#isaac meyer

[st-just]

Kabuki's origins were in the city of Kyoto, as a form of street theater performed by women. However, as it's performances got more popular the Tokugawa government instituted bans on women's performances on stage, on the grounds that this was overtly sexual and promoted bad morals. Gender and sexuality being what it was during the Edo period, that meant that Kabuki plays going forward were performed entirely by men ... and continued to be overtly sexual and promote bad morals.

Isaac Meyer, History of Japan Podcast

[theoutcastrogue]

Was Robin Hood a real guy? Almost certainly not! But his ever-changing story is a fascinating reflection of the time periods he passed through. Let Demetria and Isaac take you on a journey through time, from the far past… to the distant future.

- Around [1500] Robin Hood becomes associated with May Day, with men dressing up as him for plays and festivities. Something we actually have from this period is a court case where a bunch of men were arrested for coming to a celebration and making trouble while dressed up as Robin Hood.

- They were LARPing!

- They were LARPing! This is some genuine medieval LARPing we have here!

[st-just]

I'm going to start this episode off right by making a historical and intellectual parallel this is sure to offend everyone involved or implicated in it.

Isaac Meyer

[st-just]

The nice thing about having spent a lot of time studying history is that I do know a lot about some things that are very depressing.

Isaac Meyer

[st-just]

Today we're going to talk about Mary Carleton, an absolutely fascinating woman I actually came across through the highly scientific process of googling 'interesting con artists.'

Isaac Meyer

[st-just]

The original Olympics were Greek only, with a couple exceptions-for example, the Roman Emperor Nero was able to 'convince' his way into the 67 CE Olympics. Where he proceeded to accomplish the absolutely astonishing feat of winning every even he competed it, despite not actually finishing a couple of them.

Isaac Meyer

[st-just]

The Kyoto faction was at any rate not particular interested in burying this particular hatchet, when obviously the Buddhist doctrine of universal love demanded that said hatchet be planted instead in the head of a rival monk.

Isaac Meyer

[st-just]

If there's any academic working in, like, Sumerian history who is desperate for a side gig, this is a moment of history that is just crying out for someone who knows what they're talking about to take the research and make it comprehensible to human beings. Because there are a lot of assumptions about how much ancient Akkadian you understand when you read a journal article about this.

Isaac Meyer