Voices of Ancient Egypt
Melinda Nelson-Hurst, Ph.D. (Voices of Ancient Egypt)
Publishing Details
About This Podcast
Welcome to Voices of Ancient Egypt — the podcast for people who don’t just want to learn about ancient Egypt, but want to understand it at a deeper, more meaningful level.
Your podcast host, Melinda Nelson-Hurst, Ph.D., is an Egyptologist with years of experience teaching at the university level, working in Egypt, and training students around the world to read real ancient Egyptian texts. She’s spent decades studying this civilization in a traditional academic setting so you don’t have to — and so you can access knowledge that’s usually locked behind academic walls.
With a blend of solo deep-dives and conversations with experts and everyday Egyptophiles, this podcast brings ancient Egyptian history, beliefs, and language to life — and shows you how learning hieroglyphs is possible, no matter your age, background, or schedule.
Whether you want to read hieroglyphs in museums, on social media, or on your next trip to Egypt, you’ll find the tools, stories, and encouragement to make it real.
Let’s hear the voices of the ancient world — together.
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Recent Episodes
011: They made an (ancient) mistake with Bob Mathas
In this episode of Voices of Ancient Egypt, host Melinda sits down with Bob Mathas, a retiree and student of hieroglyphs who turned a pre-trip curiosity into a deep, multi-year mastery of Egyptian…
010: Are You Ready to be a Scribe?
In this episode, Melinda gives you a full behind-the-scenes breakdown of her next-level group program, Master Scribes. And she addresses the common question many Egyptophiles have: "Am I really ready…
009: From “Level Zero” to Reading the Book of the Dead (with a Learning Disability) with Nicky Broers
In this episode, Melinda interviews Nicky Broers, a student who transformed his struggle with impersonal self-teaching books into a successful journey of reading real Ancient Egyptian texts.Nicky…
008: How Jen Skyrocketed Her Hieroglyphs Learning – Even Reading Literature and Medical Texts
In this episode of Voices of Ancient Egypt, host and Egyptologist Dr. Melinda sits down with hieroglyphs student Jen to explore how real people with busy lives are making incredible progress reading…
007: Heqanakht: the Most Famous Ancient Egyptian You Never Heard of
In this episode, we explore the fascinating Heqanakht letters, a collection of 4,000-year-old documents discovered in the rubble of an ancient Egyptian tomb.Unlike the typical "treasures" associated…
006: From Struggling to Sightreading Hieroglyphs with Rick Richardson
In this episode of Voices of Ancient Egypt, Dr. Melinda sits down with Rick Richardson, a software developer and "Master Scribe" student, to pull back the curtain on what it really takes to master…
005: Your Ticket to the Afterlife - Heart Scarabs
In this episode of Voices of Ancient Egypt, we go beyond the museum glass to uncover the mysteries of the heart scarab, one of the most iconic objects found in ancient Egyptian burials.These large,…
004: How Marianna Learned More in 20 Minutes Than in 8-Hour Cram Sessions
In this episode, Melinda sits down with student Marianna Sanborn to pull back the curtain on what it really takes to transition from struggling student to confident translator. Despite having an MA…
003: Can You Still Learn Hieroglyphs (as an Adult)?
In this episode of Voices of Ancient Egypt, Dr. Melinda Nelson-Hurst addresses the burning question many enthusiasts have: Is it too late to learn how to read hieroglyphs?.Drawing on her years of…
001: How I Became an Egyptologist, University Professor, & Serial Traveler
In this debut episode of the Voices of Ancient Egypt podcast, Dr. Melinda Nelson-Hurst shares her personal journey from a young child enamored with a "beat-up" museum catalog to becoming a…
002: This Podcast Will Change How You See Ancient Egypt
In this episode of the Voices of Ancient Egypt podcast, Egyptologist Dr. Melinda Nelson-Hurst pulls back the curtain on why she founded Voices of Ancient Egypt and what it means to truly understand…
Finding Ancient Mistakes with Bob Mathas
What started three years ago as a desire to enrich a trip to Egypt quickly evolved into Bob Mathas’ passionate pursuit. Bob began with foundational online learning, which transformed his initial…
How Jen Accelerates Her Hieroglyphs Progress with a Group
Jen shares her remarkable transformation from a childhood fascination with ancient Egypt and its hieroglyphs to actively reading and understanding complex texts today.She recounts how she moved…
From Bogged Down Trying to Memorize Signs to Reading Whole Egyptian Texts with Ed Smith-Rowland
Ed Smith-Rowland has journeyed from a lifelong passion for ancient Egypt to confidently reading hieroglyphs. Ed shares his transformation from struggling with a dense grammar textbook and getting…
How Marianna Learned MORE Hieroglyphs in 87% LESS Time
Marianna Sanborn went from studying 6-8 hours per day – and getting nowhere – to making huge progress with hieroglyphs by slowing down and studying in small pockets of time.Marianna's passion for…
Frequently Asked Questions
Voices of Ancient Egypt has published 11 episodes since February 2026, covering topics in Education, History.
Voices of Ancient Egypt is currently highly active with new episodes every few days. Average episode length is 25m.
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