for everyone to check out. it's an interview with podcaster and historian Patrick Wyman about a bunch of topics, including his forthcoming book, The Verge. check out the show and if you like what you hear, preorder Patrick's book and subscribe to the patreon for $5 a month at patreon.com/wnsdpod

Luke and Eleanor are back to continue their series on Medieval China. This episode is the second part of the introduction to Medieval China and gives a very high-level overview of some of the long history of Ancient and early Imperial China, including a look at the early dynasties.

Luke and Eleanor are back to start a series on Medieval China. of course, Medieval China is so different from our general conceptions of the Middle Ages that we have to spend some time introducing Chinese history. after all, China did go through a period of serfdom, they just abandoned the practice over 200 years before the birth of Christ whereas serfdom would last into the 19th century AD and later across the rest of the world. so yeah, things were a bit different