Podcast appearances and mentions of Julius Caesar

6. Cleopatra and Caesar: A Fatal Alliance and a Lost Legacy An eighteen-year-old Cleopatra VII formed a strategic and romantic alliance with the veteran Roman leader Julius Caesar, seeking a protector against her warring family members. Caesar was drawn to her extraordinary magnetism, intellect, and her possession of the "keys to Egypt's wealth". However, their partnership brought immediate conflict to Alexandria. During a Roman blockade, Caesar's troops set fire to ships in the harbor; the flames spread to the shore, accidentally destroying the Great Library. This catastrophe resulted in the loss of 400,000 volumes, erasing the ancient world's most comprehensive repository of human knowledge. (6)CARTHAGE

1. Barry Strauss introduces the power struggle following Julius Caesar's death between Mark Antony and Octavian. Antony, a noble consul and seasoned lieutenant, initially holds a superior social position. Octavian, Caesar's younger great-nephew, is viewed as less of a warrior but possesses extreme ambition and cunning. Using sources like Plutarch and Cassius Dio, Strauss describes the Second Triumvirate's efforts to punish Caesar's assassins at the Battle of Philippi. Although Antony is the hero of that victory, the "Machiavellian" Octavian begins a political game to eventually transform the Roman Republic into an Empire. (1)

2. Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt, is introduced as a powerful member of the Ptolemaic dynasty who turned Egypt into a Mediterranean "gold mine". She meets Antony at Tarsus in 41 BC with a spectacular, perfumed barge presentation that immediately wows him. Strauss portrays her as a tough political player who survived dynastic murders to secure her throne. She claims her son, Caesarion, is Julius Caesar's child, a significant political asset. By providing Antony with her massive treasury, she bankrolls his ambitions while demonstrating Alexandria's cultural and scientific superiority over Rome. (2)

What if Julius Caesar had survived the Ides of March? This episode explores his last known plans — vast eastern campaigns, sweeping reforms, and his visions for Rome's future. Could he have rivalled Alexander the Great, crowned himself king, or reshaped the Republic forever? Discover history's greatest “what if.”MOREThe Rise of Julius CaesarListen on AppleListen on SpotifyCleopatraListen on AppleListen on SpotifyPresented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Tim Arstall. The producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music courtesy of Epidemic SoundsThe Ancients is a History Hit podcast. Sign up to History Hit to watch the new documentary RISE OF CAESAR; and see Adrian Goldsworthy, Dr. Simon Elliott, and Dr. Hannah Cornwell, Tristan Hughes, peel back the layers of the man, the myth, and the massive political ego that transformed the Western world forever.As well as hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Banned In Sparta”- Collaborative Album with Classical Greek Poets and Modern Folk Singers Helmed by Robin BatteauRobin Batteau's “Banned in Sparta” is a collaborative album of songs based on poems by Classical Greek poets and recorded by a number of friends Tom Paxton, Eric Andersen, Livingston and Kate Taylor, Matt Nakoa, Robin Lane, 2-time Tony winning actor James Naughton and his gifted children Keira and Greg, plus Carolyn Hester.  Robin was inspired by an Ancient Greek History class he took when he returned to Harvard during the Pandemic to finish a degree he started in the 1960s. Robin earned the World Record of taking a 50-year break (between 1970 to 2021) to return to Harvard and finish his degree in 2022.   “Banned In Sparta” focuses almost entirely on poets from Ancient Greece between 700 and 400 BC.  One poet, Gaius Valerius Catullus (84 – 54 BC), as smitten with the ghost of Sappho as Robin or Alcaeus, is from Rome during Julius Caesar's reign, for whom Eric Andersen performs “Cross (of Gold),” an ode to interlaced and conflicted feelings, “Odi et Amo"— I hate and I love.The title “Banned in Sparta” finds its name from Archilochus, the Bob Dylan of the 7th century B.C., a warrior-poet so irreverent he was “Banned in Sparta.”  James Naughton sings the song “Archilochus Re-Deemed (I Am a Servant of the Lord God of War).” Kate Taylor performs “Telesilla's On the Wall,” from the female poet Telesilla, who led her fellow women warriors to victory against those same renowned Spartans. “The Greek Lyric poets performed live, and were the stars of their day,” says Robin. “They were singer/songwriters, they played the lyre (hence "Lyric") and danced around the stage like Tom Paxton and Taylor Swift.”Robin, who studied Ancient Greece and Integrative Biology at Harvard, found that most of what was left of the poems were fragments and myth, “So I mosaic-ed songs to reflect their expressions and intentions— who they were, and are to me.”         A range of female poets contributed to the lyrical history of Greece including Corrina, whose “In Her Loving Arms” is sung by Carolyn Hester, and Praxilla's “The Most Beautiful Thing in the World,” a hymn to Adonis, sung by Keira Naughton.  Sappho's writing inspires “Terra Cotta Heart,” sung by Robin Lane.  Livingston Taylor sings “My Sappho, Sweetly Smiling” from the smitten neighbor and rival Alcaeus. The fun and frolicking “Shake your Hair (You Thracian Filly),” sung by Tom Paxton. Pianist and folk singer Matt Nakoa offers a Bruce Hornsby-like treatment for Simonides of Ceos's “Theatre of Memory (Man of Gold).”    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-unplugged-totally-uncut--994165/support.

