** Content and trigger warning: This episode contains images of sex and discussion of sexual themes, sexual abuse and exploitation, incest, and other related topics that might be inappropriate or upsetting to some listeners. Kara and Amber discuss one of the most debated objects from ancient Egypt: the so-called Turin Erotic Papyrus ( Turin P. 55001 ). Often viewed as an example of ancient Egyptian pornography or crass entertainment, this papyrus reveals far more about elite anxiety, dynastic su...
Jan 30, 2026•1 hr 29 min
In this episode of Afterlives of Ancient Egypt , Kara, Jordan, and guest Jason Silvestri delve into the enigmatic history of the Libyans during Egypt’s Third Intermediate Period. Jason shares his academic journey into Egyptology, discusses the discovery of ancient Libyan words in the Qeheq papyrus, and highlights his exciting archeological work at El Hibeh. About our Guest: Jason Silvestri Jason Silvestri (BA ’19, Univ. of Toronto; MA ’21 UC Berkeley) is the Lady Wallis Budge Junior Research Fel...
Jan 20, 2026•1 hr 21 min
In our latest live Q&A with podcast supporters, we discuss Kara’s progress on her latest book (about Nefertiti!!!!), the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, the challenges of pronouncing ancient Egyptian words (vocalization is hard and a task we try to avoid), whether or not Cleopatra really committed suicide (short answer: NO), our top-three favorite tombs (Sennefer, Ramose, etc etc and why is Osirisnet down!?), and more. Read more about Kara’s perspective on the death of Cleopatra in her...
Dec 07, 2025•1 hr 4 min
Kara and Amber return to the royal caches for Part II of their deep dive into the coffins reused for the re-Osirification (!!) of Thutmose III and Ramses II. Building on her new open-access article in Arts , Kara lays out how 20th–21st Dynasty priests “withdrew” value from royal burials during crisis and then ritually “paid it back,” stripping sheet gold but restoring a solar substitute (thin gilding or even just yellow washes of paint), covering coffin interiors with Osirian black resins, addin...
Nov 06, 2025•1 hr 17 min
CW// self-harm and suicide Kara and Amber take on the most famous death in all of antiquity—Cleopatra VII’s—and ask what “honor” really means when the sources are Roman, i.e. biased AF, and the stakes are imperial, that is Octavian is using Cleopatra’s fall to condense all power into the hands of one person, his own. Starting with a timeline of events, Kara and Amber unpack Octavian’s propaganda about Cleopatra’s death by suicide, and Kara argues that the suicide story serves Rome far more than ...
Oct 24, 2025•1 hr 9 min
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Oct 19, 2025•1 hr 6 min
Kara and Amber unpack what Kara has described as perhaps the most consequential object of her career: the coffin used to (re)bury Thutmose III. The story behind this king’s coffin spans centuries—running from the height of the 18th Dynasty—when it was first made—through the Late Ramesside turmoil—when it was first exhumed—and into the 20th–21st Dynasties—when the coffin was opened, closed, and reopened to source gold and use the body of the king as a kind of talisman for power. This coffin provi...
Oct 18, 2025•1 hr 22 min
Akhenaten physically manifested his cult to the sun, building a capital city at a break in the cliffs that created the perfect sunrise hieroglyph on the east bank, a city filled with open air temples into which the sun’s rays could reach directly. He created no statues to represent divine solar power, no intercessor between god and king; the sun’s warmth and light could not be contained in a cult statue. To honor the sun god, Akhenaten created a simple and literal system of giving back what the ...
Sep 26, 2025•1 hr 54 min
CW: This episode includes discussion of sexual themes, including incest and child sexual abuse. Listener discretion advised. In this episode, Kara and Amber take on one of Amarna’s most famous images—the so-called “house altar” showing Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and their three daughters beneath the Aten ( Ägyptisches Museum/Neues Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Inv. no ÄM 14145 ). At a glance, this relief seems to show a sweet private scene of domesticity and familial affection, but taking the ...
Sep 14, 2025•1 hr 35 min
Egyptian priests didn’t just waft incense and mutter incantations; they had to run the cosmic machine, make sure the sun rose and set, the Nile rose and receded as appropriate. From feeding the gods to managing temple estates, priesthood sat where divinity, money, and monarchy intersected. It’s not that the Egyptian priests were so simple-minded as to believe humans were needed for grand actions of cosmic continuance, but rather they realized pleasing the gods would bring the best version of div...
Sep 04, 2025•1 hr 3 min
[Content Warning: This episode includes discussions of sexual themes(!), power(!!), and the exploitation of bodies(!!!).] Join Kara Cooney and Amber Myers Wells for a deep dive into one of the most peculiar and beautiful objects from the tomb of Tutankhamun (we think!)—a painted wooden head emerging from a blue lotus. Was it meant to show the child god Nefertem? A cosmic birth scene? A sensual drug trip? Or all of the above? In this episode, we explore the sculpture’s religious symbolism, Amarna...
