This weeks noteworthy podcast episodes provide quite a diverse range of subjects presented in lively and interesting recorded conversations.

New Books Network – Ancient History: Prof. Michael Motia interviews Prof. Tatiana Bur about her new book Technologies of the Marvellous in Ancient Greek Religion (Cambridge University Press). Not only is this a very interesting interview about ancient technology, such as the deus ex machina of dramatic performances and automata used in religious ceremonies and festivals, the book itself is also offered under open access by the publisher.

BBC Countryfile Magazine – The Plodcast: host Fergus Collins and noted writer and gardener Alys Fowler plod through a bog in North Wales discussing Ms. Fowler’s most recently published book Peatlands: A Journey Between Land and Water (Hodder / Hachette UK). I’ve long been a Plodcast listener and this is one of the finest episodes I’ve yet heard on it.

Cornell University Press’ 1869 – Prof. Angela Douglas is interviewed about her recently published book Near the Forest, By the Lake; Discovering Nature Close to Home (Cornell University Press). I was particularly delighted with Prof. Douglas’ explanations of the differences between natural history and science, and her emphasis that nature can be studied wherever one is and not only in far away places.

BBC Scotland Outdoors – host Mark Stephen and Dr. Edward (Eddy) Graham lie on their backs and look at clouds – and, of course, discuss Dr. Graham’s recently published book Clouds: How to Identify Nature’s Most Fleeting Forms (Princeton University Press). This book is a particularly interesting one as it uses paintings by such noteworthy artists as John Constable, Frederic Edwin Church, J.M.W. Turner, and Caspar David Friedrich to help explain different types of clouds and even construct a taxonomy of them.

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