Latest Posts
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The making of my podcast marathon on Civilizations
I have just released episode 55 of the Burning Archive podcast. This episode is about the concept of civilization, in both the legendary game Civ I-VI and in the traditions of history-writing. Civilization, the game, is soon to be released in its 7th edition. In this episode of The Burning Archive I respond to a […]
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The Making of My Podcast on the History of the Mafia
Does the history of the mafia have more to do with Italian Risorgimento politics, prisons and the disruptions of the nineteenth century than medieval brotherhoods?
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Who has burned cannot be set on fire.
Yesenin’s poetic celebration of rural life was itself far removed from Yesenin’s real life.
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Poet and Citizen. Struggle and Song
A new Russian writer I discovered this morning is Nikolai Nekrasov (1821-78)…
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Fragments of Fragments
In 2016 I wrote a couple of posts on lists of writers whose work survives or is best known in fragments, who could even be imagined as the precursors of bloggers.
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New Acquisitions in the Burning Archive
Over the last few weeks I have collected a fair swag of Russian world history and literature.
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Pushkin and the Trauma of the Flood
The Russians of today show no sign of pulling down the great statue of Peter the Great that overlooks the Neva. Nor do they show any signs of cancelling Pushkin.
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Strange Freedom
From this traumatised, divided old Russian Soviet poet, we learn about our own strange freedom.
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The Seminar and the Last Night
Shvarts has become for me an important poet.
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The Making of my podcast on the Medici
Today I have recorded, edited and released the latest episode of The Burning Archive podcast – The Medici in Games and in History
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Experiments with Morning Routines
So today I experimented with restoring my morning routine, but with a twist. So today the plan is….
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Three historical notes on Putin’s 2022 Victory Day Parade Speech
Vladimir Putin’s Victory Day speech tells stories of how Russia has responded to threats by embracing multi-ethnic, multi-national traditions.
The Burning Archive 