Monstrification. Prof. Gabriele talks with Surekha Davies about Star Trek and how that led to a career studying monsters in the European imagination, plus how embracing wonder helps historians (and people generally) understand the world. 

Guest

Surekha Davies is a historian of science, speaker, and historical monster consultant. She’s the author most recently of Humans: A Monstrous History (University of California Press), which was one of History Today Magazine’s “Best Books of the Year 2026.” Her essays have appeared in Smithsonian, the Los Angeles Times, the Times Literary Supplement, Aeon, Reactor, and elsewhere, and she writes Strange and Wondrous: Notes from a Science Historian, a free newsletter at the crossroads of history, science, and monsters.

Credits

• Host & Executive Producer: Matthew Gabriele. Find him on Bluesky @profgabriele.com or his homepage profgabriele.com 
• Editor: Julia Schifini
• Music: “Sleeping Bags” by OTE
• Art: Ulysses Gabriele
• Multitude: https://multitudeshows.com/ 

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• YouTube: youtube.com/@AmericanMedieval 
• Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/americanmedieval.bsky.social 

About Us

American Medieval is a podcast about the Middle Ages, but with an American twist. Each week, joined by expert guests, we’ll explore either some fascinating part of the medieval world, or some way Americans have used this period to help them understand themselves. 

After all, if America has never been modern, it’s because we’ve always been slightly medieval.

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