Month: November 2024

Interview – Conor O’Neill Previews Duke-Wake

Friend of the pod Conor O’Neill stopped to talk about Duke, Wake Forest and a big matchup for the Blue Devils on Saturday. Before getting into Duke’s chance to get to nine wins and deliver on Richlandia’s pre-season W-L prediction, we cover the important story of the 70-80 pound Golden Retriever that knocked me down on my Monday morning run and injured my right leg. I’m still not back to normal, but given that I managed two-plus slightly painful miles this morning, I feel confident in saying I’ll be ready for the game on Saturday.

During our talk, Conor breaks down Maalik Murphy’s “salute” to Jonathan Brewer, the chaotic nature of Blue Devil wins this year, where Wake Forest is as a program and the problems inherent with strength of schedule discussions. Perhaps getting ahead of ourselves a bit, Conor and I discuss what losing Jordan Moore and Eli Pancol will do to the Duke receiving corps next season. In doing so, we learn what it feels like when doves cry (that’s a Simpsons reference, people).

Now, one other thing we discuss is the two historic things that could happen with a Blue Devil win on Saturday. If Duke beats Wake, Manny Diaz would hold the record for the most wins by a Blue Devil head coach in his first season. If that weren’t enough, Dad’s preseason win prediction would (finally) be right. Dad thinks that would warrant a special podcast episode with him. Conor agrees. I’m not so sure. What do you all think about this?

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode.

Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

College Huddle Collab to Preview Duke-VT

As you all know, Bull City Coordinators is part of The College Huddle network. And while I’m going to be doing fewer podcasts of my own, I’m always happy to do a collab with fellow College Huddle members. So, when Boundary Corner asked me to talk Duke Football, I happily stopped by their pod to talk about the Blue Devils. We’ve got a big game on Saturday and I’m looking forward to being back at Wallace Wade.

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode.

Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

Interview – Steve Wiseman Recaps Duke After 10 Games

Our old friend Steve Wiseman stopped by the podcast to recap Duke’s big win over NC State and assess how the Blue Devils have done through ten games. We discuss that while it’s defense first in Durham, the offense is starting to click. On top of that, Coach Diaz and his staff have spent time shoring up the kicking teams after Duke lost a tough one against SMU. As you’d expect, we talk about Coach Feeley taking teams into the sewer. With two games to go and a chance to get to nine wins, you best believe that the Blue Devils will do all they can to drag Virginia Tech and Wake Forest there.

Now, before the interview portion of the episode starts, I give my thoughts about NC State fans talking smack about how State shouldn’t lose to Duke and how embarrassing it is for Doeren to be 1-3 against the Blue Devils. Let me be clear, NC State fans should get their facts straight. I hope you enjoy my take.

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode.

Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

Sidequest 11 – Jeremy Swist on Late Antiquity

Dr. Jeremy Swist, a professor at Grand Valley State University, stopped by to discuss the historical period of time known as “Late Antiquity“. This is an era of time I know very, very little about, so I enjoyed the introduction to what is a fascinating area of study. It turns out that this is an evolving field that covers a period of transition for the Roman Empire from generally 200 CE to 700 CE (the precise time is open for debate). As the focus moves away from the Italian Peninsula, the Roman state evolved and changed. This set the stage, to some extent, for the next era of the Empire. I’m sure this is somewhat of an oversimplification, but it’s how I conceptualize it my mind.

During the interview, we discuss philosophy, how Late Antiquity as a concept came to be, what Late Antiquity means and the arbitrary nature of classifying historical periods. Dividing up history into specific areas of time naturally creates problems and creates incomplete or misleading narratives which includes terms like “Classical Antiquity”. Late Antiquity breathes life into what was previously thought of as a period of decline and reexamines this period. We also discuss the evolution of religious practices that a saw move towards Christianity from “Paganism” that occurred during this era. And, hey, there’s some new tribal / social / ethnic groups that arrive during Late Antiquity. There’s a lot to unpack here, folks.

Your reading assignments include The World of Late Antiquity by Peter Brown, A Companion to Late Antiquity and Anthony Kaldellis’ The New Roman Empire (one of these authors may be a guest in an upcoming episode).

On the opening theme music, for now it’s from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/kevin-macleod/folk-round
License code: SHTJJRTVTRXQAID1

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode. Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments or on Twitter.

And never forget that The Classical Antiquity Sidequest is a podcast without end.

Duke-NC State (Abbreviated) Preview

After losing two straight, Duke looks to get right against NC State on Saturday. It’s a big game for the Blue Devils which I discuss briefly. Why a brief discussion? Well, just like Duke hopes to turn a page after two straight losses, I have to turn a page on weekly podcasts. I’m a little slammed at the moment and will cut back on the frequency of the episodes. I do plan on a few more episodes this season, but you won’t get one each week. Regardless of my schedule, I’m taking the Blue Devils to win on Saturday. Let’s speak win number seven into existence, folks!

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode.

Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!