Episodes

  • Medieval America with Kathleen Duval

    Medieval America with Kathleen Duval
    May 20 2026
    In this episode, Kathleen and Matt talk about vast early North America and all the peoples who inhabited it during (what Europeans call) the Middle Ages. There were cities, and then there weren’t. And the not having cities was better in a lot of ways, so we don’t need to cling to 19th-century stories about what’s “civilized” and what isn’t.GuestsKathleen DuVal is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Native Nations: A Millennium in North America as well as Independence Lost: Lives on the Edge of the American Revolution and the U.S. history textbook Give Me Liberty! A history professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she has written for The Atlantic, Time magazine, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal, and she appeared in the recent Ken Burns film The American Revolution. You can find more about her, including links to order signed copies of her books, at https://kathleenduval.net/CreditsHost & Executive Producer: Matthew Gabriele. Find him on Bluesky @profgabriele.com or his homepage profgabriele.com Editor: Julia SchifiniMusic: “Sleeping Bags” by OTEArt: Ulysses GabrieleMultitude: https://multitudeshows.com/Find American Medieval OnlineWebsite: AmericanMedieval.com Patreon: patreon.com/AmericanMedieval Insta: instagram.com/americanmedieval YouTube: youtube.com/@AmericanMedieval Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/americanmedieval.bsky.social About UsAmerican Medieval is a podcast about the Middle Ages, but with an American twist. Each week, joined by expert guests, we’ll explore either some fascinating part of the medieval world, or some way Americans have used this period to help them understand themselves. After all, if America has never been modern, it’s because we’ve always been slightly medieval.SponsorsWant to become a sponsor of American Medieval? Head over to https://www.multitudeshows.com/ads As supporters of my Patreon know, I’m a big fan of cocktails. That’s why I’m happy to tell you about Shaker and Spoon. Shaker and Spoon is a subscription cocktail experience kit, each box including 3 original recipes from award-winning bartenders, with enough ingredients for 12 (or more) drinks. Well, except the alcohol – or non-alcohol, because everything is adaptable to zero-proof. If you’ve ever been interested in trying cocktails but didn’ t know how to start, Shaker and Spoon is great because it teaches you how to shake, stir, build flavors, and garnish. You’ll learn about bitters, syrups, and aromatics with handy recipe cards and notes on how to start thinking like a mixologist. Start now and get 10%. Just head over to shakerandspoon.com and use the code “AMM” at checkout to get 10% off. You’ll be “drinking with historians” in no time.American Medieval is delighted to be partnering with Roundtable, at the 92nd street Y, in New York City, to offer a brand new online course – “The Medieval European Mind, in History and Literature.” The course will be entirely online and run for 4 sessions over 4 weeks, beginning on Thursday July 9. Live class sessions on Zoom will be from 2-3pm, but all sessions will be recorded. Each week, we’ll together think with an iconic medieval text, to talk about some aspect of the medieval - from the monsters of BEOWULF, to the monsters of the crusaders in Usama ibn Munqidh, to courtly love and King Arthur in Marie de France and SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT. And if that isn’t exciting enough, if you sign up now, you can get 30% off the registration price. Just head to roundtable.org and enter the code “MEDIEVAL30” at checkout. Do it quick as space is limited. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    50 mins
  • Lost Worlds with Patrick Wyman

