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

Earl Fontainelle
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Sep 27, 2025 • 48min

Jewish Apocalypse in the Seventh Century: Martha Himmelfarb on the Sefer Zerubbabel

In this interview we explore a crucial document of seventh-century Judaism: the Sefer Zerubbabel, an apocalyptic ‘future history’ allegedly written in the past. The Temple will descend, the evil Armilus (son of Satan and a statue) will wreak havok, and two messiahs will arise to redeem Israel.
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Sep 13, 2025 • 43min

Touraj Daryaee on Zoroastrianism in the Seventh Century and Beyond

Touraj Daryaee, a Chair in Persian Studies at UC Irvine and an expert on Zoroastrianism, delves into the fascinating world of this ancient religion during the Sasanian Empire. He discusses the political dynamics that established Zoroastrianism as a state religion and its interactions with Christianity and Judaism. Daryaee also highlights the challenges of sourcing Persian historical evidence, the evolution of Zoroastrianism post-Arab conquest, and the intriguing relationship between Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism, revealing its lasting influence on later religious thought.
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Jul 25, 2025 • 29min

Ahab Bdaiwi on the Rise of Shī‘ī Esotericism

In Part I we looked at the political events leading up to the formation of the Shi'a. In Part II we see that it did not take long for things to get very esoteric. Come for the programmatic esoteric hermeneutics, stay for the occult sciences.
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Jul 18, 2025 • 39min

Ahab Bdaiwi on ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, his Family, and the Origins of Shī‘ī Islam

We pick up from our last episode, where geopolitics and esotericism met in the crucible of Roman, Sassanian, and Arab political struggles. Ahab Bdaiwi threads the labyrinth of the earliest historical sources for the birth of the movement within Islām which came to be known as the Party of ‘Alī, or the Shi‘ā.
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May 13, 2025 • 56min

Seventh-Century History for Students of Western Esotericism

The podcast delves into the pivotal changes in the Eastern Mediterranean during the 7th century, highlighting the reign of Emperor Justinian and the emergence of Islam. It discusses the fall of Jerusalem and Heraclius's military campaigns, shaping the landscape of Western esotericism. The influence of the Sasanian Empire on Zoroastrianism and philosophical thought is unpacked. It also covers the cultural flourishing in Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate, and the rise of early Islamic leadership, which laid the groundwork for Shia esotericism.
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May 2, 2025 • 55min

Introducing the Qur’an Part III: Qur’ānic Texts vs. the Qur’ān

We discuss some of the history of how the Qur'ān came to be ‘the Book’: it started in the oral milieu of the high-octane early Believers' movement, and ended up in written form as something called the ‘Uthmanic recension. Many esoteric things happen along the way.
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Apr 18, 2025 • 1h 11min

Introducing the Qur’ān, Part II: Ambiguity and Esoteric Themes

We begin to explore the esoteric side of the Qur'ān, examining several case-studies in terms of ambiguity and esoteric themes. It turns out that every letter of the Qur'ān is an esoteric text.
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Mar 14, 2025 • 57min

Introducing the Qur’ān, Part I: Revelation, Text, and History

We cover some basic territory in introducing the Qur'ān, the holiest text of Islām. We introduce the text, discuss the traditional story of the Qur'ān's revelation, the modern text-critical enterprise of Qur'anic studies, and try to pin down the elusive character of this book-that-is-not-a-book.
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Feb 7, 2025 • 54min

Fred Donner on the History of Early Islām

We discuss what little we know and how much we don't know about the nature of the early ‘Believers' movement’, the nature and origins of the Qur'ān, the curious case of the so-called Constitution of Medinah, and what went on during the earliest decades of the Arab conquests. Fred Donner is our guide into unknown territory.
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Jan 21, 2025 • 1h 4min

Matthew Melvin-Koushki on Islam, ‘the West’, and Western Esotericism

Matthew Melvin-Koushki, a Professor of Islamic History at the University of South Carolina, returns to discuss the vital interconnections between Islam and the West. He argues for a more inclusive historical framework that embraces Islamic contributions to Western esotericism, challenging Eurocentric narratives. The conversation explores significant historical upheavals, the cultural richness of the Islamic Golden Age, and innovations like Idrisi's landmark map, all of which reveal a complex, intertwined heritage that reshapes our understanding of history.

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