Further reading: Identifying the beasts in Caesar's forest Reindeer: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I'm your host, Kate Shaw. After the glaciers retreated from Europe at the end of the last ice age, around 11,000 years ago, forests grew wherever there was enough soil to support a tree. As these new forests spread, they joined forests that had survived the glaciations. By the time ancient Romans were writing about the things they encountered while exploring western Europe, around 2,000 years ago, the forest stretched across much of the continent and was considered a wild, dangerous place. They called it the Hercynian [her-SIN-ian] forest and it was supposed to be full of peculiar animals. An account of the forest appears in the book Commentarii del Bello Gallico, the first edition of which was published just over 2,000 years ago in 49 BCE. It was written by Julius Caesar, or at least he was involved in it even if he didn't actually write it personally, since it was about his military campaigns. In one section of the book he discusses the Hercynian forest and three remarkable animals that lived in it. The first was called the uri, which were supposed to look like bulls but were almost the size of elephants, and were incredibly aggressive. This is probably the same animal often called the aurochs, which we talked about in episode 58. The aurochs was probably the wild ancestor of the domesticated cow and could stand almost six feet tall at the shoulder, or 1.8 meters. It had already gone extinct in most places 500 years before Caesar wrote his book, but it still lived in parts of Europe. The second animal is a lot harder to identify. The alces looked like a big goat that either didn't have horns or had very short ones, but its legs didn't have joints. If an alces fell over, it couldn't get up again. Caesar explained that hunters used this to their advantage. Because the alces couldn't lie down at night, it would sleep by propping itself against a tree. The hunters would note which tree an alces preferred, and during the day they'd cut a notch in the trunk. When the alces leaned against it at night to sleep, the tree would topple over, taking the animal with it. The waiting hunters would then be able to just stroll up and kill the alces. Naturally, this story doesn't make any sense. All tetrapods have jointed legs. But the story of an animal without joints in its legs crops up in various stories from around this time, including the part where hunters cut a notch in a tree trunk to knock the animal over. It's a story once told about the elephant and the Eurasian elk, among others, and the alces was probably based on the Eurasian elk. That's the Eurasian population of the animal called the moose in North America. Because the story specifies that the alces either didn't have horns or had very small ones, it's possible that Caesar based his story on the female elk, which doesn't have antlers. Incidentally, we're so certain that the alces was the same animal as the Eurasian elk that its scientific name is actually Alces alces. Finally, the Hercynian deer was likewise large and had a single horn. A translation of the passage states: “There is an ox with the shape of a deer; projecting out of its forehead, in the middle, between the ears, is a single horn, which is both longer and more upright than those horns we are used to seeing.” Other sources that talk about this animal also say that the horn branched at the end, and Caesar notes that both males and females had these horns. This gives us a big clue as to what animal might have inspired the account. Unlike most deer, both male and female reindeer have antlers. Unlike caribou, the North American reindeer species, the European reindeer often has relatively long and straight main shafts on its antlers that then enlarge at the end in what's called a palmate structure. That basically means it's shaped like a hand. But reindeer have two antlers, not one. It's possible that the story of the Hercynian deer was inspired by the unicorn legend, which was based on the rhinoceros. It might also have been inspired by Caesar sighting a reindeer that had dropped one antler but hadn't yet lost the other one, since like other deer, reindeer shed their antlers and regrow them every year. The reason Caesar wrote about the animals of the Hercynian forest in the first place was to underline how strange and uncivilized the people living in the area were. The people in question are what today we would call Germans. Caesar stresses that all these animals are ones never seen anywhere else, and he might easily have added exotic details from other fabulous animals to make these animals seem extra weird. These days most of the Hercynian forest is long gone, chopped down for people to turn into farmland and towns. While the Eurasian elk and the reindeer are still around, they no longer live as far south as Germany. The last aurochs went extinct in 1627 in Poland. But the German people are doing just fine, and they're a lot more civilized than Caesar gave them credit for 2,000 years ago. Thanks for your support, and thanks for listening!

