Episode 99: Respect My Authority
From Ask a Medievalist by Ask a Medievalist
January 21, 2026 · 1h 25m · Season 6 · Episode 99
About this episode
The episode explores the concept of authority, its origins, and the challenges faced by marginalized groups in being recognized as authorities.
Synopsis What exactly is authority? Where does it come from? How do you get it? Can you move authority from St. Paul, MN to the south side of Chicago? Join Em and Jesse for a wide-ranging chat on the subject. Notes 1/ Of course, many people in addition to women have a hard time getting others (i.e. non-group members) to pay attention to their authority. For example, trans and nonbinary people have a hard time getting anyone to listen to them speaking about their own lived experiences. 2/ I’ve published four novels and a novella since this was recorded, and people actually do think I’m an authority on some topics for some reason. 3/ The story about Aristotle’s phony translators comes from here, I think: https://historyofphilosophy.net/translation-movement Pseudopigrapha: from pseudo , false, and epigraphe , name or inscription. A falsely attributed text. U of Michigan’s Galileo text : “After an internal investigation of the findings of Nick Wilding, professor of history at Georgia State University, the library has concluded that its “Galileo manuscript” is in fact a 20th-century forgery. We’re grateful to Professor Wilding for…
People in this episode
Hosts: Em, Jesse
Topics covered
- authority
- trans and nonbinary experiences
- translation movement
- forgery
- lived experiences
Keywords
- authority
- trans experiences
- nonbinary
- forgery
- Virginia Woolf
- Galileo manuscript
- translation movement
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: University of Michigan, Georgia State University
Books & works: Galileo manuscript, Pseudopigrapha, Aristotle’s phony translators
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- Episode 97: Non-Roman Calendars · November 25, 2025 · 1h 17m
- Episode 96: Pope Joan · October 27, 2025 · 1h 16m
- Episode 95: Sur le Pontife d’Avignon · August 24, 2025 · 1h 13m
- Episode 94: Popes and Antipopes · June 27, 2025 · 1h 14m
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