S8 Ep255: GENERAL SPAATZ AND THE ETHICS OF BOMBING Colleague Evan Thomas. The conversation turns to General Carl "Tooey" Spaatz, who commanded the air war in the Pacific and demanded written orders...
S8 Ep255: SHIGENORI TOGO AND THE JAPANESE WAR COUNCIL Colleague Evan Thomas. Thomas profiles Shigenori Togo, the Japanese Foreign Minister and the only civilian on the Supreme War Council advocatin...
S8 Ep255: TARGETING DECISIONS AND THE ATOMIC BOMB Colleague Evan Thomas. This segment details the "Target Committee" meetings led by General Groves, who initially selected Kyoto as the primary targ...
S8 Ep255: THE MORAL BURDEN OF HENRY STIMSON Colleague Evan Thomas. Evan Thomas introduces Henry Stimson, the US Secretary of War, describing him as a 77-year-old "Christian gentleman" and moralist ...
S8 Ep254: Show 12-26-25 The show begins in doubts of the veneration of Cicero. and the derogation of Aggripina Minor. ROME BEFORE THE EMPERORS: CICERO'S RISE Colleague Josiah Osgood. John Batchel...
253: PERPETUA AND THE RISE OF CHRISTIANITY Colleague Emma Southon. The final segment discusses Perpetua, a young nursing mother and Christian convert in Carthage. Defying the Roman mandate to sac...
S8 Ep253: WOMEN OF COMMERCE AND THE FRONTIER Colleague Emma Southon. We meet Julia Felix, a Pompeian entrepreneur who ran a luxury bath and dining complex, offering "bougie" experiences to the midd...
S8 Ep253: QUEENS OF BRITAIN: CARTIMANDUA AND BOUDICCA Colleague Emma Southon. This segment contrasts two British queens: Cartimandua and Boudicca. Cartimandua, queen of the Brigantes, collaborates ...
S8 Ep253: JULIA: THE EMPEROR'S REBELLIOUS DAUGHTER Colleague Emma Southon. Augustus uses his daughter Julia as a political tool, marrying her to Marcellus, Agrippa, and finally the reluctant Tiberi...
S8 Ep253: CLODIA: THE PALATINE MEDEA Colleague Emma Southon. The segment focuses on Clodia, a wealthy, independent woman and sister of Clodius. Cicero, feuding with her brother, attacks Clodia's re...
S8 Ep253: TULLIA AND THE BIRTH OF THE REPUBLIC Colleague Emma Southon. Contrasting Lucretia is Tullia, a figure of female ambition and wickedness. Tullia conspires with her brother-in-law to murder...
S8 Ep253: LUCRETIA: VIRTUE AND SUICIDE Colleague Emma Southon. The discussion moves to Lucretia, the model of Roman female virtue. During a contest among husbands, Lucretia is found virtuously weav...
S8 Ep253: THE SABINE WOMEN AND AUGUSTAN HISTORY Colleague Emma Southon. Emma Southon discusses A Rome of One's Own, examining history through women's perspectives. They analyze the myth of the Sabi...
S8 Ep253: THE DEATH OF CICERO Colleague Josiah Osgood. Following Caesar's death, Cicero returns to politics to oppose Mark Antony, delivering the "Philippics" and allying with young Octavian. This ...
S8 Ep253: THE IDES OF MARCH Colleague Josiah Osgood. Cicero returns to a Rome on the brink of civil war, eventually being pardoned by the victor, Caesar. Resenting Caesar's tyranny, Cicero seemingl...
S8 Ep253: EXILE AND THE TEMPLE OF LIBERTY Colleague Josiah Osgood. Seeking revenge, Clodius transitions to plebeian status to become a tribune and passes a law punishing anyone who executed citizen...
S8 Ep253: THE BONA DEA SCANDAL Colleague Josiah Osgood. A scandal erupts when Publius Clodius infiltrates the women-only Bona Dea ceremony at Caesar's house disguised as a female musician, allegedl...