In this lecture, we explore a pivotal moment in the Gospel of Matthew, focusing on a request made by the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, to Jesus. She approaches Him, kneeling respectfully to ask for a favor: that her sons might sit beside Him in His kingdom. Jesus' response highlights the gravity of what she is asking, questioning whether they can endure the suffering He is about to face. Their confident affirmation reveals a youthful bravado, unaware of the true cost of discipleship Jesus outlines. Jesus informs them that while they will indeed suffer, the decision of who sits in positions of honor is for the Father alone to determine.The discussion shifts to the reaction of the other disciples, who are indignant upon hearing this request. Jesus seizes the moment to educate all His disciples about the nature of leadership and greatness. He contrasts worldly authority, where rulers exercise power over others, with the radical idea that true greatness in His community is found in servanthood. He explains that the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others, culminating in His ultimate sacrifice. This sets a new paradigm for understanding authority, shifting from a hierarchy of power to one defined by humility and service.The lecturer contextualizes this teaching within the historical backdrop of Jesus' time, referencing the world-renowned figures, particularly the Roman Caesars, whose exploits of power and dominance shaped societal norms. The lecture paints a vivid picture of figures like Julius Caesar and Augustus, who wielded unparalleled authority and established norms that celebrated ambition and self-aggrandizement. This historical lens helps illuminate the contrast Jesus is drawing; He is not merely offering a lesson in humility, but is proposing a revolutionary approach to what it means to lead and be great.As the lecture continues, the implications of Jesus' teaching resonate with contemporary society. The concept of humility, often viewed negatively in the ancient world, has arguably been transformed by the values espoused by Christ. Society today grapples with rising narcissism and self-promotion, raising critical questions about our aspirations and values. The speaker invites reflection on whether contemporary followers of Jesus truly desire a Savior who encourages selflessness or if they, too, succumb to the allure of power and prestige. The discourse delves deeper still, drawing connections between the desire for greatness and societal trends towards narcissism and incivility. The pervasive nature of self-promotion in today's culture prompts a call-to-action about what it means to embrace the path of servanthood in an age that often prioritizes individuality and ambition over community and support. This reflection leads to a powerful conclusion that aligns the teachings of Jesus with the heart of the Gospel: that true greatness is manifested in self-giving love and service to others.In the final moments of the lecture, attention turns to the communion table—a sacrament symbolizing Jesus' ultimate act of service. The act of partaking in communion is framed as a response to Jesus' selfless sacrifice, presenting it as a moment to not only express gratitude but also to renew one's commitment to live a life of service to others in light of His example. The lecture concludes with an invitation to embrace this countercultural vision of greatness, aspiring to mold our lives after the model of Christ who redefines authority through humility and love.

Tansy's Hot Cup of History essay series continues with a two-part tale of the Roman poet who specialised in snark, adultery and Sapphic allusions… and still found time to slag off Julius Caesar and friends. Sign up to my author newsletter for updates, follow me on Insta, Threads or Bluesky as @tansyrr, find me at tansyrr.com and on Facebook at TansyRRBooks, and if you like this podcast consider supporting me at Patreon where you can receive all kinds of cool rewards, early ebooks and exclusive stories for a small monthly pledge.

Lisa Burton Guevara is our next guest on The Yay. Lisa is a talented actress who was last seen in Berkeley Shakes' Julius Caesar. She has also been in Half Moon Bay's A Midsummer Night's Dream, the Merry Wives of Winsor and SF Playhouse's The Glass Menagerie. We talk about Lisa's upbringing, her career in bay area theatre and where she sees herself in the future. Lisa can be reached directly via Instagram: @notoriousmrsg In 2020, I was a part of the Brecht Project – a group of writers, actors and directors assembled by Susan E. Evans (Episode 23) and Scott Munson (Episodes 13, 53 and 284) – where we would reinterpret the one act plays of Bretold Brecht and adapt them in the age of Trump. You'd think we would be beyond that age after 2021 – well 2024 happened and Trump is back. And so we're back. In April 2026, the Brecht Project will present 10 new plays that will be performed online (including my piece, Judicial Process), and you can be a part of our production. The GoFundMe page (https://www.gofundme.com/f/fear-and-misery-of-the-fourth-reich) will greatly help us pay for actors and writers – and you'll help shed even more light to our most darkest time in American history. On the Yay, we often talk about mental and spiritual health, especially for us actors, because our emotions are our currency. My good friend Cary Ann Rosko (Episodes 77 and 296) is not only a great actress, but is a psychothearapist and she's opening up her business to the online community. She's offering virtual psychotherapy services to individual adults in California. Check out her website, https://www.caryannroskomft.com/what-i-offer, and take the first step in taking care of your personal health. Sometimes we need a hand to hold in healing, and Cary has her hand out, waiting to help you. SHOWS: M Butterfly (SF Playhouse) LAST SHOW TONIGHT Dean Linnard (Episode 336) is in the show https://www.sfplayhouse.org/sfph/2025-2026-season/m-butterfly/ Left Field (Theatre Rhinoceros) Feb 19 – March 15 John Fisher (Episode 30) wrote, directs and is in the show Gene Moscy (Episodes 14 and 187) is in the show https://www.therhino.org/ Julius Caesar (SF Shakes) Feb 26 – April 29 (check website for details) Brandon DiPaola (Episode 306), Evan Held (Episode 226) and Jeunee Simon (Episode 297) are in the show https://www.sfshakes.org/performance/tour/ After Happy (Central Works) Feb 28 – March 29 Patricia Milton (Episodes 270 & 303) wrote the play https://centralworks.org/after-happy/#showtab=details Primary Trust (TheatreWorks Silicon Valley) March 4 – 29 Joey Alvarado (Episode 312) is in the show Jeffrey Lo (Episodes 153 and 341) is directing the show https://theatreworks.org/mainstage/primary-trust/ Girls – Chance – Music (ACT/Vineyard Theatre) March 12 – April 19 Pam MacKinnon (Episode 350) is directing the show Sharon Shao (Episode 176) is an understudy in the show https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/2025-26-season/girls-chance-music Dial M For Murder (City Lights Theatre) March 12 – April 12 Nick Madracchia (Episode 43) is in the show Maria Marquis (Episode 331) is in the show https://cltc.org/event/dial-m/ anthropology (City Lights Theatre May 14 – June 7 Maria Marquis (Episode 331) is in the show https://cltc.org/event/anthropology/ Flex (SF Playhouse) March 26 – May 6 Margo Hall (Episode 166) is directing the show Brittany Sims (Episode 328) and Champagne Hughes (Episode 335) are understudies https://sfplayhouse.org/2025-2026-season/flex/ How to Make An American Son (New Conservatory Theatre Center) April 3 – May 10 Richard Perez (Episode 314) is in the show https://nctcsf.org/event/americanson/ Follow us on Facebook and Bluesky (TheYayPodcast)

