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Lex Fridman Podcast - #487 – Irving Finkel: Deciphering Secrets of Ancient Civilizations & Flood Myths

Irving Finkel is a scholar of ancient languages and a longtime curator at the British Museum, renowned for his expertise in Mesopotamian history and cuneiform writing. He specializes in reading and interpreting cuneiform inscriptions, including tablets from Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian contexts. He became widely known for studying a tablet with a Mesopotamian flood story that predates the biblical Noah narrative, which he presented in his book “The Ark Before Noah” and in a documentary that involved building a circular ark based on the tablet’s technical instructions.
Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep487-sc
See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc.

Transcript:
https://lexfridman.com/irving-finkel-transcript

CONTACT LEX:
Feedback – give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey
AMA – submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama
Hiring – join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring
Other – other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact

EPISODE LINKS:
Irving’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drirvingfinkel/
The Ark Before Noah (book): https://amzn.to/4j2U0DW
Irving Lectures Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYXwZvOwHjVcFUi9iEqirkXRaCUJdXGha
British Museum Video Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0LQM0SAx603A6p5EJ9DVcESqQReT7QyK
British Museum Website: https://www.britishmuseum.org/
The Great Diary Project: https://thegreatdiaryproject.co.uk/

SPONSORS:
To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts:
Shopify: Sell stuff online.
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LMNT: Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix.
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OUTLINE:
(00:00) – Introduction
(00:43) – Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections
(09:53) – Origins of human language
(15:59) – Cuneiform
(23:12) – Controversial theory about Göbekli Tepe
(34:23) – How to write and speak Cuneiform
(39:42) – Primitive human language
(41:26) – Development of writing systems
(42:20) – Decipherment of Cuneiform
(54:51) – Limits of language
(59:51) – Art of translation
(1:05:01) – Gods
(1:10:25) – Ghosts
(1:20:13) – Ancient flood stories
(1:30:21) – Noah’s Ark
(1:41:44) – The Royal Game of Ur
(1:54:43) – British Museum
(2:02:08) – Evolution of human civilization

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State of the World from NPR - An Interview with a Hamas Leader

NPR recently met with a senior Hamas leader on the outskirts of Doha, Qatar as the organization prepares to negotiate the next stage of the Gaza ceasefire. He says Hamas is willing to lay down its weapons for up to ten years. Our correspondent gives us the highlights of the conversation.

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In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons - WBEZ’s Weekly News Recap: Dec.12, 2025

Chicago’s budget showdown continues, Indiana’s legislature bucks Trump redistricting trend, and ICE agents were out in force in west suburban Elgin. In the Loop breaks down those stories and more in the Weekly News Recap. Our panel today: Tom Schuba, Chicago Sun-Times watchdog reporter; Monica Eng, Axios reporter; David Greising, Better Government Association president. For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
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Federalist Radio Hour - The Blueprint For Fixing A Health System Broken By Obamacare

On this episode of The Federalist Radio Hour, Brian Blase, president of Paragon Health Institute and former special assistant to the president for economic policy at the White House, joins Federalist Senior Elections Correspondent Matt Kittle to discuss Obamacare's consequences for American healthcare, explain how ongoing subsidies fuel inflation, and outline the future of healthcare policy reform. 

The Federalist Foundation is a nonprofit, and we depend entirely on our listeners and readers — not corporations. If you value fearless, independent journalism, please consider a tax-deductible gift today at TheFederalist.com/donate. Your support keeps us going.
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Global News Podcast - Thousands at risk after flooding in Gaza

The UN says a powerful storm is sweeping through Gaza, leaving 800,000 people in danger from deluged camps and collapsed buildings. (130)   Long description (no character limit and should always end with the words below): The UN says a powerful storm is sweeping through Gaza, leaving 800,000 people in danger from deluged camps and collapsed buildings.

Also: an Australian minister accuses Reddit of trying to protect its profits, after it launches a legal challenge against the country's landmark social media ban for under-16s; how a growing number of young women are challenging the Iranian authorities; why the low-budget French videogame "Clair Obscur" has seen off its bigger American rivals to sweep the Game Awards; why conservationists fear some of the world's rarest apes, the Tapanuli orangutans, may have been destroyed in a devastating cyclone; and how changes in polar bear DNA could help protect the Arctic animals from climate change.    The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

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The Book Review - Our Book Critics on Their 2025 in Reading

Here we are in mid-December, which means that along with all of the other year-end lists we produce and avidly consume at this time each year, The New York Times Book Review's staff critics are also looking back on everything they read in 2025, and toasting the books that have stayed with them.

On this episode, host Gilbert Cruz talks with Dwight Garner, Alexandra Jacobs and Jennifer Szalai about their standout fiction and nonfiction of the past 12 months.

Books mentioned:

  • "What We Can Know," by Ian McEwan
  • "Flesh," by David Szalay
  • "The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny," by Kiran Desai
  • "Playworld," by Adam Ross
  • "When the Going Was Good," by Graydon Carter
  • "I Regret Almost Everything," by Keith McNally
  • "When All the Men Wore Hats," by Susan Cheever
  • "Notes to John," by Joan Didion
  • "A Flower Traveled in My Blood," by Haley Cohen Gilliland
  • "38 Londres Street," by Philippe Sands
  • "Wild Thing," by Sue Prideaux
  • "Crumb: A Cartoonist's Life," by Dan Nadel
  • "Class Clown," by Dave Barry
  • "Electric Spark: The Enigma of Dame Muriel," by Frances Wilson
  • "Flagrant, Self-Destructive Gestures: A Biography of Denis Johnson," by Ted Geltner
  • "Shadow Ticket," by Thomas Pynchon
  • "Selected Letters of John Updike," edited by James Schiff
  • "Troublemaker: The Fierce, Unruly Life of Jessica Mitford," by Carla Kaplan
  • "More Everything Forever, AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley's Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity," by Adam Becker

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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Marketplace All-in-One - Getting into the deregulation business

The Trump administration is reconfiguring a government watchdog that grew out of the Great Recession. The Financial Stability Oversight Council watches out for risks to the financial system to prevent the future need for government bailouts. Now, the Treasury Secretary says the watchdog will focus on boosting economic growth and easing regulations that he says impose “undue burdens." Plus, we follow the money from Machu Picchu and examine the appetite for "extended range" EVs.