Aug 19, 2025•59 min
Content Warning: Adult themes of sex and sexuality; death and trauma In this podcast episode, we take a deep dive into pregnancy and giving birth in ancient Egypt. How were fertility issues dealt with? How was conception conceptualized? What was the childbirth process like? What role did magical rituals and belief in the gods play? What role did midwives, doctors, wet nurses, and others play in the process? And what can we gain from the experiences of these ancient people today? We ultimately co...
Aug 12, 2025•1 hr 7 min
How was magic/ritual practice used in the lives of ancient Egyptians to resist and gain a sense of agency? In this episode of Afterlives of Ancient Egypt , Kara, Jordan, and extra special guest Dr. Jonathan Winnerman delve into the concept of 'magical resistance,' exploring how ancient Egyptians and people today use magic and rituals to gain a sense of power and agency. They discuss broad definitions of magic, because yeah scholars really fight about what magic is and what it isn’t, its role in ...
Aug 02, 2025•59 min
What happens when an ancient Egyptian king recycles a statue—and then an empire steals it more than 3,000 years later? In this episode of Afterlives of Ancient Egypt , Kara Cooney and Amber Myers Wells take you on a deep dive into the life, reuse, and relocation of the colossal statue fragment known as the “Younger Memnon” (British Museum, EA 19). Once a towering monument to Amenhotep III, then reused by Ramses II, and finally carted off to London as a result of 19th-century colonialism, this st...
Jun 23, 2025•1 hr 31 min
Anya and I had so much fun in our recent Substack Live with Classical Wisdom . Anya was in Greece, I in California, and the topic was ancient Egypt. One of our main points of discussion was the newly conserved hypostyle hall at Karnak, which Anya had just seen in person. Enthusiastic as I am about this extraordinary space, I expressed a teeny tiny bit of concern about fresh paint colors being newly revealed. Don’t get me wrong: the newly conserved hypostyle hall looks bright and fresh, but we mu...
Jun 11, 2025•1 hr 6 min
In this episode, Kara and Jordan tackle supporter questions from the month of April, ranging from tomb decoration, Egyptian concepts of fate and destiny, religious texts, and our craziest theories—as well as some rabbit holes. If you would like to submit a question, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Paid subscribers join our live Q&A and get all their questions answered! The show notes below support our conversation, and there is some wacky stuff. We hope you enjoy diving down some of the...
May 21, 2025•51 min
There is this strange and confusing text about a pissed off goddess sent off to destroy the world and gobble up all of humanity. The sun god Re sends her out on a mission of destruction. She’s called the Eye of Re, meaning she’s a part of her father, the god, but also somehow separate, a goddess in her own right named Hathor. The Egyptians seem to be telling us that when you have a problem that needs immediate solving, you send a woman, a really angry woman. Re’s problem is nothing short of rebe...
May 08, 2025•1 hr 12 min
Summary Join Kara and Jordan on a thrilling, hair-tingling journey through ancient Egypt's wild dynastic power shifts! From the dramatic reign of Tutankhamun to the strategic brilliance of Hatshepsut, explore how these rulers navigated assassinations, epic battles, and family drama to seize the throne. Discover the parallels between ancient power struggles and today’s political landscape, and dive into the ultimate royal showdowns featuring invaders like the Hyksos, Libyans, and Nubians. Buckle ...
Apr 18, 2025•1 hr 28 min
This episode’s conversation delves into the role of music and rituals in ancient Egypt, the mysterious artifacts held by Egyptian statues, and the evidence for ancient Egyptian coups compared to modern political tensions. Awakening of the Gods - Mythvison * Galczynski & Price (2023). “Fashioning Sensescapes through Ancient Egyptian Dress” in Textiles in Motion. Dress for Dance in the Ancient World * Harper’s Songs * Dance in ancient Egypt * “ The Daily Offering Meal in the Ritual of Amenhote...
Mar 31, 2025•47 min
What does sun worship mean? The sun is the giant ball of fire in the sky. It warms us, embraces us. It lights up the air all around us, and its absence creates coldness, an implicit threat of non-return, something we must placate with entreaties, offerings, brave deeds. The sun is the most powerful element in our sky, heroically returning to us every morning, helping us start our daily labors of farming or carpentry or war, and as such, the sun usually takes on the guise of a masculine ruler. In...
