

Survive the Jive Podcast
Survive the Jive
Survive the Jive podcast is about history and ancient religions and folklore. Hosted by historian Thomas Rowsell who is also a documentary film maker, this podcast focuses mainly on Indo-European cultures and most specifically on Germanic/Norse paganism. The podcast takes a holistic approach to programming that informs, educates and improves us. It sometimes covers scientific topics but is mainly concerned with pre-Christian religions of Europe. Sometimes the podcasts are based on videos from the YouTube channel, other times they are exclusive. Guests can include historians, scientists, musicians and religious leaders.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 16, 2023 • 25min
Pagan sacrifices under your house?
The custom of burying an animal under the foundations of a house is not only very widespread, found in Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia, Finland and beyond, but is also very old, dating back to the Indo-Europeans of the Bronze Age Europe. It even spread as far away as America and India! In this video I trace the customs origins and dispersal and explain the magical function of the animal and human sacrifices underneath the home.

Sep 19, 2023 • 15min
Debunking the BBC's Horrible Black History
The BBC produced a song for the Horrible Histories children's program called 'Been Here From the Start' which makes several spurious, misleading and outright false claims about black people living in ancient Britain. From Cheddar man to Septimius Severus and the Moors, I debunk the lies contained in the BBC video and present the truth.

Sep 7, 2023 • 34min
How to set up a Heathen Altar in your Home
A guide on setting up a heathen altar to the Norse/Germanic gods in your home. How to arrange an altar for the gods, different kinds of domestic altars according to the recommendations of three of the most important heathen organisations in the English speaking world (The Odinist Fellowship, The Norroena society, Ealdríce Théod), where to put your altar in your house, what items you need to have, what kind of altar cloth, where to put the hlautbolli, what kind of idols to use, where to put the mead horn etc. I will also show you my personal altar set up.

Aug 17, 2023 • 56min
The Earliest Civilisation? Vinca Culture with Ben Elliott
The Vinca culture of Serbia is one of the first human civilisations. Possibly the first to smelt copper, one of the earliest uses of a symbolic proto-script and a hyper industrious producer of advanced ceramics including the earliest anthropomorphic life size clay busts. Yet few know of the wonders of this ancient culture. In this episode, I spoke to the historian Ben Elliott who travelled to Serbia to make a film called Quest for Vinca which aims to increase awareness of these fascinating Neolithic people. Support the Podcast: https://www.patreon.com/survivethejiveBen's linkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-elliott-292612282/

Jun 6, 2023 • 1h 2min
The history of the UNDEAD: from Draugr to Zombie movies
The living dead are a source of anxiety and fear in the sagas of Icelanders where they are called draugar, and the walking dead remain a popular monster in modern fiction in the form of zombies and vampires. In this JIVE TALK, Big Dave Martel aka the BOG LORD joins Tom Rowsell to discuss the enduring motif of the "after walker" in medieval and modern literature and cinema.

Feb 16, 2023 • 54min
Ask Me Anything LIVE Feb 2023
Ask me anything! It has been a whole year since the last AMA so there are plenty of questions to get through. This channel depends on your support: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/survivethejive All Links: https://linktr.ee/SurvivetheJive

Dec 19, 2022 • 1h 8min
What Is Shamanism? with Chris Luttichau
Chris Luttichau is a shaman who runs the Northern Drums Shamanic Training School from Cornwall and leads wilderness trips in northern Finland. Chris is Danish by birth but he trained with indigenous elders in North America, and now trains others in shamanic techniques. I visited him to learn more about shamanism, the fastest growing “religion” in the UK.Chris’ website is https://northerndrum.com/

Dec 5, 2022 • 1h 2min
The Northman - Esoteric Analysis
Robert Eggers' The Northman is the best Viking film ever made but some of the pagan themes within are too esoteric for everyone to understand. In this review, I explain the origin of the pagan rituals and symbols throughout the film and what they mean. This podcast is also available as a proper video on YouTube. Featuring Music by Torulf, Hildigaldra and Borg.This podcast depends on your support:SubscribeStar: https://www.subscribestar.com/survive...Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/survivethejiveAll Links: https://linktr.ee/SurvivetheJive

Oct 31, 2022 • 1h 9min
Runes & Magic with Dr Scott Shell
Scott Shell received his Ph.D. in Germanic Linguistics from the University of California at Berkeley. The emphasis of his study has been on historical linguistics, runology and mythology. He runs a YouTube channel called @Scott T. Shell (Continental Germanic Heathenry) which focuses on the pagan religion of the Old Saxons. Tonight he will discuss some of his findings in regards to the magical uses of runes by Germanic pagans on the continent and Scandinavia. This channel depends upon your support:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/survivethejiveAll Links: https://linktr.ee/SurvivetheJive

Oct 1, 2022 • 1h 26min
The Rise and Fall of Archaeology with Stone Age Herbalist
Stone age Herbalist is a dissident archaeologist, twitter personality and substack blogger. In this Jive Talk he describes the ancient origins of archaeology as a discipline, how it rose to a more rigorous practice in the modern era and then degenerated into modern woke archaeology. We discuss gay cavemen, transgender vikings, the migrations and invasions of Anglo-Saxons, Beaker folk, Yamnaya and others and finally end with a chat about anthropology in general. This podcast depends upon your support:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/survivethejive