We know what fate befell Julius Caesar on March 15, 44 B.C., but how does ancient Rome's treatment of its adversaries and allies and compare to the current American “excursion” in Iran and overall US foreign policy? Barry Strauss, the Hoover Institution's Corliss Page Dean Senior Fellow and a military historian specializing in the rise and fall of Rome, separates fact from fiction regarding Caesar's the events leading up to his assassination, as well as Rome's belief in “preventive” wars, strategic alliances and great-powers competition. Also discussed: Hollywood's fascination with all things Rome; similarities between Caesar and Donald Trump (communicative skills, strategic risk-taking, neither suffering from a lack of self-esteem); how the history of the republic differs (or doesn't) if Caesar hadn't met up with a horde of knife-wielding senators on that fateful day in mid-March.  Recorded on March 10, 2026. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS Barry Strauss is the Corliss Page Dean Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. He is also the Bryce and Edith M. Bowmar Professor of Humanistic Studies Emeritus at Cornell University, where he taught for over four decades. Strauss is a military and naval historian with a focus on ancient Greece and Rome and their lessons for today. “No one presents the military history of the ancient world with greater insight and panache than Strauss,” wrote Publishers Weekly. His books have been translated into twenty languages and include several bestsellers, The Battle of Salamis (2004), Masters of Command (2012), The Death of Caesar 2015), Ten Caesars (2019), The War that Made the Roman Empire (2022), and Jews vs. Rome: Two Centuries of Rebellion Against the World's Mightiest Empire (2025). Strauss is a winner of the 2025 Bradley Prize, honoring his lifelong dedication to the study and teaching of Western civilization and classical and military history. Follow Barry Strauss on social media: LinkedIn, X, Facebook, Instagram Bill Whalen, the Virginia Hobbs Carpenter Distinguished Policy Fellow in Journalism and a Hoover Institution research fellow since 1999, writes and comments on campaigns, elections, and governance with an emphasis on California and America's political landscapes. Whalen writes on politics and current events for various national publications, as well as Hoover's California On Your Mind web channel. Whalen hosts Hoover's Matters of Policy & Politics podcast and serves as the moderator of Hoover's GoodFellows broadcast exploring history, economics, and geopolitical dynamics. RELATED SOURCES Masters of Command (2012) The Death of Caesar (2015) Ten Caesars (2019) The War that Made the Roman Empire (2022) Jews vs. Rome: Two Centuries of Rebellion Against the World's Mightiest Empire (2025) ABOUT THE SERIES Matters of Policy & Politics, a podcast from the Hoover Institution, examines the direction of federal, state, and local leadership and elections, with an occasional examination of national security and geopolitical concerns, all featuring insightful analysis provided by Hoover Institution scholars and guests. To join our newsletter and be the first to tune into the next episode, visit Matters of Policy & Politics.

