Former member of staff Jasmine Elmer (Rendell) who taught Latin and Classical Civilization at the College from 2008 until 2011, is on a mission to demistify the Classics.  She has moved away from teaching and into the world of broadcasting, as opportunities have been opening up for her to spread the word about Classics. She has appeared as a guest on Teachers Talk Radio and on Mariella Frostrup’s programme on Times Radio, and then earlier this year she launched her very own podcast, the trailer for which is below.

Called Legit Classics, Jasmine introduces it by saying “You don’t need a cravat, a rare wine collection and villa in Tuscany to sample the delights of the Greco-Roman world.” The Guardian describes the podcast as “an enjoyably plain-speaking look at ancient history”. In the five episodes so far, topics have ranged from discussing Maths with Bobby Seagull to Food with Kate Young.

Jasmine also made her TV debut last weekend, appearing in episode 6 of the series Lost Treasures of Rome which, was broadcast on Channel 4 (and is now available from All 4).  This episode looks at the seaside town of Herculaneum, which was buried by the same deadly eruption of Vesuvius that claimed Pompeii in AD79, yet is even more well-preserved than its more famous neighbour.

You can follow Jasmine on social media:

@legitclassicist on Instagram

@jasmine_elmer on Twitter