Years ago, as podcasts were just beginning to gain steam, I decided to try one of my own. I had several goals while creating this podcast. First and most importantly, I wanted to make synthesize the vast academic scholarship relating to the history of the Hebrew Bible, and of the Jewish people from biblical times through 70 CE, when the Romans destroyed the Jerusalem Temple, easily accessible to a non-academic audience. In a series of 20-30 minute episodes, I set out to tell a story, for free (although contributions for this labor are welcome!). The series was always intended to be limited; it ends shortly after the story reaches the year 70. Second, I wanted to develop a resource for my students that would allow me to “flip” my classes, that is, assign these as lectures and then use more of our class time in discussion. Third, I wanted to better understand the medium of the podcast in order to explore ways that it might be useful in educational settings.
It has only (!) been ten years since I produced these, but much has changed. The scholarship, and my own opinions, have shifted somewhat (now reflected in my book, How the Bible Became Holy), and podcasting has become far more professional. At the same time, I think that educational endeavors like mine are now more commonly on Youtube. I hope that at some point I can produce a sequel – perhaps on the rabbis and their literature – but since I still hear from grateful listeners, I think that there is still merit to this podcast.
For access, I recommend using Apple podcasts. Most episodes are also available at archive.org. Note that I did all the production in the early episodes, but that the sound quality increases after the technical people at Brown agreed to help me. So please judge gently.