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Podcasts EducationPodcast episodes – The Secret History of Western Esotericism Podcast (SHWEP)

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Podcast episodes – The Secret History of Western Esotericism Podcast (SHWEP)

Earl Fontainelle

Education

Latest episode

214 episodes

Philosophy and Occult Sciences at Constantinople: Maria Papathanassiou on Stephanos of Alexandria, Part I
25/02/2026 | 41 mins.
We speak with Maria Papathanassiou about Stephanos of Alexandria: the last known Platonist/Aristotelean philosopher trained at Alexandria, a politically-connected courtier at Herakleios' Constantinople, a Christian, an astrologer, an alchemist, and more.
Esoteric Orthodoxy in East Rome: Jonathan Greig on Maximus the Confessor
07/12/2025 | 1h 12 mins.
We head back to Constantionple with Jonathan Greig at the controls, to discuss the quintessentially Orthodox mystic, Maximus the Confessor. Late-Platonist apophasis meets hard-core ascesis, and Maximus follows the theology where it wants to go, sometimes to his own cost.
Introducing the Apocalypse of the Pseudo-Methodios, with Christopher Bonura
26/10/2025 | 1h 11 mins.
Christopher Bonura introduces us to the Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodios, a seventh-century Syriac prophetic universal history. Come for the Arab conquests reflected in Christian revelation, stay for the apocalyptic Roman emperor.
Jewish Apocalypse in the Seventh Century: Martha Himmelfarb on the Sefer Zerubbabel
27/09/2025 | 47 mins.
In this interview we explore a crucial document of seventh-century Judaism: the Sefer Zerubbabel, an apocalyptic ‘future history’ allegedly written in the past. The Temple will descend, the evil Armilus (son of Satan and a statue) will wreak havok, and two messiahs will arise to redeem Israel.
Touraj Daryaee on Zoroastrianism in the Seventh Century and Beyond
13/09/2025 | 43 mins.
With the Arab conquest of Sasanian Persia, a new religion enters the west. Once the great religious Other to the Græco-Roman world, the Zoroastrians are now part of the story of western esotericism. We explore their extraordinary religion with Touraj Daryaee.