Hi Reader!Since my last newsletter, my family welcomed its newest member! We call him Olly. Here's a picture of him and his very proud big brother. Teddy & Olly We're all soaking up this time together, and I'm so grateful for all of it. When it comes to my work and content, Olly's impending arrival helped me figure out what was truly feasible and sustainable. We took the past few months to prepare for the foreseeable future, and we have a steady stream of new releases scheduled for the coming...
25 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader!I’ll be honest: I’d never really thought about medieval public health as much as I have while working on this week’s podcast episode.However, it’s one of my favorite parts of running this channel and podcast. I'm so grateful that I get to explore the archaeological record in a broader way than I might have if I were working purely as an academic.Now, this isn’t a knock on academia. In fact, you need the time, energy, and space to go deep on a topic. But that same focus also means...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader!This week, we wrapped up our podcast launch by publishing an episode featuring Rachel from Inside Archaeology. In our conversation, she spotlighted archaeological discoveries that don’t often make mainstream media headlines. Sharing overlooked stories and perspectives relating to the past is a big part of why I decided to create YouTube videos in the first place (and now my podcast). So I’m sharing a few things below that go along with that theme. I hope you find something here that...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader!Confession: I've been in a serious (book) reading rut since January. Sure, I've been reading other things (e.g., articles, children's stories, emails, etc.), but books have been a struggle. Even audiobooks. There's actually a good reason for this (which I will share next month), but it's been hard. You know that feeling when you know you enjoy doing something, but you're having 1) a hard time doing it and 2) enjoying the process when you do force yourself. That's where I've been. So...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader!Last week, we launched Curiosity Meets the Past - a video podcast for curious minds who love learning about the past. To answer the question in this email's title, “Can a podcast make you curious about the past?” - I sure hope so! We also want to reach folx who might not consider themselves as "a history person."I know there are a ton of podcasts (that's partly why I was hesitant to start one). However, I wanted to collaborate with people more regularly, and podcasting turned out to...
3 months ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader!Last week, one of my team members from our Oman archaeology project sent around an abstract draft for an upcoming conference. He asked us (his fellow co-authors) for feedback. Over the next days, many of us chimed in with edits and suggestions.This might sound like a pretty mundane academic exchange, but it highlighted something important about our field. In archaeology, things rarely happen without collaboration. In fact, for a long time, I felt “collaboration” was a gap in my...
3 months ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader! Welcome to Field Notes by Smiti Nathan. This newsletter is for anyone who’s curious about the past and how it still shows up in our lives today, perhaps even in unexpected ways. It's also a way for us to stay in touch. If you followed my blog Habits of a Travelling Archaeologist, I've shifted that newsletter here. These days, I’ve been focusing more on video and other soon-to-be-announced projects (hint: listen up towards the end of this month!). My goal is to share things every...
4 months ago • 2 min read