Subject to Change

Tom Holland and Agnes Callard are both on top form reviewing the films 300 and Hero and discussing the history behind them. They unpick the politics too. Macabee Callard and I chip in. If you enjoy the podcast you will definitely enjoy Tom's book, Persian Fire. Highly recommended.

'They couldn't catch a break'. Invasion, the worst plague in history and climate change. Why the Roman Empire fell. Professor Kyle Harper is a wonderful guide to some really gruesome times. And after listening to the podcast check out his book, The Fate of Rome (or here if you are in the US). It has a great balance between telling a fantastic story and real academic rigour. Highly r...

Professor Abulafia has written a wonderful book, The Boundless Sea (or here if you are in the US)  about 'merchants, explorers, pirates, cartographers and travelers in their quests for spices, gold, ivory, slaves, lands for settlement and knowledge of what lay beyond'.  I enjoyed talking to him enormously.

Tyler Cowen discusses A Separation and About Elly with me and Agnes and Abe Callard. Towards the end Tyler grills Abe in a session of underrated/overrated (films). 

In this episode we discussed two Korean films. Parasite and Burning. On the podcast in this episode was Alex Tabarrok who was defending the thesis he outlined in his wonderful blog piece, The Gaslighting of Parasite . Joining me to throw rocks at his theory were Chicago philosopher Agnes Callard and her son Abe.

In which Agnes and Abe Callard dissect three really great films. All About Eve, Persona and the Iranian docudrama, Close Up. Spoilers throughout.

Speaking to Philip Matyszak about his books on ancient history and novels.

I talked to David Friedman about his book on legal systems operating either parallel to or in place of the State. Just about what you would expect from a anarchist-anachronist-economist who is also a brilliantly entertaining writer. His website is htttp://www.daviddfriedman.com 

The Romanian film Police, Adjective has long been a favourite of mine and I enjoyed discussing it with the philosopher Agnes Callard. She specialises in ancient philosophy in general and Socrates in particular so she seemed the ideal person to unpick the dialogue at the climax of the film. We slightly went off track but got there in the end.

A couple of years ago Great Yarmouth Charter Academy was a drastically underperforming school. Now it is on the up and up. I visited it to see for myself and afterwards I spoke to the headmaster, Barry Smith, about what he and the staff did to turn it around. Links: Ofsted visit report Inspiration trust academies

Patreon threw Sargon of Akkad off its 'platform'. That upset a lot of people but it may have been within its rights. But did it then collude with Paypal to squash SubscribeStar? Lior Leser thinks it might have. But fighting the big guys is easier with a gorilla on your side so Lior plans to get the FTC involved in the fight. In this podcast he tells us a bit about himself, why free speec...

I got to meet the brains behind the organisation that saved my life. Allen Carr's Easyway to Stop Smoking. No need to trust me - take a look at the reviews on Amazon and the hundreds of people pretty much sobbing with relief. Smoking book Alcohol book Losing weight

Kristian Niemietz of the IEA describes a world where East Germany decides not to unite with the West but to do socialism properly for once. Spoiler alert - even good people with good intentions can't make it work.

Toby Young started the first Free School in England in 2011. We discuss how and why he did this and the Twitter storm that engulfed him leading to his removal from the board of the Office for Students and his other educational positions.