S8 Ep253: THE EXECUTION MISTAKE Colleague Josiah Osgood. Cicero ordered the execution of five high-ranking Roman citizens allied with Catiline without a trial, believing them to be traitors who for...
S8 Ep253: CICERO VS. CATILINE: THE CONSPIRACY BEGINS Colleague Josiah Osgood. Cicero captivated the jury against Verres by describing the governor partying while pirates raided Syracuse, causing Ve...
S8 Ep253: THE PROSECUTION OF VERRES Colleague Josiah Osgood. Cicero takes on the corruption trial of Gaius Verres, the governor of Sicily who looted art and money from the province. Although Cicero...
S8 Ep252: ROME BEFORE THE EMPERORS: CICERO'S RISE Colleague Josiah Osgood. John Batchelor introduces Josiah Osgood to discuss Marcus Tullius Cicero, a "new man" who rose to political prominence thr...
S8 Ep251: Guests: Captain James Fanell (USN Ret.) and Bradley Thayer. To counter China's conventional superiority, the authors recommend "war fighting proliferation," supporting nuclear capabiliti...
S8 Ep251: Guests: Captain James Fanell (USN Ret.) and Bradley Thayer. Fanell argues the U.S. must "admit failure" regarding China, likening the situation to a patient acknowledging cancer to begin ...
S8 Ep251: Guests: Captain James Fanell (USN Ret.) and Bradley Thayer. The authors draw parallels between current U.S. policy and the British Empire's 1919 "10-year rule," which underfunded defense ...
S8 Ep251: Guests: Captain James Fanell (USN Ret.) and Bradley Thayer. Fanell and Thayer discuss the PLA's "Joint Sword 2024 Alpha" exercises, describing them as an "Anaconda strategy" designed to s...
S8 Ep250: PREVIEW Guest: Emma Southon. Southon profiles Julia Felix, a Pompeian business owner who defied Roman gender norms by independently running a sophisticated entertainment complex. Featurin...
S8 Ep249: PREVIEW Guest: Emma Southon. Southon details the execution of Opia, a Vestal Virgin sacrificed in 483 BCE to appease the gods after disastrous omens. To avoid the stigma of direct human s...
S8 Ep238: SHOW 12-25-25 THE SHOW BEGINS WITH DOUBTS ABOUT THE MODERN STORY OF MARY AND HER FAMILY. SEPPHORIS AND THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF MARY'S LIFE Colleague James Tabor. Tabor identifies Sepph...
S8 Ep248: THE LEGACY OF THE GREAT COMMUNICATOR Colleague Max Boot. Boot reflects on Reagan's legacy, noting his "genial and aloof" personality rooted in childhood trauma. He discusses the superfici...
S8 Ep248: COLD WAR DIPLOMACY AND ADMINISTRATIVE SCANDALS Colleague Max Boot. Focusing on foreign policy, Boot details Reagan's shift from "Evil Empire" rhetoric to a constructive partnership with G...
S8 Ep248: ASSASSINATION SURVIVAL AND THE FIRST TERM AGENDA Colleague Max Boot. Boot describes Reagan's survival of the 1981 assassination attempt as his "finest hour," boosting his popularity and l...
S8 Ep248: THE ROAD TO THE WHITE HOUSE: CAMPAIGNS OF 1976 AND 1980 Colleague Max Boot. Discussing the path to the presidency, Boot analyzes Reagan's close 1976 loss to Gerald Ford and his victorious...
S8 Ep248: THE SHIFT TO CONSERVATISM AND THE GOVERNOR'S MANSION Colleague Max Boot. Boot traces Reagan's political evolution from New Deal Democrat to conservative icon while hosting General Electri...
S8 Ep248: HOLLYWOOD POLITICS, DIVORCE, AND MEETING NANCY Colleague Max Boot. Boot examines the collapse of Reagan's marriage to Jane Wyman as her career outpaced his post-WWII. He discusses Reagan'...
