S8 Ep171: Early Bushfires Destroy Homes on Central Coast Despite La Niña Forecast: Colleague Jeremy Zakis reports that despite forecasts of a wet La Niña summer, New South Wales is facing intense early bushfires driven by high winds and hot, dry conditions; a fire

S8 Ep170: Competition and the Human Struggle with Death: Colleague Emily Wilson discusses the poem's end, where Achilles processes grief through funeral games that replace lethal combat with competition, analyzing Achilles giving Agamemnon a prize without contest—p

S8 Ep170: The Death of Patroclus and Achilles' Vengeance: Colleague Emily Wilson examines the climax, starting with Patroclus's fatal decision to fight and his death, describing Achilles' return to battle with Hephaestus-forged armor, his terrifying slaughter that

S8 Ep170: Visceral Combat and the Sanctity of the Dead: Colleague Emily Wilson focuses on the visceral violence of battle scenes and the significance of caring for the dead, detailing the warrior ethos regarding proper burial versus the desecration of corpses to de

S8 Ep170: Agamemnon's Quarrel and Divine Politics: Colleague Emily Wilson explains the catalyst for the Iliad's plot: the quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles over a "prize" woman, leading to Achilles' withdrawal, discussing the divine politics between Zeus and H

S8 Ep170: Gods, Warriors, and the Brutality of Patroclus: Colleague Emily Wilson discusses the gods' involvement, specifically Aphrodite and Ares representing base instincts on the battlefield, characterizing Patroclus not merely as gentle but as a brutal warrior,

S8 Ep170: Mortal Tragedies and Divine Manipulations: Colleague Emily Wilson explores key character dynamics, including Helen's weaving as a metaphor for poetry and her strained relationship with Paris, analyzing the tragic parting of Hector and Andromache, the rage

S8 Ep170: The Homeric Question and Narrative Choices: Colleague Emily Wilson addresses the "Homeric Question," describing the transition from oral tradition to written text around the 8th century BCE, discussing how the Iliad subverts audience expectations by omitt

S8 Ep170: Grief, Games, and Lamentation: The Iliad's Conclusion: Colleague Emily Wilson discusses the Iliad's conclusion, focusing on Achilles' processing of grief through the funeral pyre and games, analyzing the shift from violence to regulated competition, Achil

S8 Ep169: Octavian Becomes Augustus: Colleague Barry Strauss explains that Octavian adopts the title Augustus, carefully avoiding the labels of king or dictator while establishing authority; he erases Antony's public memory, while Octavia raises Antony's children,

S8 Ep169: The Deaths of Antony and Cleopatra: Colleague Barry Strauss recounts that back in Alexandria, negotiations fail as Octavian closes in to secure Egypt's treasury; Antony's remaining forces defect, leading to his suicide in Cleopatra's arms, and realizing O

S8 Ep169: Agrippa's Brilliant Attack on Methone: Colleague Barry Strauss details the logistical maneuvers preceding Actium, noting Antony's defensive posture in western Greece, with Agrippa executing a brilliant surprise attack on Methone, a key supply base, crippl

S8 Ep169: Antony's Political Error and the Path to Civil War: Colleague Barry Strauss recounts that Antony commits a major political error by divorcing Octavia, allowing Octavian to frame the conflict as a defense of Roman values against a foreign queen; despite in

S8 Ep169: Antony's Marriage and Octavian's Information War: Colleague Barry Strauss explains that to maintain peace, Antony marries Octavian's sister Octavia, though tensions persist; while Antony suffers military losses in Parthia, Octavian's general Agrippa defea

S8 Ep169: Cleopatra's Spectacular Introduction to Antony: Colleague Barry Strauss describes Cleopatra's spectacular introduction to Antony and her background as the ruthless, wealthy queen of the Ptolemaic dynasty, noting that Antony values her resources and acknow

S8 Ep169: Power Struggle After Caesar's Death: Colleague Barry Strauss introduces the power struggle following Caesar's death, featuring the established noble Mark Antony and the ambitious, though physically slight, Octavian, detailing the Second Triumvirate and An

S8 Ep168: Views on America and Marxist Dogma: Colleague Geoffrey Roberts explains that Stalin admired American production and the Constitution, viewing the U.S. as a progressive capitalist state; however, Stalin remained a Marxist dogmatist who edited texts to fit

S8 Ep168: Rehabilitating Ivan the Terrible: Colleague Geoffrey Roberts reports that Stalin favored the narrative history of Robert Vipper, who rehabilitated Ivan the Terrible as a state-builder rather than a cruel tyrant; Stalin criticized Eisenstein's film sequel

S8 Ep168: Historical Influences: Bismarck and Realpolitik: Colleague Geoffrey Roberts discusses how Stalin studied Bismarck as a fellow modernizer who executed a "revolution from above" to build a strong state, arguing that regarding Machiavelli, Stalin did not nee

S8 Ep168: Rediscovering the Scattered Library: Colleague Geoffrey Roberts explains that after 1956, Stalin's library was dispersed, leaving only about 5,500 identifiable books, some containing his pometki or markings; while Yuri Sharapov revealed the library in 198