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Podcasts EducationPodcast episodes – The Secret History of Western Esotericism Podcast (SHWEP)

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Podcast episodes – The Secret History of Western Esotericism Podcast (SHWEP)

Earl Fontainelle

Education

Latest episode

216 episodes

Gerasimos Merianos on East Roman Alchemy in Late Antiquity and Beyond, Part I
25/03/2026 | 45 mins.
In Part I of a two-parter we explore the contours of East Roman alchemy from the seventh century onward. Gerasimos Merianos is our guide to the many and varied authors writing in the alchemical genre aside from (but including) the great Stephanos. The roots of the western alchemical tradition lie in the east.
The Horoscope of Islām and The Alchemical Stone: Maria Papathanassiou on Stephanos of Alexandria, Part II
04/03/2026 | 32 mins.
In Part II we explore two of Stephanos' works: the astrological piece entitled Apotelesmatikē pragmateia, with its katarchic ‘Horoscope of Islam’, and his influential, vexing, and beautiful alchemical work, On the Great and Holy Art of Gold-Making.
Philosophy and Occult Sciences at Constantinople: Maria Papathanassiou on Stephanos of Alexandria, Part I
25/02/2026 | 41 mins.
We speak with Maria Papathanassiou about Stephanos of Alexandria: the last known Platonist/Aristotelean philosopher trained at Alexandria, a politically-connected courtier at Herakleios' Constantinople, a Christian, an astrologer, an alchemist, and more.
Esoteric Orthodoxy in East Rome: Jonathan Greig on Maximus the Confessor
07/12/2025 | 1h 12 mins.
We head back to Constantionple with Jonathan Greig at the controls, to discuss the quintessentially Orthodox mystic, Maximus the Confessor. Late-Platonist apophasis meets hard-core ascesis, and Maximus follows the theology where it wants to go, sometimes to his own cost.
Introducing the Apocalypse of the Pseudo-Methodios, with Christopher Bonura
26/10/2025 | 1h 11 mins.
Christopher Bonura introduces us to the Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodios, a seventh-century Syriac prophetic universal history. Come for the Arab conquests reflected in Christian revelation, stay for the apocalyptic Roman emperor.