    Lost Worlds with Patrick Wyman
    May 13 2026
    There’s something just amazing about being able to reconstruct a person’s life in the deep past, from say 5,000 years ago. Matt and Patrick talk in this episode about how being a medievalist helps think about our shared humanity and why history is so freakin’ exciting. GuestPatrick Wyman is a historian and the host of the history podcast “Tides of History” and now the new show “Past Lives.” He's also the author of The Verge: Renaissance, Reformation, and Thirty Years that Shook the World and has a new book out now - Lost Worlds: How Humans Tried, Failed, Succeeded, and Built Our World. See more at: https://www.patreon.com/cw/PastLivesMedia CreditsHost & Executive Producer: Matthew Gabriele. Find him on Bluesky @profgabriele.com or his homepage profgabriele.com Editor: Julia SchifiniMusic: “Sleeping Bags” by OTEArt: Ulysses GabrieleMultitude: https://multitudeshows.com/ Find American Medieval OnlineWebsite: AmericanMedieval.com Patreon: patreon.com/AmericanMedieval Insta: instagram.com/americanmedieval TikTok: tiktok.com/@americanmedieval YouTube: youtube.com/@AmericanMedieval Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/americanmedieval.bsky.social About UsAmerican Medieval is a podcast about the Middle Ages, but with an American twist. Each week, joined by expert guests, we’ll explore either some fascinating part of the medieval world, or some way Americans have used this period to help them understand themselves. After all, if America has never been modern, it’s because we’ve always been slightly medieval.SponsorsWant to become a sponsor of American Medieval? Head over to https://www.multitudeshows.com/ads As supporters of my Patreon know, I’m a big fan of cocktails. That’s why I’m happy to tell you about Shaker and Spoon. Shaker and Spoon is a subscription cocktail experience kit, each box including 3 original recipes from award-winning bartenders, with enough ingredients for 12 (or more) drinks. Well, except the alcohol – or non-alcohol, because everything is adaptable to zero-proof. If you’ve ever been interested in trying cocktails but didn’ t know how to start, Shaker and Spoon is great because it teaches you how to shake, stir, build flavors, and garnish. You’ll learn about bitters, syrups, and aromatics with handy recipe cards and notes on how to start thinking like a mixologist. Start now and get 10%. Just head over to shakerandspoon.com and use the code “AMM” at checkout to get 10% off. You’ll be “drinking with historians” in no time.American Medieval is delighted to be partnering with Roundtable, at the 92nd street Y, in New York City, to offer a brand new online course – “The Medieval European Mind, in History and Literature.” The course will be entirely online and run for 4 sessions over 4 weeks, beginning on Thursday July 9. Live class sessions on Zoom will be from 2-3pm, but all sessions will be recorded. Each week, we’ll together think with an iconic medieval text, to talk about some aspect of the medieval - from the monsters of BEOWULF, to the monsters of the crusaders in Usama ibn Munqidh, to courtly love and King Arthur in Marie de France and SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT. And if that isn’t exciting enough, if you sign up now, you can get 30% off the registration price. Just head to roundtable.org and enter the code “MEDIEVAL30” at checkout. Do it quick as space is limited. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    59 mins
  • Multicultural Middle Ages with Reed O’Mara and Loren Cantrell

