The Craft of Memory Podcast

In this episode, we discuss Ellie Wiener's journey in memorizing the entire book of Job in Hebrew. She is a PhD Candidate in the Faculty of Divinity at the University of Cambridge, completing her dissertation on the Old Testament book of Job. Passionate about exploring how the Old Testament provides the critical context for the gospel of Jesus Christ to be breathtakingly beautiful and compelling for lived faith, she loves to teach the Bible at home and abroad. When not delighting in some feature of Hebrew grammar, she might be found sharing a meal with friends or going for a walk in the woods. READ ELLIE'S SUBSTACK Substack: Compulsively Contemplative Contact: emw78@cam.ac.uk

In this episode, I speak with 2023 World Memory Champion, Tenuun Tamir on memory techniques, systems, and training for classical competitions.

In this episode, I speak with Dr. Kimberly Rivers, professor of history and author of “Preaching the Memory of Virtue and Vice” In this episode, we talk about memory in the middle ages, and some of the mnemonics they would have used. Dr. Kimberly Rivers PUBLICATIONS - BOOKS Preaching the Memory of Virtue and Vice: Memory, Images, and Preaching in the Late Middle Ages Doležalová, Lucie, Michal Dragoun, and Kimberly Rivers. Passionate Copying in Late Medieval Bohemia: The Case of Crux de Telcz (1434-1504). Prague medieval studies, 1. Prague: Karolinum Press, 2021.   PUBLICATIONS–REFEREED ARTICLES Kimberly Rivers, “Johannes Sintram as Scribe.” In Passionate Copying in Late Medieval Bohemia: The Case of Crux de Telcz (1434-1504), by Lucie Doležalová with contributions by Michal Dragoun and Kimberly Rivers. Prague Medieval Studies, 1. Prague: Krem, 2021. “How a Franciscan Preacher Memorized the Decretals in the Later Middle Ages: Johannes Sintram’s Mnemonic Diagram.” Submitted to volume Memory in the Middle Ages, edited by Lucie Doležalová and Jan Čermák “The Book, the Song, and the Letter: Preaching Mary in Two Sermons by the Franciscan Johannes Sintram (d. 1450).” In The Medieval Franciscans and the Virgin Mary, ed. Steven J. McMichael (Leiden: Brill, 2019), 392-409. "Composition and Career: The Composite Manuscripts of Johannes Sintram, O.F.M.," in Late Medieval Personal Miscellanies, ed. Sabrina Corbellini, Giovanna Murano and Giacomo Signore (Turnhout: Brepols, 2018), 145-159. “Learning and Remembering Canon Law in the Fifteenth Century: The Ars et doctrina studendi et docendi of Juan Alfonso de Benavente,” in From Learning to Love: Schools, Law, and Pastoral Care in the Middle Ages. Essays in Honour of Joseph W. Goering, ed. Tristan Sharp in collaboration with Isabelle Cochelin, Abigail Firey, Greti Dinkova-Bruun, Giulio Silano (Toronto: PIMS Press, 2017), 266-290. “Mythography and the Virtues and Vices,” Classical and Medieval Literary Criticism (CMLC) 159 (2014): 281-97. [Reprint of Chapter 7: France, Preaching the Memory of Virtue and Vice (Turnhout: Brepols Press, 2010). “Remembering Canon and Civil Law around 1400,” Nottingham Medieval Studies: Inventing a Path. Studies in Medieval Rhetoric in Honour of Mary Carruthers 56 (2012): 265-80. “Memory and History in the Middle Ages,” in Writing the History of Memory, ed. Stefan Berger and William Niven (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2014), 47-64. "Creating the Memory of God in a Medieval Miscellany: Melk MS 1075, Jean de Hesdin (fl. 1350-1370), and Late Medieval Monastic Reform," in Medieval Manuscript Miscellanies: Composition, Authorship, Use, ed. Lucie Doležalová and Kimberly Rivers (Krems: Medium Aevum Quotidianum, 2013), 112-38. “Writing the Memory of the Virtues and Vices in Johannes Sintram’s (d. 1450) Preaching Aids,” in The Making of Memory in the Middle Ages, ed. Lucie Doležalová (Leiden: Brill, 2009), 32-48. The Dangers of the Imagination: Mental Images in Mnemonic Texts, 1300-1700,” in Image Makers and Image Breakers: Proceedings of a St. Michael’s College Symposium (1-2 March 2002), ed. Jennifer A. Harris (New York, Ottawa, Toronto: Legas, 2003), 93-107. “The Fear of Divine Vengeance: Mnemonic Images as a Guide to Conscience in the Late Middle Ages,” in Fear and Its Representations in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, ed. Anne Scott and Cynthia Kosso (Turnhout: Brepols, 2002), 66-91. Introduction to and translation of memory section of Francesc Eiximenis’ Ars praedicandi for The Medieval Craft of Memory: An Anthology of Texts and Pictures, ed. Mary Carruthers and Jan Ziolkowski (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002), 189-204. “Memory, Division, and the Organization of Knowledge in the Middle Ages,” in Pre-modern Encyclopaedic Texts, edited by Peter Binkley (Leiden: Brill, 1997), 147-158.

In this episode, I speak with mental math coach, Daniel Timms who has competed in major international mental math competitions, won various awards, developed new methods and training systems, helped organize the Junior Mental Calculation World Championships, and has led many workshops about Mind Sports. We discuss how mnemoncis can be used of mnemonics in mental math and compare memory sports and mental math training routines. Daniel Timms Website: https://worldmentalcalculation.com Mental Math Coaching: If interested in 1:1 mental math coaching, please contact him at admin@worldmentalcalculation.com

In this episode, I speak with Jonas Wiberg, street performer and memory expert. We discuss the techniques and review systems he used to memorize the entire English Collins School dictionary. Jonas Wiberg www.jonaswiberg.com https://www.instagram.com/jonaswiberg

In this episode, I speak with Juri Najjar, Arabian Memory Champion, about memory training for classical competitions and memory techniques. Blog: https://thecraftofmemory.substack.com/

Brittany Schlichter, who has memorized over 20 books of the Bible, shares her memory techniques and approach to memorizing Scripture. They discuss the intensity and rewards of the Bible Bee competition, mastering scripture memory through a strategic approach, correcting scripture recitation errors, and effective strategies for memorizing verses.

Exploring the evolution of memory techniques, from childhood puzzles to scripture memorization. Discussing the use of peg systems and storytelling, along with book recommendations and building a strong foundation in memory techniques. Encouraging the revival of traditional memory techniques in education.

Don Michael Vickers, a top memory athlete, shares insights on memorization techniques like memory palaces and the link method. He discusses memorizing foreign language vocab, advancing word memorization, and the importance of pushing limits in training. The episode also explores the world of memory athletes, social media presence, and gratitude for support.

English Professor and author, Jillian Hess, explores the history of notebooks and notetaking, discussing the risks of losing physical pages, the value of writing on paper, and the unique aspects of handwriting. They also explore visualization techniques and their connection to memory retention, book recommendations, and the transformative role of notebooks as companions and therapists for notable note-takers like Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Octavia Butler. Additionally, they discuss Substack, a platform for newsletters and long-form essays.