[1] He was a highly regarded professor [2] and field archeologist, and was Director of the Liberal Studies Program at the University of Louisville.
[14][15] His research, along with that of geologist Jelle Zeilinga de Boer,[16][17] has demonstrated that the psychoactive gas ethylene[18] seeped from under the oracular site, and would have led to an "altered mental status" by the Pythia, the prophetess-priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi.
[22][23] Professor Hale's research on the geological fumes theory is recounted in The Oracle: Lost Secrets and Hidden Message of Ancient Delphi,[24] by science writer William Broad.
He has written a number of articles for Scientific American, including about the Viking Longship,[34] and the technology of ancient Greek rowing.
Professor Hale has created numerous well-reviewed [36] long-form lecture series for audio and video with The Great Courses.