    Multicultural Middle Ages with Reed O’Mara and Loren Cantrell
    May 6 2026
    I think this might be a food podcast now because we talked a lot about cake. But also in this episode we talk about archives, how podcasts can demystify the medieval world, and how everyone should be welcomed into studying the Middle Ages.GuestsReed O'Mara is a PhD candidate in the joint art history program between Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Museum of Art and is currently serving as the Samuel H. Kress Institutional Fellow at the Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte in Munich, Germany. Reed's research focuses on the arts of medieval Germany, specifically word and image relationships in Ashkenazi illuminated manuscripts.Loren Easterday Lee Cantrell is a producer of The Multicultural Middle Ages podcast, just completed her PhD in French at the University of Virginia. She specializes in Old French editing and translation, manuscript studies, and digital humanities. Bluesky: @loren325.bsky.socialCreditsHost & Executive Producer: Matthew Gabriele. Find him on Bluesky @profgabriele.com or his homepage profgabriele.com Editor: Julia SchifiniMusic: “Sleeping Bags” by OTEArt: Ulysses GabrieleMultitude: https://multitudeshows.com/ Find American Medieval OnlineWebsite: AmericanMedieval.com Patreon: patreon.com/AmericanMedieval Insta: instagram.com/americanmedieval YouTube: youtube.com/@AmericanMedieval Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/americanmedieval.bsky.social About UsAmerican Medieval is a podcast about the Middle Ages, but with an American twist. Each week, joined by expert guests, we’ll explore either some fascinating part of the medieval world, or some way Americans have used this period to help them understand themselves. After all, if America has never been modern, it’s because we’ve always been slightly medieval.SponsorsWant to become a sponsor of American Medieval? Head over to https://www.multitudeshows.com/ads As supporters of my Patreon know, I’m a big fan of cocktails. That’s why I’m happy to tell you about Shaker and Spoon. Shaker and Spoon is a subscription cocktail experience kit, each box including 3 original recipes from award-winning bartenders, with enough ingredients for 12 (or more) drinks. Well, except the alcohol – or non-alcohol, because everything is adaptable to zero-proof. If you’ve ever been interested in trying cocktails but didn’ t know how to start, Shaker and Spoon is great because it teaches you how to shake, stir, build flavors, and garnish. You’ll learn about bitters, syrups, and aromatics with handy recipe cards and notes on how to start thinking like a mixologist. Start now and get 10%. Just head over to shakerandspoon.com and use the code “AMM” at checkout to get 10% off. You’ll be “drinking with historians” in no time.American Medieval is delighted to be partnering with Roundtable, at the 92nd street Y, in New York City, to offer a brand new online course – “The Medieval European Mind, in History and Literature.” The course will be entirely online and run for 4 sessions over 4 weeks, beginning on Thursday July 9. Live class sessions on Zoom will be from 2-3pm, but all sessions will be recorded. Each week, we’ll together think with an iconic medieval text, to talk about some aspect of the medieval - from the monsters of BEOWULF, to the monsters of the crusaders in Usama ibn Munqidh, to courtly love and King Arthur in Marie de France and SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT. And if that isn’t exciting enough, if you sign up now, you can get 30% off the registration price. Just head to roundtable.org and enter the code “MEDIEVAL30” at checkout. Do it quick as space is limited. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    1 hr and 1 min
  • Future Medievalisms with Matthew X. Vernon

    Future Medievalisms with Matthew X. Vernon
    Apr 29 2026

    It’s the Matthew and Matthew show! In this episode, we talk about frictions - about how art can help us think differently about the Middle Ages, as well as our own futures. Plus we talk about Doritos.



    Guest

    Matthew Vernon is a medievalist at UC Davis. He’s the author of The Black Middle Ages: Race and the Construction of the Middle Ages, and if you want a peek into his new work, check out his podcast co-hosted by Stacey Baran Fear of the Dark, available on all your favorite podcatchers.



    Credits

    • Host & Executive Producer: Matthew Gabriele. Find him on Bluesky @profgabriele.com or his homepage profgabriele.com
    • Editor: Julia Schifini
    • Music: “Sleeping Bags” by OTE
    • Art: Ulysses Gabriele
    • Multitude: https://multitude.productions



    Find American Medieval Online

    • Website: AmericanMedieval.com
    • Patreon: patreon.com/AmericanMedieval
    • Insta: instagram.com/americanmedieval
    • TikTok: tiktok.com/@americanmedieval
    • YouTube: youtube.com/@AmericanMedieval
    • Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/americanmedieval.bsky.social



    About Us

    American Medieval is a podcast about the Middle Ages, but with an American twist. Each week, joined by expert guests, we’ll explore either some fascinating part of the medieval world, or some way Americans have used this period to help them understand themselves.

    After all, if America has never been modern, it’s because we’ve always been slightly medieval.

    Want to become a sponsor of American Medieval? Head over to https://multitude.productions/ads

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    41 mins
  • Medieval Video Games with Blair Apgar

    Medieval Video Games with Blair Apgar
    Apr 22 2026

    Video games! They’re fun. We discuss, and mention some of our favorites set in/ around the Middle Ages. Plus they’re really great for showing how history works. Trust us, we’re doctors.