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! ⁠ We're on hiatus until April 9. Until then, enjoy this long, binge-able episode on Julius Caesar's early life. Most accounts of Caesar's life start later on--such as during his time in Gaul or crossing the Rubicon. But his early life was just as fascinating; maybe even more so. This is the Caesar who stood up to Sulla and refused to divorce his wife. The Caesar who made an early career of prosecuting corrupt governors to cement his cred as a populist--even as it made him powerful enemies. The Caesar who, when kidnapped by pirates, demanded they raise his ransom and spent his time in captivity hanging out on the beach and reading them bad poetry. It's a fun, lighthearted introduction to Caesar's life before it takes its dark turn. We hope you enjoy. Sponsors and Advertising This podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to advertise on our show? Please direct advertising inquiries to advertising@airwavemedia.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're kicking off a brand-new ten-week series, this time diving into the 1953 program Crime Classics. Host John Tefteller is joined by two guests, researcher Karl Schadow and biographer Steven C. Smith, to explore how producer Elliott Lewis created one of radio's most unique historical crime dramas, and how composer Bernard Herrmann managed to make it sound epic using only a handful of musicians. This week's featured episode takes us back to Ancient Rome, 44 B.C., for a stylized retelling of the assassination of Julius Caesar. The story blends real history with just a hint of satire. Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/ Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297 Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD

In this second episode of Season 5, I interview Dr. Reece Edmends, a graduate of King's College, Cambridge, and a junior faculty member in the Classics Department at Princeton University. Drawing on his recent PhD dissertation, “‘Liberation' in Augustan Propaganda” (2025), we discuss the fall of the Roman Republic, the empire that Caesar Augustus forged, as well as the other fascinating figures in this story, from Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony to Brutus and Cicero. The transcript for this interview will be available on our new Substack page. Hosted by Ryan Shinkel, Madison's Notes is the podcast of Princeton University's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

In this second episode of Season 5, I interview Dr. Reece Edmends, a graduate of King's College, Cambridge, and a junior faculty member in the Classics Department at Princeton University. Drawing on his recent PhD dissertation, “‘Liberation' in Augustan Propaganda” (2025), we discuss the fall of the Roman Republic, the empire that Caesar Augustus forged, as well as the other fascinating figures in this story, from Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony to Brutus and Cicero. The transcript for this interview will be available on our new Substack page. Hosted by Ryan Shinkel, Madison's Notes is the podcast of Princeton University's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

Understanding the background of Philippi will help us appreciatethe message that Paul writes to this church in this letter. Philippiwas located in the region of Macedonia, which today would be in northernGreece. The city was set on a fertile plain near the Aegean Sea and waspositioned along one of the most important highways in the ancient world—thefamous Roman road called the Via Egnatia. This highway connected the easternpart of the Roman Empire to the western part, stretching all the way from theAegean Sea across to Rome itself. Because of its location on this major traderoute, Philippi became a very important commercial and military city. Originally,the town was known by another name. But in 356 B.C., a man named Philip II, thefather of Alexander the Great, conquered the city for Greece and renamed itPhilippi after himself. Later,when the Romans conquered the region, Philippi became an even more significantcity in Roman history. In 42 B.C., one of the most decisive battles in Romanhistory took place near the city. The armies of Mark Antony and Octaviandefeated the forces of Brutus and Cassius—the men who had been involved in theassassination of Julius Caesar. That battle helped bring an end to the RomanRepublic and paved the way for the Roman Empire. After that battle, many Romansoldiers were settled in Philippi, and the city was given the status of a Romancolony. Nowthis is very important to understand. A Roman colony was considered anextension of Rome itself. The citizens enjoyed many special privileges. Theywere Roman citizens, which meant they were exempt from certain taxes. Theyfollowed Roman laws and customs. Latin was the official language, Roman dresswas common, and Roman pride ran deep among the people. In many ways, Philippiwas a little piece of Rome located in Macedonia. Thisbackground helps us better understand something Paul wrote in Philippians 3:20:“For our conversation is in heaven…”. The word conversation thereactually means citizenship. Paul was reminding the believers in Philippithat although they were proud Roman citizens, their true citizenship was inheaven. They belonged to another kingdom. I'm proud to be an American. But myfriend, my real citizenship is in heaven. Anyone who trusts Jesus Christ astheir personal Lord and Savior has their true citizenship in heaven. Anotherinteresting thing about Philippi is that there does not appear to have been asynagogue in the city when Paul visited, as recorded in Acts of the Apostleschapter 16. If you remember, in most of the cities Paul visited he began hisministry by first going to the synagogue. As you read through the book of Acts,that pattern becomes very obvious. But he did not go to a synagogue inPhilippi. Why? Possibly because there was not one there. A synagogue requiredat least ten Jewish men in the community, and apparently there were not enoughJews in Philippi to meet that requirement. Instead,there was a small group of people who gathered outside the city by a river topray. And it was there that the gospel would first take root in this Romancity. From this unlikely beginning, God would plant the first church in Europe.This reminds us of something very important about the work of God: God oftenbegins great works in very small and unexpected ways. I could tell you manystories about how I have seen that happen in ministry over the past fiftyyears. A small prayer meeting…a few people gathered quietly…and yet God beginsto do something powerful. Thereby the riverside in Philippi sat a woman named Lydia, sitting bythe river, ready to hear the gospel. God's plan was unfolding. That littlegathering became the starting point for something that would eventually impactthe entire continent of Europe. From that small beginning came the church thatPaul would later write to with such love and affection in the book ofPhilippians.

