Episodes

  • BONUS: Pandora Live Q&A
    Mar 8 2026
    *** SUPPORT PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** Make sure you are on ko-fi as a monthly subscriber, with the right email, so you get an invite to these LIVE sessions every other Thursday, as well as an illustrated guide to each episode. ... The myths, tales, and concepts of ancient Greece echo and reach into every aspect of modern life. Often misunderstood, frequently romanticised, and sometimes deliberately twisted - to understand their origins and truth is to get a real glimpse into the universal themes that connect us to the past and each other. Welcome to Podyssey with Alex Andreou. Each week we will take one myth, one concept, person, place, or theme from Ancient Greece, take it apart, figure out its inner workings, trace its influence, juice it for its wisdom, reimagine, update and put it back together - all shiny and new! MUSIC Red River Dave, "I wish I had my first wife back", 1944 Richard Wagner, Lohengrin: "Mein lieber Schwan", Lauritz Melchior, 1938 *** SUPPORT PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** Written and presented by Alex Andreou Expert contributions by Alexandra Angeletaki-Røe, Debbie Challis, Amanda Potter, and Dr Ruth Smith Music by Marianna Sangita Artwork by Simona Kanellou Additional research by Kos Mantzakos Illustrated Guide design by Daniel Block A Cooler Heads podcast *** SUPPORT PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    54 mins
  • 2.2 PANDORA: Worst. Unboxing. Video. Ever.
    Feb 25 2026
    To receive the illustrated guide to each episode and an invitation to the live Q&A on Thursday 5th March at 8pm, become a monthly supporter! *** SUPPORT PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** Pandora’s tale demands deconstruction, because it makes no sense, even on its own terms. When a story lacks internal logic, one must look for the external factors pressing on it, twisting it out of shape. ... The myths, tales, and concepts of ancient Greece echo and reach into every aspect of modern life. Often misunderstood, frequently romanticised, and sometimes deliberately twisted - to understand their origins and truth is to get a real glimpse into the universal themes that connect us to the past and each other. Welcome to Podyssey with Alex Andreou. Each week we will take one myth, one concept, person, place, or theme from Ancient Greece, take it apart, figure out its inner workings, trace its influence, juice it for its wisdom, reimagine, update and put it back together - all shiny and new! *** SUPPORT PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** Written and presented by Alex Andreou Expert contributions by Alexandra Angeletaki-Røe, Debbie Challis, Amanda Potter, and Dr Ruth Smith Music by Marianna Sangita Artwork by Simona Kanellou Additional research by Kos Mantzakos A Cooler Heads podcast *** SUPPORT PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 31 mins
  • Bonus PROMETHEUS: Live Q & A
    Feb 25 2026
    *** SUPPORT PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** What is there to be said about Prometheus that has not been said already, by voices much more illustrious than mine - from Plato to Goethe and Aeschylus to Mary Shelley? Quite a lot it turns out. This is the beauty of myths - they wrap around each present differently, always revealing different things. Make sure you are on ko-fi as a monthly subscriber, with the right email, so you get an invite to these LIVE sessions every other Thursday, as well as an illustrated guide to each episode. ... The myths, tales, and concepts of ancient Greece echo and reach into every aspect of modern life. Often misunderstood, frequently romanticised, and sometimes deliberately twisted - to understand their origins and truth is to get a real glimpse into the universal themes that connect us to the past and each other. Welcome to Podyssey with Alex Andreou. Each week we will take one myth, one concept, person, place, or theme from Ancient Greece, take it apart, figure out its inner workings, trace its influence, juice it for its wisdom, reimagine, update and put it back together - all shiny and new! *** SUPPORT PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** Written and presented by Alex Andreou Expert contributions by Alexandra Angeletaki-Røe, Debbie Challis, Amanda Potter, and Dr Ruth Smith Music by Marianna Sangita Artwork by Simona Kanellou Additional research by Kos Mantzakos A Cooler Heads podcast *** SUPPORT PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    47 mins
  • 2.1 PROMETHEUS: I Don't Want to Set The World On Fire
    Feb 25 2026
