Thin End of the Wedge

Ancient Mesopotamia does not get nearly the podcast attention that Greece and Rome do, which makes Thin End of the Wedge genuinely valuable. Host Jon Taylor works at the British Museum as a curator of cuneiform tablets, so he is literally handling 4,000-year-old clay documents as part of his day job. That kind of proximity to the material gives the show an authority that is hard to fake. The format is interview-based. Jon brings on assyriologists, archaeologists, and other specialists to talk about life in ancient Iraq and the broader cuneiform-writing world, roughly 3000 BCE to 100 CE. He has a real talent for getting experts to explain their work in plain language without dumbing it down. The episode on Ea-nasir, the famously complained-about copper merchant from ancient Ur, perfectly bridges internet culture and serious scholarship. At 84 episodes, the catalog is manageable. Topics range from Bronze Age diplomacy and Babylonian carnival rituals to the conservation of the gates of Nineveh. The show on the IAA Prize winners spotlighting early-career researchers gives you a window into where the field is heading, not just where it has been. Episodes come out on an irregular schedule -- Jon produces the show independently -- but the quality justifies the wait. A perfect 5.0-star rating from 23 reviews might reflect a smaller audience, but it also suggests that everyone who finds this show loves it. If your ancient history interests extend beyond the Mediterranean, this is essential listening.