# Mary Beard on why the classics still matter Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/historyextra-podcast-746104/mary-beard-on-why-the-classics-still-matter Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/historyextra-podcast-746104/mary-beard-on-why-the-classics-still-matter.md Podcast: [HistoryExtra podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/historyextra-podcast-746104) Published: 2026-04-21T23:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.megaphone.fm/NSR6363848569.mp3?updated=1776425883 Audio file: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.megaphone.fm/NSR6363848569.mp3?updated=1776425883 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/historyextra-podcast-746104/episodes/mary-beard-on-why-the-classics-still-matter Duration seconds: 2494 ## Resource What's the role of the classical past in the modern day? In this episode of the HistoryExtra podcast, internationally renowned classicist Mary Beard reflects on her long career, and discusses the ongoing importance of the subject. Speaking to Charlotte Vosper about her new book, Talking Classics: The Shock of The Old, Mary explores her relationship with antiquity – and explains why the ancient past is still relevant today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/historyextra-podcast-746104/episodes/mary-beard-on-why-the-classics-still-matter/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/historyextra-podcast-746104/mary-beard-on-why-the-classics-still-matter.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.