    *** SUPPORT PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** What is there to be said about Prometheus that has not been said already, by voices much more illustrious than mine - from Plato to Goethe and Aeschylus to Mary Shelley? Quite a lot it turns out. This is the beauty of myths - they wrap around each present differently, always revealing different things. Make sure you are on ko-fi as a monthly subscriber, with the right email, so you get an interview to next week's LIVE episode on Prometheus. Thursday the 12th, at 8pm. ... The myths, tales, and concepts of ancient Greece echo and reach into every aspect of modern life. Often misunderstood, frequently romanticised, and sometimes deliberately twisted - to understand their origins and truth is to get a real glimpse into the universal themes that connect us to the past and each other. Welcome to Podyssey with Alex Andreou. Each week we will take one myth, one concept, person, place, or theme from Ancient Greece, take it apart, figure out its inner workings, trace its influence, juice it for its wisdom, reimagine, update and put it back together - all shiny and new! *** SUPPORT PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** Written and presented by Alex Andreou Expert contributions by Alexandra Angeletaki-Røe, Debbie Challis, Amanda Potter, and Dr Ruth Smith Music by Marianna Sangita Artwork by Simona Kanellou Additional research by Kos Mantzakos A Cooler Heads podcast *** SUPPORT PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 28 mins
  • The Beast In Me - Ancient Greece And Its Pets
    Feb 3 2026
    *** SUPPORT PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠ *** Did the Ancient Greeks keep pets? What did they think of them and how did they treat them? This was the question asked by a subscriber, during a live zoom session. And although the topic did not fit well within the format of the show, it was nonetheless so tantalising a question, that I thought it merited a little bonus episode of its own. ... The myths, tales, and concepts of ancient Greece echo and reach into every aspect of modern life. Often misunderstood, frequently romanticised, and sometimes deliberately twisted - to understand their origins and truth is to get a real glimpse into the universal themes that connect us to the past and each other. Welcome to Podyssey with Alex Andreou. Each week we will take one myth, one concept, person, place, or theme from Ancient Greece, take it apart, figure out its inner workings, trace its influence, juice it for its wisdom, reimagine, update and put it back together - all shiny and new! *** SUPPORT PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** Written and presented by Alex Andreou Expert contributions by Alexandra Angeletaki-Røe, Debbie Challis, and Dr Ruth Smith Music by Marianna Sangita Artwork by Simona Kanellou A Cooler Heads podcast *** SUPPORT PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    41 mins
  • BONUS - How Do You Like Them Golden Apples?
    Nov 26 2025
    *** SUPPORT SEASON 2 OF PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠ *** Apples - especially Golden Apples - keep popping up throughout mythology, dripping with rich - and often conflicting - symbolism. The influence of these stories pervades religion, music, modern art, cinema, and technology. Funny story: they probably weren't apples. ... The myths, tales, and concepts of ancient Greece echo and reach into every aspect of modern life. Often misunderstood, frequently romanticised, and sometimes deliberately twisted - to understand their origins and truth is to get a real glimpse into the universal themes that connect us to the past and each other. Welcome to Podyssey with Alex Andreou. Each week we will take one myth, one concept, person, place, or theme from Ancient Greece, take it apart, figure out its inner workings, trace its influence, juice it for its wisdom, reimagine, update and put it back together - all shiny and new! *** SUPPORT SEASON 2 OF PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠ *** Written and presented by Alex Andreou Expert contributions by Alexandra Angeletaki-Røe, Debbie Challis, Linda Marric, and Dr Ruth Smith Music by Marianna Sangita Artwork by Simona Kanellou A Cooler Heads podcast NOTES TO COME *** SUPPORT SEASON 2 OF PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    55 mins
  • Director's Cut: ECHO & NARCISSUS - The Influencer & The Follower
    Nov 16 2025