In this second episode of Season 5, I interview Dr. Reece Edmends, a graduate of King's College, Cambridge, and a junior faculty member in the Classics Department at Princeton University. Drawing on his recent PhD dissertation, “‘Liberation' in Augustan Propaganda” (2025), we discuss the fall of the Roman Republic, the empire that Caesar Augustus forged, as well as the other fascinating figures in this story, from Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony to Brutus and Cicero. The transcript for this interview will be available on our new Substack page. Hosted by Ryan Shinkel, Madison's Notes is the podcast of Princeton University's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 44 BCE, Roman senators assassinated Julius Caesar to stop his ascent towards becoming a king. Dr Jess Venner takes Anthony blow-by-blow through the deadly events of the Ides of March.Dr Jess Venner's new book The Lost Voices of Pompeii: The Final Day in Seven Lives' will be out in April.This episode was edited by Hannah Feodorov. Produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.You can now watch After Dark on Youtube! www.youtube.com/@afterdarkhistoryhitSign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  You can take part in our listener survey here.All music from Epidemic Sounds. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Squarespace: Use the code SILK to save 10% off your first website or domain at https://www.squarespace.com/silk ********************** Access over 120+ Ad-Free episodes of Calm History by becoming a Silk+ Member (FREE for a limited time!) and enjoy over 600 total episodes from these relaxing podcasts: Calm History (120+ episodes) History Showcase (25+ episodes) Sleep Whispers (430+ episodes) ASMR … Continue reading History of Pearls – Part 1: Stories of Oysters, Alexander The Great, Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, Aphrodite, Botticelli, & Columbus | Bedtime Sleep Stories about History

We are made in the image of God, and this truth has profound implications for how we understand the human person. In this episode, we explore key dimensions of human personhood, including freedom, responsibility, the capacity for transcendence, uniqueness and unrepeatability, and equality. Understanding the full depth and complexity of human nature is essential for social doctrine, because our understanding of the human person forms the foundation of human rights.This podcast relies 100% on the generosity of listeners. If you have found these episodes helpful and would like to support the future of Crash Course Catholicism, please consider donating via the following links:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Donate via PayPal⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support us on Patreon!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Contact the podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.caitlinwest.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/crashcoursecatholicism/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠References and further reading/listening/viewing:⁠⁠⁠The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church⁠⁠, pts 127-151St. John Paul II, Homily at Oriole Park, Camden Yards, Baltimore, 1995. St. John Paul II, Redemptor HominisWilliam Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act 1, scene 2https://catholicsocialthought.org.uk/

In the historical play, Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare made famous the phrase, “Beware the Ides of March.” Perhaps you've heard it but not known the full story starting on March 15 that eclipsed the death of the Roman Republic—and the birth of the Roman Empire. And perhaps the connection of this event to biblical history is vague! Well, to get the story behind the story, join me, Linda Lacour Hobar, the author of The Mystery of History, for a look at the origin and impact of the famous phrase, “Beware the Ideas of March.” For a free coloring page of Julius Caesar for your students, click here.

The Ides of March is the best-known date in the ancient world, thanks to one of the most infamous acts in history: the assassination of Gaius Julius Caesar. Assassin's Creed Origins portrays Caesar at the peak of his powers, who was shockingly assassinated by a gang of Senators, including his most loyal friends and followers, like Brutus. What had Caesar done to deserve this? Who stabbed him first? And how did the assassins' plan to save the Roman Republic ultimately lead to the creation of the Roman Empire?Prof. Colin Elliot from Indiana University Bloomington, host of the Pax Romana podcast, joins Matt Lewis to reveal the true events of that fateful day. His book Pox Romana: The Plague That Shook The World offers a comprehensive, wide-ranging account of the world's first pandemic.Echoes of History is a Ubisoft podcast, brought to you by History Hit. Watch these interviews and exclusive videos on our YouTube channel, and listen to our previous episodes about the wars of Caesar and Cleopatra.Hosted by: Matt LewisEdited by: Robin McConnellProduced by: Robin McConnell, Peta StamperSenior Producer: Anne-Marie LuffProduction Manager: Beth DonaldsonExecutive Producers: Etienne Bouvier, Julien Fabre, Steve Lanham, Jen BennettMusic:Winds of Cyrene by Sarah SchachnerAcross the Dunes by Sarah SchachnerPtolemy's Lament by Sarah SchachnerIf you liked this podcast please subscribe, share, rate & review. Take part in our listener survey here.Tell us your favourite Assassin's Creed game or podcast episode at echoes-of-history@historyhit.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Beware the Ides of March. Julius Caesar got stabbed 23 times by people he trusted — and in his honor, Dave, Cody, Paul, and Jackson are drafting their favorite betrayals in pop culture. From Brutus to the Red Wedding, from Frozen to Friends, from Planet of the Apes to a galaxy far, far away — which betrayals cut deepest, hit coldest, and hurt the most? The crew also crowns the greatest heel turn in wrestling history and drops the coldest betrayal lines ever delivered. Plus: breaking news on the WB/Paramount merger and what it could mean for James Gunn's DC universe — because apparently even podcast episodes aren't safe from a little backstabbing.https://linktr.ee/PopCulturePastorPod