S8 Ep248: FROM IOWA RADIO TO WARNER BROTHERS STARDOM Colleague Max Boot. Boot details Reagan's college romance with Margaret Cleaver and his early career shift from sportscasting in Iowa to acting ...
S8 Ep248: A MIDWESTERN CHILDHOOD: ROOTS OF OPTIMISM AND DETACHMENT Colleague Max Boot. Biographer Max Boot discusses Ronald Reagan's difficult childhood in Illinois during the Great Depression. He ...
S8 Ep247: THE DEATH OF CLODIUS AND THE REPUBLIC'S END Colleague Douglas Boin. Boin recounts the violent death of Clodius by rival gangs, marking a turning point toward the Republic's collapse. He v...
S8 Ep247: THE TRIAL OF RUFUS AND CICERO'S MISOGYNY Colleague Douglas Boin. Boin describes a trial where Clodia accused her ex-lover Rufus of poisoning. Cicero defended Rufus by launching misogynist...
S8 Ep247: THE POLITICS OF TRIBUNES AND REFORM Colleague Douglas Boin. Boin details the divide between the Optimates and Populares. He explains how Clodia and her brother Clodius used the office of ...
S8 Ep247: CLODIA'S PRIVILEGE AND CICERO'S AMBITION Colleague Douglas Boin. Boin introduces Clodia, a privileged woman from an ancient Roman family on Palatine Hill. He contrasts her aristocratic, i...
S8 Ep247: ROMAN EXCEPTIONALISM VS. HUMAN TRAGEDY Colleagues Scott McGill and Susanna Wright. They discuss whether the Aeneid justifies Roman empire or tells a human story. McGill argues the poem su...
S8 Ep247: THE AENEID'S PLOT AND HOMERIC INFLUENCES Colleagues Scott McGill and Susanna Wright. McGill and Wright summarize the plot, from Troy's destruction to the war in Italy. They analyze Virgil...
S8 Ep246: TRANSLATING THE SOUND AND METER OF VIRGIL Colleagues Scott McGill and Susanna Wright. The translators explain choosing iambic pentameter over dactylic hexameter to provide an English cult...
S8 Ep246: VIRGIL'S RURAL ORIGINS AND AUGUSTAN CONNECTION Colleagues Scott McGill and Susanna Wright. The guests discuss Virgil's birth in 70 BCE near Mantua and his rural upbringing, which influenc...
S8 Ep246: THE Q SOURCE AND MARY'S TEACHINGS Colleague James Tabor. Tabor identifies the "Q" source as a collection of ethical teachings shared by Matthew and Luke. He attributes these core values—s...
S8 Ep246: THE TALPIOT TOMB AND DNA EVIDENCE Colleague James Tabor. Discussing the Talpiot tomb, Tabor details ossuaries bearing names like "Jesus son of Joseph" and "Mariamne." He argues statistica...
S8 Ep246: THE FLIGHT TO PELLA AND MARY'S DEATH Colleague James Tabor. Tabor discusses the Christian flight to Pella during the Roman revolt. He speculates Mary died before this event, likely around...
S8 Ep246: THE HEADQUARTERS ON MOUNT ZION Colleague James Tabor. Tabor describes excavations on Mount Zion, identifying a first-century house foundation as the "upper room" and headquarters of the e...
S8 Ep246: JAMES THE JUST AS TRUE SUCCESSOR Colleague James Tabor. Tabor asserts James, Jesus's brother, was the movement's true successor, not Peter. Citing Acts and the Gospel of Thomas, he notes ...
S8 Ep246: RECLAIMING THE HISTORICAL JEWISH FAMILY Colleague James Tabor. Highlighting the Protoevangelium of James, Tabor contrasts its depiction of a perpetual virgin Mary with historical evidence...
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