    Guest

    Blair Apgar is an assistant professor of Art history at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, where they research and teach on the reception of the Middle Ages into modern media such as video games. They also co-lead the international research network 'The Middle Ages in Modern Games’ which focuses on the intersections of global medieval history and computer games (https://middleagesinmoderngames.net ).



    Credits

    • Host & Executive Producer: Matthew Gabriele. Find him on Bluesky @profgabriele.com or his homepage profgabriele.com
    • Editor: Julia Schifini
    • Music: “Sleeping Bags” by OTE
    • Art: Ulysses Gabriele
    • Multitude: https://multitude.productions



    Find American Medieval Online

    • Website: AmericanMedieval.com
    • Patreon: patreon.com/AmericanMedieval
    • Insta: instagram.com/americanmedieval
    • YouTube: youtube.com/@AmericanMedieval
    • Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/americanmedieval.bsky.social



    About Us

    American Medieval is a podcast about the Middle Ages, but with an American twist. Each week, joined by expert guests, we’ll explore either some fascinating part of the medieval world, or some way Americans have used this period to help them understand themselves.

    After all, if America has never been modern, it’s because we’ve always been slightly medieval.

    Want to become a sponsor of American Medieval? Head over to https://multitude.productions/ads

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    49 mins
  • Crossover Episode with “Reckoning” (the film “Kingdom of Heaven”)

    Crossover Episode with “Reckoning” (the film “Kingdom of Heaven”)
    Apr 15 2026

    This is an older episode from the “Reckoning with Jason Herbert” back catalog, but we all talk about the Ridley Scott epic (?) “Kingdom of Heaven.” Matt yells about water, among other things.



    Guest

    Jason Herbert is the host of Reckoning with Jason Herbert, a podcast about history, the outdoors, and movies. He's also the creator of “Historians at the Movies” Watch Party, one of the longest running watch parties in the world. Jason's an expert on Indigenous and environmental history in North America, and serves as a tribal liaison in Colorado for the United States Forest Service, which in no way endorses his work. You can find him across all social media at HerbertHistory.


    In this episode, Jason was joined by Matthew Gabriele, John Wyatt Greenlee (the eels guy), Thomas Lecaque (the yell-y holy war guy), and David M. Perry (the friend and co-author of Matt guy).



    Credits

    • Host & Executive Producer: Matthew Gabriele. Find him on Bluesky @profgabriele.com or his homepage profgabriele.com
    • Editor: Julia Schifini
    • Music: “Sleeping Bags” by OTE
    • Art: Ulysses Gabriele
    • Multitude: https://multitude.productions



    Find American Medieval Online

    • Website: AmericanMedieval.com
    • Patreon: patreon.com/AmericanMedieval
    • Insta: instagram.com/americanmedieval
    • YouTube: youtube.com/@AmericanMedieval
    • Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/americanmedieval.bsky.social



    About Us

    American Medieval is a podcast about the Middle Ages, but with an American twist. Each week, joined by expert guests, we’ll explore either some fascinating part of the medieval world, or some way Americans have used this period to help them understand themselves.

    After all, if America has never been modern, it’s because we’ve always been slightly medieval.

    Want to become a sponsor of American Medieval? Head over to https://multitude.productions/ads

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    1 hr and 21 mins
  • Medieval Comics with Natalie Hopwood

    Medieval Comics with Natalie Hopwood
    Apr 8 2026

    This episode we talk about Norse sagas and medieval comics. Jack Kirby was an interesting guy - loved norse stuff and hated Nazis. Plus dragons. We talk about medieval dragons.