Kingdom = government, dominion of a place; Tempting the wealthy; "King" story; Tithingmen; Taxing early Americans; Degeneration of the people; Rights and liberties; Roman republic; Jutes?; Julius Caesar; Testosterone and bravery; Stolen land?; Voter fraud?; Ruthless Indians; "Tithable"; Taking away your neighbor's property; What degenerates the people; "Commander-in-Chief" + "Principas Civitas" + "Apotheos"; Forms of government; Function of The Church; "Pseudo-capitalism"; Having sight; Cities of blood; Deut 17; Intra-brain hemispheric connections; Tongues?; Forcing contributions?; One-room schoolhouses; Strengthening community; Flaws in our thinking; Self-governance?; "Corban" of the Pharisees; Lady Godiva; Twice-robbed people; Sophistry; Human nature; Snares and traps; "Notes"; Repentance; Walking in the ways of Christ; Q: From Isabelle: Public school in NY - History taught; Altering history; Patrick Henry; Living in darkness; Inability to see truth; Genocide; Dividing the people; Benefit addiction; Caring for neighbors; No covetousness; Not to be like the government of the gentiles; Strive and persevere.

Episode 89 From An Essay on Man by Alexander Pope  Mark McGuinness reads and discusses an excerpt from Epistle II of An Essay on Man by Alexander Pope. https://media.blubrry.com/amouthfulofair/media.blubrry.com/amouthfulofair/content.blubrry.com/amouthfulofair/89_From_An_Essay_on_Man_by_Alexander_Pope.mp3 Poet Alexander Pope Reading and commentary by Mark McGuinness From An Essay on Man Epistle II By Alexander Pope Know then thyself, presume not God to scan;The proper study of mankind is man.Placed on this isthmus of a middle state,A being darkly wise, and rudely great:With too much knowledge for the sceptic side,With too much weakness for the stoic's pride,He hangs between; in doubt to act, or rest;In doubt to deem himself a god, or beast;In doubt his mind or body to prefer;Born but to die, and reasoning but to err;Alike in ignorance, his reason such,Whether he thinks too little, or too much:Chaos of thought and passion, all confused;Still by himself abused, or disabused;Created half to rise, and half to fall;Great lord of all things, yet a prey to all;Sole judge of truth, in endless error hurled:The glory, jest, and riddle of the world! Go, wondrous creature! mount where science guides,Go, measure earth, weigh air, and state the tides;Instruct the planets in what orbs to run,Correct old time, and regulate the sun;Go, soar with Plato to th' empyreal sphere,To the first good, first perfect, and first fair;Or tread the mazy round his followers trod,And quitting sense call imitating God;As Eastern priests in giddy circles run,And turn their heads to imitate the sun.Go, teach Eternal Wisdom how to rule –Then drop into thyself, and be a fool!   Podcast Transcript In the early 18th century, Alexander Pope's poetry was known to every cultured person in England. He was a fashionable, successful, wealthy writer and the preeminent poet of his age. He was also a canny businessman who published his translations of Homer via subscription, an early form of crowdfunding, and they sold so well he built himself, an extravagantly large villa in Twickenham – and its famous subterranean grotto still exists today. His political satires were so sharp and topical that he was rumoured to carry a pair of loaded pistols when going for a walk, in case one of his targets took violent exception. Phrases from his poetry are still proverbial: ‘hope springs eternal', ‘Fools rush in where angels fear to tread', ‘a little learning is a dangerous thing', ‘To err is human; to forgive divine', ‘What oft was thought but ne'er so well expressed', and also the title of the movie, ‘eternal sunshine of the spotless mind'. But these days, Pope has really fallen out of fashion. He's seen as archaic and artificial. In an age when formal poetry is out of fashion, for many people he represents the worst kind of formal poetry: his very regular metre and full rhymes sound clunky to our ears. His rhyming couplets are undoubtedly clever, but that's part of the problem, because these days we associate poetry with emotions and self-expression, so cleverness is seen as a little suspect and somehow inauthentic. And I'll be honest, for a long time, I had that image of Pope. He represented everything the Romantics rebelled against at the end of the 18th century, and as a young poet I was on the side of the Romantics, so I had no interest in Pope. However, a few years ago, I challenged myself to have another look at his work, and what I discovered was a really sharp and thought-provoking and witty and formidably skilful poet, who in certain moods, is an absolute pleasure to read. And he doesn't fit every mood, but then there aren't many poets who do. So turning to today's poem, An Essay on Man is one of Pope's major works, it's about 1,300 lines long. As the title suggests it's a meditation on the nature of what he called mankind, and we call humankind, we have to make allowance for the historic focus on the male as representative of the species. It's also a didactic poem, he's not just reflecting on the subject, he is telling us what we should think about it. Which again, is a deeply unfashionable stance for poets these days, at least when they are on the side of a