Hello all. As things stand at this point, episode one has been recorded, episode two has been written and needs recording, and episode three is in outline format. My thoughts at this point are that I'd like to record an intro as well, just to lay a little groundwork for why I'm doing things the way I am, and to give you a better idea of where we're headed. For those of you who are checking in at this point on the blog, here's what I'm thinking.
The first three episodes will take a look at the advent of maritime history in ancient Mesopotamia, all the way up until the death of Hammurabi and the rise of Babylonia as a power, a point where trade seems to have subsided from the high point it had reached during Sumerian dominance. After that first trilogy looking at Mesopotamia, I'm going to backtrack and follow Egypt's story all the way up until a similar stopping point, and then I plan on filling in a few gaps where civilizations like the Indus Valley Civilization and the Minoan Civilization fit in.
The nature of a focus on maritime history is that some cultures and peoples did not play as large a role on the seas, simply because they were too small or were not in a geographic location conducive to sea trade or exploration. That being said, I'll try to fit such cultures in where they contribute to the narrative, but we'll have to see how that plays out as we go.
I plan on launching the podcast after I have the intro and episodes one and two ready to go, but I'd like to have another two or three episodes in the queue, just in case life gets crazy. I know that us history podcast lovers appreciate a steady flow of new material, so I'm going to shoot for a new episode every two weeks. Hopefully that isn't too sparse for you all, but my current commitments don't give me a lot of free time to dedicate to the podcast. I've enjoyed the preparation so far, and I genuinely hope that it has turned into a good product! So, look for the podcast to be available within the next several weeks, though I hear that getting a podcast listed on iTunes can be hit or miss 🙂
