138 episodes

Sarah Ifft Decker, a medieval historian, explores how movies, tv, and books depict the medieval world. What did they get right? What did they get wrong? And what do they tell us about how modern people think about the medieval past?

Media-eval: A Medieval Pop Culture Podcast Media-eval: A Medieval Pop Culture Podcast

    • TV & Film
    • 4.5 • 51 Ratings

Sarah Ifft Decker, a medieval historian, explores how movies, tv, and books depict the medieval world. What did they get right? What did they get wrong? And what do they tell us about how modern people think about the medieval past?

    I'm in Love with the Villainess!

    I'm in Love with the Villainess!

    Media-eval this week is transported back to (sort of) Ancien Regime France. Join Sarah and returning guest Peter Konieczny for a discussion of anime series I’m in Love with the Villainess! We get into how we distinguish medieval from early modern (and whether we should), food history (ever wondered when they first invented crème brûlée?), and class dynamics in the late medieval and early modern world.

    Social Media:
Twitter: twitter.com/mediaevalpod
    E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com
    Find Peter at http://www.medievalists.net

    • 1 hr 49 min
    Wheel of Time season 2

    Wheel of Time season 2

    Ollie returns to talk about a season of a tv show he enjoyed and simultaneously got really annoyed at.

    Sarah is very patient with him and they also have a really interesting discussion on what makes an adaptation good and what mistakes adaptations often make.

    • 2 hr 39 min
    Doctor Who, Vampires Of Venice

    Doctor Who, Vampires Of Venice

    Sarah and returning Media-eval Doctor Who correspondent Lily Bonnemann return for New Series season 5 episode, The Vampires of Venice! Join us as we explore vampire lore, the history of Venice, and the real lives of powerful wealthy women (most of whom are NOT fish-aliens) in early modern Venice.

    Social Media:
Twitter: twitter.com/mediaevalpod
    E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com
    Find Lily on Tumblr: www.tumblr.com/shadow-academic

    • 1 hr 14 min
    The Fountain

    The Fountain

    Media-eval this week goes from 1500 to 2000 to 2500 in Darren Aronofsky’s The Fountain. Join Sarah and guest Marisa Macias as we attempt (with moderate success) to make sense of this movie. Are all the Hugh Jackman’s and Rachel Weiszes the same person? What was Isabella I of Castile really like? And why on earth are filmmakers so dedicated to not knowing what the Spanish Inquisition is?

    Social Media:
Twitter: twitter.com/mediaevalpod
    E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com
    Find Marisa on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@madmodworld

    • 1 hr 35 min
    Napoleon

    Napoleon

    This week, Media-eval ventures a bit outside its usual chronology … as after all, Sarah can’t resist an opportunity to dunk on Ridley Scott. Join Sarah and guest Miranda Sachs, a historian of modern France, as we discuss Ridley Scott’s 2023 film Napoleon. What about Napoleon got left out of the film, and why does it matter? Was the French Revolution quite as bad as the film implies? (Hint: No). And why is the film’s central thesis that Napoleon was bad at sex?

    Social Media:
Twitter: twitter.com/mediaevalpod
    E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com
    Find Miranda Sachs at her faculty page: https://www.txst.edu/history/people/faculty-staff/sachs.html, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MirandaSachs, and on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mirandasachs.bsky.social

    • 1 hr 25 min
    Beyond Cadfael: Medieval Medicine and Medical Medievalism

    Beyond Cadfael: Medieval Medicine and Medical Medievalism

    This week we have something a little different, as medievalists Lucy Barnhouse and Winston Black join Sarah to talk about how medieval medicine is represented in popular culture. Lucy and Winston are the editors of the new volume Beyond Cadfael: Medieval Medicine and Medical Medievalism. Join us as we explore the most common tropes of medical medievalism, from leeches to orientalism.

    Social Media:
Twitter: twitter.com/mediaevalpod
    E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com
    Purchase Beyond Cadfael here: https://trivent-publishing.eu/home/160-232-beyond-cadfael.html
    Find Lucy on social media: https://twitter.com/singingscholar
    Find Winston on social media: https://mastodon.world/@winstoneblack and https://bsky.app/profile/winstonblack.bsky.social

    • 51 min

Customer Reviews

4.5 out of 5
51 Ratings

51 Ratings

AlaskanBby ,

Amazing, interesting, cannot get enough of it!

I ADORE this podcast. I was looking for someone who had talked about the movie Beckett and low and behold I stumbled upon the history podcast of my dreams. As a Jew and history minor myself this has sparked my interest in the middle ages/medieval period and inspired me to take a class this fall semester focused on that period of western history. Come for the laughs, stay to really learn fascinating facts that I’m sure will eventually come in super handy at bar trivia!

Tracy Tanoff ,

A great podcast for both listeners and guests!

Full disclosure, I have guested on the show twice (Outlaw King and Six the Musical) and had an excellent time, but that has in no way impacted my review of the show. I was a listener long before I was a guest and can say wholeheartedly that Media-Eval is a great show either way. (And come on, what a great pun in the title!) Dr. Decker knows her subject inside and out, and it's a great listen both when the pop culture is on the laughably wrong side (i.e., Braveheart) and when the piece actually tries. I particularly appreciate her views as a Jewish woman looking at these pieces of pop culture which often erase marginalized identities and glorify a white male Eurocentric viewpoint. We need more voices like this critiquing period dramas and I am so happy Dr. Decker continues to make her voice (and the voice of her excellent colleagues and guests!) heard.

Tignoty22 ,

Huge fan!

Big lover of your podcast ever since I was a student of history I was fascinated with the middle ages and my current love of film and podcasts made me a huge fan immediately

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