    *** SUPPORT SEASON 2 OF PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠ *** Most of what you think you know about the story of Narcissus, is wrong. This isn’t a story of conceit or vanity. It isn’t even the story of one person. It is a story of unrequited love and pain, of the corruption of innocence, of losing oneself. ....... The myths, tales, and concepts of ancient Greece echo and reach into every aspect of modern life. Often misunderstood, frequently romanticised, and sometimes deliberately twisted - to understand their origins and truth is to get a real glimpse into the universal themes that connect us to the past and each other. Welcome to Podyssey with Alex Andreou. Each week we will take one myth, one concept, person, place, or theme from Ancient Greece, take it apart, figure out its inner workings, trace its influence, juice it for its wisdom, reimagine, update and put it back together - all shiny and new! Written and presented by Alex Andreou Expert contributions by Alexandra Angeletaki-Røe, Debbie Challis, Linda Marric, and Dr Ruth Smith Music by Marianna Sangita Artwork by Simona Kanellou A Cooler Heads podcast NOTES MUSIC Podyssey Theme: “⁠⁠To Margoudi ki o Alexandris⁠⁠”, Marianna Sangita, 2018 (with permission) Alphonse Hasselmans: Gitane Op.21, Rosa Spier, 1954 Antonio Vivaldi: LE QUATTRO STAGIONI "L'Estate" - Allegro, Henry Swoboda, 1950 Belle Baker: "Mad about the boy", 1939 Walter Feldkamp: "Reflections in the water", 1933 Domenico Bartolucci: "Crux Fidelis", Cappella Sistina, 1960 Charles Gounod: FAUST “Jewel Song”, Joan Sutherland, 1959 Camille Saint-Saëns: “The Swan”, Clara Rockmore, 1953 Giacomo Meyerbeer: DINORAH “Shadow Song”, Maria Callas, 1954 Lena Horne: "You go to my head", 1946 Daniel Pinkham: "Slow, slow fresh fount", John McCollum, 1961 Rudolf Friml: ROSE-MARIE “Indian Love Call”, Ann Blyth & Lorenzo Lamas, 1954 FILM The Talented Mr Ripley (1999) ⁠https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0134119⁠/ Snow White (1937) ⁠https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029583/⁠ All About Eve (1950) ⁠https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042192/⁠ The Shape of Water (2017) ⁠https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5580390/⁠ The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945) ⁠https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037988/⁠ Black Swan (2010) ⁠https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0947798/⁠ Ingrid Goes West (2017) ⁠https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5962210/⁠ ART “Narcissus” by Caravaggio ⁠https://www.caravaggio.org/narcissus.jsp⁠ “Metamorphosis of Narcissus” by Salvador Dalí ⁠https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/dali-metamorphosis-of-narcissus-t02343⁠ “The Nymph Echo” by Max Ernst ⁠https://www.moma.org/collection/works/79316⁠ Narcissus Fresco in Pompeii by Anon. ⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissus_%28mythology%29#/media/File:Narcissus_on_a_Pompeian_fresco.jpg⁠ “Echo and Narcissus” by John William Waterhouse ⁠https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/artifact/echo-and-narcissus⁠ “Narcissus” by Follower of Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio ⁠https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/follower-of-giovanni-antonio-boltraffio-narcissus⁠ "Mr. O'Wilde, You are not the first one that has grasped at a Shadow" by Thomas Nast ⁠https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/820022⁠ *** SUPPORT SEASON 2 OF PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠ *** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 7 mins
  • Podyssey Season 2 - All The Details
    Nov 4 2025
    *** SUPPORT SEASON 2 OF PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠ *** The myths, tales, and concepts of ancient Greece echo and reach into every aspect of modern life. Often misunderstood, frequently romanticised, and sometimes deliberately twisted - to understand their origins and truth is to get a real glimpse into the universal themes that connect us to the past and each other. Welcome to Podyssey with Alex Andreou. Each week we will take one myth, one concept, person, place, or theme from Ancient Greece, take it apart, figure out its inner workings, trace its influence, juice it for its wisdom, reimagine, update and put it back together - all shiny and new! … *** SUPPORT SEASON 2 OF PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠ *** Written and presented by Alex Andreou Music by Marianna Sangita Artwork by Simona Kanellou A Cooler Heads coproduction NOTES MUSIC Podyssey Theme: “⁠⁠To Margoudi ki o Alexandris⁠⁠”, Marianna Sangita, 2018 (with permission) Irving Berlin: “⁠I'm beginning to miss you”, Jon and Sondra Steele, 1949 Lerner & Lowe: ⁠“⁠⁠Come to me, bend to me⁠”, Floyd Sherman, 1947 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    9 mins