
Survive the Jive Podcast
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.
Latest episodes

Aug 31, 2021 • 1h 4min
Bohemian Corded Ware Rhapsody
A new paper reveals a series of population replacements in Neolithic and Bronze Age Bohemia which are likely indicative of wider population replacements across Europe. Some of the samples from the paper are special and there is a lot to consider. It seems scientists are gradually more willing to admit that population replacements occurred a lot in history and were likely driven by violent male invaders from the Funnelbeakers to the Corded Ware and finally the Proto-Celtic Únětice. https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/7/35/eabi6941This podcast depends on your support:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/survivethejiveAll Links: https://linktr.ee/SurvivetheJive

Jul 26, 2021 • 59min
Zucked: STJ banned from Facebook
I have been banned from Facebook without warning, reason or recourse. Please tell facebook what you think of their decision to ban me. In this video I also discuss a recent paper using craniometry to measure the impact of the Anglo-Saxon invasion. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0252477I also answer live questions from the audience.Outro Cú Chulainn's Sleep by Lorcan Mac Mathuna

May 17, 2021 • 58min
DNA news: Ancient Greek, Italian and Gothic origins revealed!
I discuss some of the recent findings in archaeogenetics and archaeology, mainly the two DNA papers regarding Indo-European invasions of Greece and Italy. The source of Indo-European languages in each turns out to be the Catacomb culture and the Bell Beaker culture respectively. I also debunk the claim that Goths were not originally from Sweden using the latest DNA evidence.Sources: Clemente et al, The genomic history of the Aegean palatial civilizations, (2021).Saute et al, Ancient genomes reveal structural shifts after the arrival of Steppe-related ancestry in the Italian Peninsula (2021) This channel depends on your support:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/survivethejiveAll Links: https://linktr.ee/SurvivetheJive

Apr 30, 2021 • 1h 5min
The Afterlife and the secret Odin Brotherhood with Dr. Mark Mirabello
Mark Mirabello, Ph.D., is a professor of history at Shawnee State University in Ohio and a former visiting professor of history at Nizhny Novgorod University in Russia. He has appeared on Ancient Aliens and America’s Book of Secrets on the History Channel as well as in the documentary The Kingdom of Survival. He is the author of The Traveler's Guide to the Afterlife which Examines beliefs from many different cultures on the soul, heaven, hell, and reincarnation; and also The Odin Brotherhood, first published in 1992, in which Mirabello reveals some of the secrets of a mysterious society in Britain which values "knowledge, freedom and power" as part of their occult work which honours Odin and the other Norse gods. I asked him about these and other subjects pertaining to magic, the afterlife and pagan beliefs.Learn more about him and his published works on www.markmirabello.com This podcast depends on your support:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/survivethejiveLinktree: https://linktr.ee/SurvivetheJiveTheme song by Wolcensmen. Ending song is Mossgrown path by Mauerbrecher.

Apr 22, 2021 • 55min
Pagan English folk music with Dan Capp of Wolcensmen
Dan Capp's Wolcensmen creates heathen hymns from the mists of England. He was originally known as a member of the Anglo-Saxon themed metal band Winterfylleth but his acoustic side project Wolcensmen is now the focus of his work. Dan’s music evokes the persistent paganism in the folk ways of the peasants of England, and breathes life into a natural expression of the English folk soul. In this interview we discuss a few of his songs and the meaning of the pagan themes in his lyrics. Wolcensmen website: https://wolcensmen.com/This podcast depends on your support:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/survivethejiveLinktree: https://linktr.ee/SurvivetheJiveAll songs used with permission of the artist Dan Capp and are also permitted according to Fair Use policy since the artistic works included are all discussed within the podcast. I do not claim the rights to any songs used. Rings like Wayland, 'Neath a Wreath of Firs, Lady of the Depe © WolcensmenLorn and Loath, Of Thralls and Throes, Sprig to Spear © Indie RecordingsWinterfylleth - Æcerbot © Candlelight Records

Apr 1, 2021 • 51min
Anglo-Saxon Paganism 2: Elves, orcs, ents and goblins
What exactly are elves in the Anglo-Saxon pagan belief system? Did Anglo-Saxon pagans believe in an afterlife and Hell? I will answer all these questions in this video which is the second part of a 2 part series - I will also show you what their pagan temple at Yeavering looked like, and explain how the elves, orcs, dwarves, land wights and ents of their belief system were all classed as demons after Christianisation. This channel depends on your support:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/survivethejiveAll Links: https://linktr.ee/SurvivetheJiveMusic:Chris Zabriskie - variousBark Sound Productions - variousBorg - compositions from The Triumph of SpringKevin McLeod - variousCefin Beorn - Se FrecaOrmgård - variousSjhof - Loki’s meditationStark von Oben - variousMyling - TockenMauerbrecher - mossgrown pathR. Shah - FRTR themeSir Cubworth - the throne roomKhan Kurra - litte dragonXurious - steppe expansionSources:Abram, C. ‘In Search of Lost Time: Aldhelm and The Ruin’, Quaestio (Selected Proceedings of the Cambridge Colloquium in Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Celtic), vol. 1, 2000.Dowden, Ken (2000). European Paganism: The Realities of Cult from Antiquity to the Middle Ages.Doyle, Conan. (2018). Dweorg in Old English: Aspects of Disease Terminology. Gunnel, T., ‘How Elvish were the Elves?’ 2007.Hall, A., 'Are there any Elves in Anglo-Saxon Place-Names?', Nomina: Journal of the Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland, 29 (2006), 61-80.Hall, A., (2004). The Meanings of Elf, and Elves, in Medieval England. 2007.Lund, J., "At the Water's Edge" in "Signals of Belief in Early England"Lysaght, P. ‘the banshee: the irish supernatural death messenger’ North, R. 1997 Heathen gods in Old English literature. Pollington, S. 2011. The Elder Gods: The Otherworld of Early England.Price, Neil & Mortimer, Paul. (2014). An Eye for Odin? Divine Role-Playing in the Age of Sutton Hoo. European Journal of Archaeology.Semple. S., A Fear of the Past: The Place of the Prehistoric Burial Mound in the Ideology of Middle and Later Anglo-Saxon England. (1998)