Mar 18, 2025•1 hr 27 min
The concept of monotheism often hijacks the history of ancient Egyptian king Akhenaten because he funneled all his attention to one, previously little-known god, the Aten, the visible sun in the sky. Many scholars ask: Was Akhenaten, ancient Egypt’s so-called “heretic king,” the world’s first known monotheist? Did he say that other gods did not exist? Did he impose the belief that the Aten was superior to all other gods? In this episode, Kara and Amber discuss Atenism, the exclusionary and dogma...
Mar 06, 2025•1 hr 15 min
This episode is a recording from our quarterly live event series where supporters are invited to chat with us live over Zoom and ask all their burning questions—if you would like to support our work, consider becoming a paid subscriber: Show Notes Thutmose II (?) Tomb Discovered?! * Live Science: Thutmose II tomb discovery raises new mysteries: Where is his mummy, and why wasn't he buried in the Valley of the Kings? * * Thutmose II Biography * MET Catalogue, “Hatshepsut: from Queen to Pharaoh” *...
Feb 28, 2025•1 hr 7 min
Who should inherit the throne when the ancient Egyptian king is killed? The strong brother of the king or the younger son who needs serious time to mature? This was a vital question that the Egyptians solved through mythology. Egypt found itself in a power vacuum; it was the first political crisis the land had ever experienced. The primary god-king was dead, killed by his own brother. Who should become king next? Should Seth, the murderer of Osiris, inherit the throne of Egypt over Osiris’ son, ...
Feb 18, 2025•1 hr 56 min
What, exactly, is the was scepter? Essentially, it’s a stick with the head of a long-snouted, big eared animal, held by divinities in their hands to demonstrate their power. This familiar symbol of power and dominion held by kings and deities, usually masculine, in artistic representations throughout ancient Egyptian history appears often in art motifs. Images of was scepters are even pictured holding up the sky in Book of the Dead imagery. But where did this strange fetishized scepter come from...
Feb 07, 2025•1 hr 21 min
In this episode of 'Afterlives of Ancient Egypt,' we answer this month’s supporter questions about the Old Kingdom, debating the logistical and artefactual impacts of Egypt's unification on surrounding regions, the linguistic continuity from the Old to the New Kingdom, and much more. Los Angeles Fire Relief * California Fire Foundation * Los Angeles Fire Foundation * American Red Cross * Wildfire Recovery Fund * United Way of Greater Los Angeles * The Dream Center * California Community Fund * C...
Jan 31, 2025•46 min
For a limited time Kara’s online course, “Ancient Egyptian Cosmogony and Cosmology: Secrets of the Primordial Waters” is on sale— don’t miss it ! Scroll down to the bottom of the page, tick the “Have a coupon?” box in the bottom left corner and enter the coupon code CREATION10 (valid through January 29th) to save $10 at checkout. Time is of the essence so you can join Kara in a live Q&A Zoom event for course participants at 5pm PST on January 29th so sign up now ! Get full access to Ancient/...
Jan 27, 2025•2 min
Journey into the Duat with Kara and Amber as they explore the collection of funerary spells known to Egyptologists as the Coffin Texts. They discuss their historical context, conception of the landscape of the underworld, and the religious-magical spells of transformation and protection that were meant to aid the deceased on their afterlife journey. Kara provides a Coffin Girl’s Guide to the Coffin Texts, focusing on spells that mention coffins. Sources and Further Reading Faulkner, R. O. 2004. ...
Jan 20, 2025•1 hr 48 min
In this episode of Afterlives of Ancient Egypt , we discuss the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Sudan, and its impact on cultural heritage with our guest, Dr. Rennan Lemos. Dr. Lemos shares his personal experiences of being trapped in Khartoum during the conflict, witnessing destruction, and eventually being rescued. We delve into the historical context of colonialism in Sudan and Egypt, emphasizing the importance of preserving cultural heritage amidst crises. This episode underscores the need fo...
Jan 15, 2025•1 hr 6 min
Kara and Jordan answer supporters’ questions on the theme of “How do we study what we study?” Show Notes How do you study coffins? * Recycling for Death: Coffin Reuse in Ancient Egypt and the Egyptian Royal Caches How do we understand historicity in a literary text, like The Tale of Setne? * Great overview article by The Past * Golverdingen, Joost 2009. Khaemwaset: Demotic legend or the world's first Egyptologist? Saqqara Newsletter 7, 25-29. * Jay, Jacqueline E. 2016. Orality and literacy in th...
Dec 31, 2024•47 min
Kara and Jordan talk with Professor Anne Austin (University of Missouri - St. Louis) about her book Healthmaking in Ancient Egypt: The Social Determinants of Health at Deir el-Medina , how she uses data from ancient Egyptian human remains to understand health care practices, disease, and illness in the past, and her work on tattooing in ancient Egypt. Introducing Prof. Anne Austin Dr. Anne Austin is an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Missouri St. Louis (UMSL). She received he...
Dec 23, 2024•1 hr 15 min