    Guests

    Natalie Hopwood is a PhD candidate at the University of Leeds, where she researches monster encounters as points of intertextuality in Old Norse, and other medieval literature, in modern media, particularly American comic books, in her spare time. She is the co-founder of The Long Middle Ages, an interdisciplinary seminar series for postgraduate and early career researchers, and sits on the boards for the Network of Early Career Researchers in Old Norse and the International Society for the Study of Medievalism. Read her newsletter or find her academic page. Bluesky: @nrhopwood.bsky.social



    Credits

    • Host & Executive Producer: Matthew Gabriele. Find him on Bluesky @profgabriele.com or his homepage profgabriele.com
    • Editor: Julia Schifini
    • Music: “Sleeping Bags” by OTE
    • Art: Ulysses Gabriele
    • Multitude: https://multitude.productions



    Find American Medieval Online

    • Website: AmericanMedieval.com
    • Patreon: patreon.com/AmericanMedieval
    • Insta: instagram.com/americanmedieval
    • YouTube: youtube.com/@AmericanMedieval
    • Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/americanmedieval.bsky.social



    About Us

    American Medieval is a podcast about the Middle Ages, but with an American twist. Each week, joined by expert guests, we’ll explore either some fascinating part of the medieval world, or some way Americans have used this period to help them understand themselves.

    After all, if America has never been modern, it’s because we’ve always been slightly medieval.

    Want to become a sponsor of American Medieval? Head over to https://multitude.productions/ads

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    54 mins
  • The “Dark Ages” with David M. Perry and Eleanor Janega

    The “Dark Ages” with David M. Perry and Eleanor Janega
    Apr 1 2026
    Ok, we get yell-y about the “Dark Ages” in this episode. But first David and Matt make a shocking admission on this April 1, 2026 episode. Then we talk about other things. GuestsDr Eleanor Janega is a medieval historian, whose work aims to highlight the ways that our society has been influenced by the past, and more particularly, how it tells stories about history that aren’t actually true to justify our own desires. She’s the author of the book The Once and Future Sex: Going Medieval on Women’s Roles in Society and The Middle Ages: A Graphic History. Her work has also appeared in The Washington Post, Time, History Today, BBC History, Slate, and the Times Literary Supplement, among others. In addition, she’s co-hosts the hit podcasts “Gone Medieval” and “We’re Not So Different,” and is the host and co-creator of several history series on HistoryHit TV. Learn more at eleanorjanega.com. David M. Perry is a journalist and historian, who currently works as the associate director of Undergraduate Studies at the University of Minnesota. He’s the co-author (with Matthew Gabriele) of the books Oathbreakers and The Bright Ages, both from HarperCollins. Publishers Weekly called Oathbreakers “An enlightening portrait of the medieval mindset” while The Boston Globe said The Bright Ages was “incandescent and ultimately intoxicating.” Over the last few years, Perry’s work on history, parenting, disability, and politics has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Nation, The Daily Beast, Smithsonian Magazine, Slate, CNN, and many others. His website is davidmperry.com, and he can be found on Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/lollardfish.bsky.social. CreditsHost & Executive Producer: Matthew Gabriele. Find him on Bluesky @profgabriele.com or his homepage profgabriele.com Editor: Julia SchifiniMusic: “Sleeping Bags” by OTEArt: Ulysses GabrieleMultitude: https://multitude.productions Find American Medieval OnlineWebsite: AmericanMedieval.com Patreon: patreon.com/AmericanMedieval Insta: instagram.com/americanmedieval TikTok: tiktok.com/@americanmedieval YouTube: youtube.com/@AmericanMedieval Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/americanmedieval.bsky.social About UsAmerican Medieval is a podcast about the Middle Ages, but with an American twist. Each week, joined by expert guests, we’ll explore either some fascinating part of the medieval world, or some way Americans have used this period to help them understand themselves. After all, if America has never been modern, it’s because we’ve always been slightly medieval.Want to become a sponsor of American Medieval? Head over to https://multitude.productions/ads SponsorsIf you like American Medieval, you already know that we love our sibling Multitude podcast “Wow if True.” Amanda and Isabel are internet experts and they’re locked and loaded to answer all your burning questions about the internet. Recently, we did a crossover episode to talk about crusadercore and castlecore and how the internet loves medieval stuff. But there are other episodes too, of course. Check it out. New episodes every Wednesday.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    1 hr and 13 mins