A steady look at Hadrian's Wall and its Roman setting.
Hadrian's Wall is framed as a Roman defensive fortification running from Walls End near modern Newcastle-upon-Tyne to Bowness-on-Solway, built in the 2nd century CE under Hadrian.
Have Toga, Will Travel
Emily Jusino, PhD (Classics) and Cam Hawkins, PhD (Ancient History)
20 episodes listed below
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In their own words
A podcast exploring the Mediterranean world, ancient and modern, through the eyes of two former Classics professors. Join Emily and Cam as they chat about all things Ancient Greek and Roman and share their own adventures exploring the Mediterranean world through history, travel, literature, and film. We release new episodes on or about the 1st and 15th of every month. https://havetogawilltravel.com
As heard by us
Based on 5 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Emily and Cam make ancient Mediterranean history vivid by testing familiar stories against texts, inscriptions, archaeology, and each other's interpretations.
Emily and Cam reconstruct the ancient Mediterranean through conversation, moving between political narrative, source criticism, material evidence, and modern screen adaptations.
Why you'd press play
Herodotus says Xerxes had the Hellespont whipped; you get to ask how he knew.
Press play if you want
- to follow the Persian war story past Thermopylae and into the arguments before Salamis
- Emily and Cam to explain how a bridge of boats carried an army across the Hellespont
Talks about
Best episodes of Have Toga, Will Travel
Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A comedy-led discussion that keeps Roman spectacle and historical detail in the same frame.
Monty Python's Life of Brian gives Have Toga, Will Travel an easy entry point into the ancient Mediterranean world, but the discussion does not stay shallow.
A careful, conversational finish to the Persian Wars arc.
Part four closes out Xerxes' invasion with Salamis and Plataea, and it keeps the pace measured. It moves from Thermopylae and Artemisia into the Greek retreat, the Persian advance, and the argument over whether to stand at Salamis or pull back to the Isthmus.
A measured, vivid march from imperial logistics to Thermopylae.
Xerxes takes the lead here, and the episode follows his push toward the Greek mainland as a campaign shaped as much by logistics and engineering as by ambition.
A source-savvy look at Darius that puts historiography ahead of battle recap.
The episode keeps Darius at the center, with a brief turn to Cambyses, to examine how Persian power and Greek history are framed. Emily and Cam stay close to where the sources agree, where they part ways, and why those differences matter for reading Darius and his place in the…
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Episodes
- 1
The Persians and the Greeks, Part II: Darius, Great King, King of Kings
Cambyses enraged at the discovery of a sacred Apis bull by the Egyptians, kills it in a fit of narcissistic rage
·46m·1 clip - 2
Hadrian’s Wall, Part I: The Romans in the Britain and the Imperial Frontier
Hidden gemHave Toga Willed Travel opens on Hadrian's Wall, the Roman defensive line from Wallsend to Bowness-on-Solway, 80 Roman miles long and built in the 2nd century CE under Hadrian.
Apr 15, 2026·56m·4 clips - 3
Monty Python’s Life of Brian: The Greatest Movie about Ancient Rome?
Hidden gemGeorge Harrison took out a second mortgage after EMI got cold feet, because he wanted to help fund Monty Python's Life of Brian, a 1979 film shot in Tunisia and discussed here through Monastir, Sousse, Carthage, and Matmata.
Apr 1, 2026·1h 1m·4 clips - 4
The Persians and the Greeks, Part IV: Salamis, Plataea, and Everything After
Hidden gemHave Toga, Will Travel covers Xerxes' march from Thermopylae to Salamis, Plataea, and the sack of Athens in 480 BCE.
Mar 15, 2026·1h 2m·4 clips - 5
The Persians and the Greeks, Part III: Xerxes and the Road to Thermopylae
Hidden gemHave Toga Will Travel follows Xerxes's path from Darius's death in 486 BCE to the march toward Thermopylae, starting with the succession fight between Darius's sons and Atossa's link to Cyrus the Great.
Mar 1, 2026·1h 7m·4 clips - 6
The Persians and the Greeks, Part I: The Rise of the Persian Empire
Two former classics professors discuss the ancient Persian Empire, its origins, culture, and imperial structure.
Feb 1, 2026·40m - 7
Aeschylus' "Persians": The OG Greek Tragedy
Jan 17, 2026·40m - 8
At Play in the Theater of Dionysus
Jan 5, 2026·45m - 9
Emily and Cam’s Excellent Adventure (in Athens and Rome, of course!)
Dec 20, 2025·52m - 10
Something for everyone! Plautus and “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”
Dec 1, 2025·50m - 11
Stranger Things: Eleven’s Heroic Journey
Nov 15, 2025·46m - 12
Holding Out for a Hero (in Ancient Greece)
Nov 1, 2025·46m - 13
The Athenian Acropolis, Throughout the Ages
Oct 15, 2025·49m - 14
The Athenian Acropolis, Then and Now
Oct 1, 2025·1h 4m - 15
Spartacus in Fact and Fiction
Sep 15, 2025·53m - 16
Roman Gladiator Games
Two former classics professors discuss the reality of gladiatorial games at the Colosseum, contrasting Hollywood depictions with historical facts.
Sep 1, 2025·57m - 17
The Roman Colosseum: Origins and Survival
Two former classics professors discuss the Colosseum and gladiatorial games in ancient Rome.
Aug 15, 2025·36m - 18
Homer’s Odyssey on Film: “The Return”
Emily and Cam discuss the 2024 film 'The Return' as an adaptation of Homer's Odyssey, exploring what adaptation means and how it balances faithfulness with innovation.
Aug 1, 2025·37m - 19
The Athens Marathon, Part II: Walking the Marathon
Two former classics professors discuss the origins and evolution of the marathon, from ancient Greece to the modern Olympic Games.
Jul 15, 2025·37m - 20
The Athens Marathon, Part I: In the Footsteps of Pheidippides?
Two former classics professors discuss the origins of the marathon in antiquity, including the Battle of Marathon, and their own experience walking the Athens Marathon.
Jun 26, 2025·33m