Cost of Glory

Something is very wrong in the opening scenes of the Odyssey.  The master of the house is gone. His wife is besieged. His son is powerless. And the men eating him out of house and home are waiting for the right moment to strike.  Welcome to Part 1 (of 6!) of our new series, where we cover Homer's great epic.  Part 1 covers Books 1 to 4, the monsters haven't arrived yet — but the groundwork for eve...

A conversation with Morgan Watkins of TheBaseCreates and George Carter from Old Sovereign Publishing about the importance of re-enchanting the world through theatre and the tradition of the classics, specifically focusing on a new drama competition called "The Great Panathenaea" .  Links:  TheBaseCreates YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBaseCreates  TheBaseCreates X: https://x.com/thebasecreat...

My conversation with author, soldier, and scholar, Nicholas Tobias. This is the first public interview with Nicholas, and he agreed to speak on condition that we'd preserve his alias and therefore his anonymity.  Hence there is no video of him, and the sound quality from his undisclosed location was not perfect.  But this was a fascinating conversation that I'm going to be thinking about for a lon...

On how the Spartans achieved emotional mastery, long before Stoicism was invented.

-Lessons both personal and political from the life of Caesar.   -The Net Worth of Caesar's Estate -Also, could he be in heaven? What should a Christian's, or any modern man's attitude be toward Caesar? -Thanks to sponsors Shokworks and Dr. Richard Johnson! -Shout out to Ward Farnsworth, author of The Practical Stoic, Classical English Rhetoric, and more! Find out more about The Classical Society:...

A conversation with American classicist, military historian, and conservative political commentator Victor Davis Hanson. We discuss: Why Epaminondas remains one of the most underrated commanders in Greek history, and how the loss of Plutarch's Life of Epaminondas has obscured his legacy The pivotal liberation of Thebes in 378 BC: how a small band of conspirators overthrew the Spartan-backed oligar...

Part 3 of 3 of the Life of Julius Caesar.  Did Caesar want to be a King? A god? What was his vision for Rome? Was there a way he could have prevented his assassination?  In this episode: Caesar returns to Rome  His Triumphs His Reforms  His Clemency  His Final War in Spain; the Batle of Munda The Octavius Question The Plots, Dreams, Portents,  The men he trusted; the men who betrayed him Thanks to...

In this episode: Michael Gibson's origin story Meeting Peter Thiel and launching the Thiel Fellowship The importance of Aristotle Aristotle on "The Gigachad" Is intelligence enough? Failure of philosophy is present in Plato's work...not Aristotle's Alexander the Great's major influence Inspiration from the immortals Why victory is better than happiness Friends as a second self 

A conversation with the bestselling author, classicist and the military and naval historian Barry Strauss about his latest book Jews vs. Rome: Two Centuries of Rebellion Against the World’s Mightiest Empire . We explore: Why Julius Caesar became a key patron of the Jews and how his support shaped Jewish life in the Roman Empire The pivotal moment when Antipater (Herod's father) saved Caesar in Egy...

A conversation with Johnathan Bi (Cosmos Institute, The Great Books podcast) for a deep dive into Stoicism through the life and philosophy of Cato the Younger. We explore: Why Stoicism continues to attract modern audiences Jonathan’s personal journey with Stoicism—and why he ultimately turned to other philosophies Nietzsche’s critique of Stoicism as a coping mechanism How Cato embodied Stoic princ...

A conversation with Rob Henderson — Air Force veteran, psychologist, and author of the bestselling "Troubled".  In this episode: Rob's journey from foster care to Cambridge and lessons about status, envy, and human nature The psychology of envy and jealousy - from Julius Caesar's assassination to modern politics Difference between dominance and prestige in human behavior Why envy is one of the mos...

Part 3 of 3 of Caesar's Civil War series. From triumph to near-disaster. Caesar's Egyptian entanglement transforms him from a glorious victor to a desperate challenger. In this episode: Pompey's assassination in Egypt and Caesar's unexpected grief over his former ally's death Cleopatra's legendary entrance in a bed-sack and her political seduction of Caesar The brutal urban warfare trapping Caesar...

