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When the Waves Turn the Minutes to Hours: The Tape Recorder Trilogy – S2E08

(~330 BCE · Sardinia, Marseilles, & the Sea Between) The Narrator survives a terrible shipwreck in a storm at sea, only to be rescued by a man named Pytheas who should be included among history’s greatest explorers, but sadly his name is only remembered at all because so many geographers called him a liar. Based…
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With a Wave of His Hand: The Tape Recorder Trilogy – S2E07

(~590 – 332 BCE · Carthage & Tyre ) The Narrator remembers with deep regret how Alexander the Great destroyed the ancient city of Tyre whose royal women had once made a home and safe place for an immortal wanderer. Based on Chapter 7 of Middle by Geoff Micks. Alexander the Great. This depiction of Alexander’s…
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All the Time and Money in the World: The Tape Recorder Trilogy – S2E06

(~804 – ~590 BCE · The Known World, & Parts Unknown) The Narrator recounts his three-year journey leading a joint Phoenician-Egyptian expedition to circumnavigate Africa on the orders of Pharaoh Naku, or Necho II as he is remembered today. Based on Chapter 6 of Middle by Geoff Micks. A stone-carving of a Phoenician ship.…
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Khart-Hadast, The New City: The Tape Recorder Trilogy – S2E05

(825 – 804 BCE · Tyre, Cyprus, Zembra, & Carthage) The Narrator tells how Elishat —remembered by some as Dido— founded and nurtured the great city of Carthage, and what she did to maintain its independence from King Iarbas of Numidia. Based on Chapter 5 of Middle by Geoff Micks. The Rise of the Carthaginian Empire…
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The Whirling One: The Tape Recorder Trilogy – S2E04

(848 – 825 BCE · Tyre) The Narrator remembers the early life of Elishat of Tyre, a great woman all but forgotten today who was almost murdered in her bed one dark night years before she became a legend in her own time. Based on Chapter 4 of Middle by Geoff Micks. Dido as depicted in…
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The Kooks and the Crazies: The Tape Recorder Trilogy – S2E03

(~870 – ~848 BCE · Tyre, Israel, & Parts Further East ) The Narrator talks about Jezebel, the Phoenician princess who married King Ahab of Israel, how she came into conflict with the prophets Elijah and Elissa, and how her story differs from what is remembered in the Bible. Based on Chapter 3 of Middle by…
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The Royal Ladies of Tyre: The Tape Recorder Trilogy – S2E02

(~895 to ~870 BCE · Tyre) The Narrator shares how the royal women of Tyre kept the secret of his immortality, and in return he became their most trusted servant from generation to generation. Based on Chapter 2 of Middle by Geoff Micks. A cropped version of “Phoenicians Trading with Early Britons” by Frederick Leighton. Note…
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She Never Forgets a Face: The Tape Recorder Trilogy – S2E01

(2015 CE · Northern India & ~930 to ~895 BCE · Tyre) The Narrator remembers how he started perhaps the happiest time of his life. As with so many things, it began badly. A little girl with a perfect memory for people’s faces grew up to be first the Queen then the Queen Mother of …
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My Favourite 25 Bluesky Posts of 2025 (and the Whole Series Going Back to 2010)

Hello again everyone, The blog was pretty dramatically redesigned this year in support of my Tape Recorder Trilogy Podcast series, and so I’ve decided in the spirt of giving things a new look I’m going to put all of my long-running ‘Top X Tweets/Posts of 20X’ series here in one place rather than linking backwards…
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My Top 10 Podcasts of 2025

This is the first Monday since the beginning of September where I did not spend some of my day promoting the latest episode of The Tape Recorder Trilogy Podcast. Season One wrapped up last week, and I am taking a break for the holidays before starting Season Two. ‘Taking a break’ somehow turned into writing…