Remember 1001 Arabian Nights? Here's another collection of stories from medieval times in the Islamic / Arab world. It was discovered almost a century ago in Istanbul, but was never translated into English -- until this year. Tales of the Marvelous and News of the Strange may fall short of respectable literature, but it is every bit as trashy as your summer novel, with fantastic twists of drunken genies and polyamorous female warriors.

In this episode, meet orientalist scholar Robert Irwin, who oversaw the translation of the manuscript. Irwin is  known for his highly acclaimed work on Arabian Nights. And listen to sexy excerpts from the original manuscript. It's a delight to delve into pulp fiction that entertained the masses in 10th century Middle East.