Part 2 of 3 of Caesar's Civil War series. After his lightning conquest of Italy, Caesar faces his greatest challenge yet as Pompey masses a vast army in Greece. In this episode: Caesar's second dictatorship and revolutionary reforms in Rome—citizenship grants, debt relief, and restoration of the proscribed The dangerous winter crossing of the Adriatic, splitting his forces against Pompey's naval s...

Part 1 of 3 of Caesar's Civil War series. The die is cast—Caesar crosses the Rubicon and plunges Rome into civil war. In this episode: The political crisis of 51-50 BCE as Caesar's enemies demand his recall from Gaul Curio's shocking defection and proposal that both Caesar and Pompey lay down arms The breakdown of negotiations and Pompey's fateful acceptance of command against Caesar His lightning...

Part 2 of 3 of the Life of Julius Caesar. In this episode: Caesar forms the First Triumvirate with Pompey and Crassus, uniting Rome's most powerful men His revolutionary consulship of 59 BCE bypasses Senate opposition through popular assemblies The brilliant staging of the Gallic conquest, using allies and tribal conflicts as pretexts for expansion His management of Rome through letters while comm...

The much awaited series on Julius Caesar begins, with the inaugural episode: "Man of Destiny". In this episode: Caesar's formative years in the shadow of Sulla's dictatorship His early political boldness and refusal to divorce Cornelia The capture by pirates and his merciless revenge Caesar's rise through the ranks of Roman politics as Quaestor and Aedile The Catilinarian conspiracy and Caesar's n...

A conversation with Dr. Brent Seales , professor of computer science at the University of Kentucky and a modern day Indiana Jones who has been using advanced technology to restore and redeem cultural and historical artifacts from the ravages of time. In this episode: The 'virtual unwrapping' of the Vesuvius scrolls Unearthing an entire new Renaissance Brent's encounters with Silicon Valley and som...

A conversation w/ Kevin Dolan on Kings of Sparta, Anti-Natalist Roman Aristocrats, and whether Christianity destroyed or saved Rome. Join me at the Natal Conference , March 28-29, 2025, in Austin, TX!  https://natalism.org Find Kevin on X at https://x.com/extradeadjcb

A conversation with Doyle Glass, author of Swift Sword, The True Story of the Marines of MIKE 3/5 in Vietnam, 4 September 1967 .  Intro Story featuring BlackJack Mulligan . ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackjack_Mulligan ) In this episode: Mastering Fear in Combat A lawyer's journey to becoming an artist and an author The ambush begins: "The tree line stood up" Clear headed leadership of Lieute...

Cato's Afterlife, Takeaways, Sources. Some Modern Sources: Rome's Last Citizen , by Goodman and Soni Uncommon Wrath , by Osgood Cato the Younger by Drogula

The Finale, of the life of Cato the Younger. In this episode: The burning of the Senate house after Clodius' murder in 52 BCE Cato's failed bid for consulship and his hardline stance against Caesar The outbreak of civil war and Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon Cato's final days and dramatic suicide A tale of principle and paradox, Cato's resolute stand for Republican values helped precipitate its...

Part 2 of 3 of the Life of Cato the Younger. In this episode: Cato confronts the rising power of Caesar and Pompey in the Senate The scandalous note from Servilia that backfired on Cato His principled handling of the Cyprus annexation mission The formation of the First Triumvirate and Cato's resistance His memorable year as Praetor and battles against corruption The death of Julia and Crassus sets...

Episode 1 of the Life of Cato the Younger, Rome's great Stoic statesman. In this episode: Cato's earliest years and the murder of his uncle His first encounter with Sulla as a precocious youth Cato establishes his reputation: in military service and as Quaestor A Principled stand against Julius Caesar On this centennial episode, I'd like to thank all of my listeners and patrons. On to the next hun...

How to make progress, and know it. Featuring a few of Plutarch's critiques of some Stoics of his day - whether fairly or unfairly, you can decide. Also featuring: Diogenes the Cynic, Aeschylus the Poet, Brasidas the Spartan Commander.  Also featuring: ZEAL

Caesar ties all loose ends in his Gallic Campaign, in part 8, the final episode of our series on Caesar’s masterwork of psychology, strategy, and propaganda: On the Gallic War (De Bello Gallico).    This is a world-history making story (the conquest of what’s now modern France), told by a world-history making storyteller.  Caesar entered Gaul as a mere politician. He returned 9 years later as a co...