Mar 6, 2021 • 1h 42min
Anglo-Saxon Paganism 1: The Gods
What were the pre-Christian religious traditions of England like? This two part series serves as an introduction to Anglo-Saxon paganism. In this podcast we will look at the evidence we have for the pagan gods of the Anglo-Saxons and will compare them to what we know about the Norse equivalents that Vikings worshipped. At times it is also necessary to use Indo-European comparative mythology to understand the gods and goddesses of the Anglo-Saxons. “Anglo-Saxon paganism” refers to the Germanic pagan traditions brought to Britain in the 5th century and which persisted in surprising ways even after the Christianisation of Anglo-Saxon England over the 7th and 8th century. (This podcast is also available as a video on YouTube and Odysee)Sources:Chaney, W. A. 1972. The Cult of Kingship in Anglo-Saxon England: The Transition from Paganism to Christianity, The Germanic Review: Literature, Culture, Theory, 47:2, 141-143Das, R. et al. 2016. Localizing Ashkenazic Jews to Primeval Villages in the Ancient Iranian Lands of Ashkenaz, Genome Biology and Evolution, Volume 8, Issue 4.Dowden, K. 2000. European Paganism: The Realities of Cult from Antiquity to the Middle Ages. London and New York: Routledge. p. 229.Dumezil, G. 1988. ‘Mitra-Varuna: An Essay on Two Indo-European Representations of Sovereignty’Ealdorblotere, T. 2020. To Hold the Holytides.Faussett, B. 1856, Inventorium Sepulchrale. An Account of Some Antiquities dug up at Gilton, Kingston, Sibertswold, Bafriston, Beakesbourne, Chartham, and Crundale, in the County of Kent, from A.D. 1757 to A.D. 1773 (London 1856).Grimm, J. 1835. Deutsche Mythologie.Helmbrecht, M. 2012. A winged figure from Uppåkra HelmbrechtKemble, J. M. 1876. The Saxons in EnglandKershaw, K. 2000. ‘The one-eyed god: Odin and the (Indo-)Germanic Männerbünde’ (Journal of Indo-European studies monograph).Nordberg, Andreas. 2006. Jul, disting och förkyrklig tideräkning: Kalendrar och kalendariska riter i det förkristna Norden. Kungl. Gustav Adolfs Akademien för svensk folkkultur: UppsalaNorth, R. 1997 Heathen gods in Old English literature. Cambridge University Press.North, R. Old English 'wopes hring' and the Old Norse myth of BaldrPollington, S. 2011. The Elder Gods: The Otherworld of Early EnglandReaves, W. 2018. Odin's Wife: Mother Earth in Germanic MythologyRowsell, T. 2011. Woden and his Roles in Anglo-Saxon Royal Genealogy.Schiffels, S., Haak, W., Paajanen, P. et al. Iron Age and Anglo-Saxon genomes from East England reveal British migration history. Nat Commun 7, 10408 (2016). Stenton, F. 1943. Anglo-Saxon England. OxfordWerner, J. 1964. Herkuleskeule und Donar-Amulett. Jahrb. RGZM 11, 176–197.

Feb 4, 2021 • 33min
The Final Pagan Generation - a book about Rome's last pagans
The Final Pagan Generation recounts the story of the lives and fortunes of the last Romans born before the Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity. Edward J. Watts traces their experiences of living through the fourth century’s dramatic religious and political changes, when heated confrontations saw the Christian establishment legislate against pagan practices as mobs attacked pagan holy sites and temples. Watts examines why the "final pagan generation"—born to the old ways and the old world in which it seemed to everyone that religious practices would continue as they had for the past two thousand years—proved both unable to anticipate the changes that imperially sponsored Christianity produced and unwilling to resist them. This book is relevant today due to obvious modern parallels. This podcast depends on your support:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/survivethejiveAll Links: https://linktr.ee/SurvivetheJive

Jan 6, 2021 • 1h 3min
Rome's economic links with Asia with Dr Raoul Mclaughlin
Dr Raoul McLaughlin is an expert in Roman economics with a PhD in Roman Economy and Trade beyond Imperial Frontiers. Dr McLaughlin is a founder member of the Classical Association in Northern Ireland, a council member of the Classical Association of Ireland and Associate Editor of their academic journal: ‘Classics Ireland’. He has published three books on the subject of Roman economy in Asia.https://raoul-mclaughlin.com/ This podcast depends on your support:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/survivethejiveLinks: https://linktr.ee/SurvivetheJive

Dec 5, 2020 • 1h 25min
The Pagan roots of Christmas - Yule and Saturnalia
This is a guest episode from the History Bro YouTube channel. I appeared as a guest on his podcast where we discussed the pagan midwinter festivals of Europe which all influenced our modern Xmas in different ways. The most important are the Roman festival of Saturnalia and the Germanic festival of Yule which became known as Jol or Jul in Scandinavia. Learn how gods like Odin, Freyr, Sol Invictus and others have each played a part in the complicated but fascinating history of Christmas.History Bro: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEwYhrka7Je0ZASriyDWmyQThe Spirit of Yule book: https://shop.smiletitans.com/product/the-spirit-of-yuleThis podcast depends on your support:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/survivethejiveOther links: https://linktr.ee/SurvivetheJive