conservative or establishment position. And he does this in the form of a series of verse epistles, verse letters, which are addressed to Henry St John, Viscount Bolingbroke. The epistle form also means that the poem addresses the reader in a very direct manner, as you would expect in a letter. His basic stance, which we find in many of his poems, is of a reasonable man writing for a group of like-minded people, trying to establish some sort of common sense, shared ideas and principles, in a world where these need to be debated and defined and defended. This was the world of the coffee house and the salon, where people came together to debate, sometimes in very robust fashion. It came to be known as the Augustan age in English literature, by comparison with the satirical and political poetry of the age of Augustus Caesar. OK looking more closely at the poem itself, the excerpt I just read is from the second Epistle, and one of the first things we notice is what Milton would have called the ‘jingling' rhymes: Know then thyself, presume not God to scan; The proper study of mankind is man. Placed on this isthmus of a middle state, A being darkly wise, and rudely great: With too much knowledge for the sceptic side, With too much weakness for the stoic’s pride, It's pretty unmistakeable isn't it? One pair of rhymes after another. And in case you're wondering, yes, these rhyming couplets do go on all the way through the poem, and indeed all the way through most of Pope's work. And not just in Pope: for over a century, from about 1650 to 1780, this was a hugely popular verse form. They are known as heroic couplets because they are associated with epic narrative poems, such as John Dryden's translations of Virgil and Pope's translations of Homer. Each line is in iambic pentameter, the familiar ti TUM ti TUM ti TUm ti TUM ti TUM, with two lines next to each other forming couplets, and the poem proceeding with one couplet after another. The form can be traced back to Chaucer, who used rhyming couplets for many of his narrative poems. But by the time of Dryden and Pope it had evolved into a tighter couplet form, described as closed couplets, meaning that they were typically self contained, with a sentence, or a discrete part of a sentence, beginning and ending inside the couplet. For instance: Know then thyself, presume not God to scan; The proper study of mankind is man. That stands on its own as a single thought, a unit of sense, ending with a full stop. And the full rhyme of ‘scan' and ‘man' means the couplet snaps shut at the end – this is the closed couplet effect we associate with heroic couplets. In the next couplet he introduces the idea of man as a creature of ‘middle state': Placed on this isthmus of a middle state, A being darkly wise, and rudely great: And then another couplet elaborates on the sense of being pulled in different directions: With too much knowledge for the sceptic side, With too much weakness for the stoic's pride, So the poem proceeds one unit of sense at a time. The couplets are like Lego bricks, and Pope used them to build just about anything he wanted: literary and philosophical discourse here in the Essay on Man and in his Essay on Criticism; mock-heroic social comedy in The Rape of the Lock; actual epic in his translations of the Iliad and the Odyssey; and satire in The Dunciad. It's easy to see how this could become monotonous, and in the work of most poets of the time, it did. But Pope's great achievement was to take this established form and perfect it, sticking very strictly to the formal pattern, while varying the syntax, the grammatical patterns, with great subtlety and complexity, to keep the reader on their toes. Let's take another look at the first couplet. Notice the little pause in the middle of the first line, after ‘thyself': Know then thyself, presume not God to scan; This divides the line into two parts, conveying the dramatic tension in Pope's argument: he's saying that humans are ambitious for knowledge, they want to ‘scan' God, to examine him, but they should really focus on self-knowledge. This tension between opposites is known as antithesis, it's a rhetorical pattern we looked at back in episode 58 about one of Sir Philip Sidney's sonnets, and it's very common in Pope. And the tension is resolved in the next line, which is all one phrase, with no pause: The proper study of mankind is man. Have another listen to the couplet, to hear how the tension is established and then released: Know then thyself, presume not God to scan; The proper study of mankind is man. So when all of this comes together, the tension and release, the regular rhythm of the metre and the full rhymes clinching the couplet, it has the effect of making the words sound truer than true. The following couplet picks up on the antithesis, and extends it into paradox: Placed on this isthmus of a middle state, A being darkly wise, and rudely great: An isthmus is a narrow strip of land between two bodies of water, so standing on it, you could easily feel precarious and threatened. ‘Darkly wise' means ‘dimly wise', possessing a little knowledge, but not enough for full understanding. And ‘rudely great' means ‘powerful but coarse and unfinished'. And I think we can recognise what Pope is saying from our own experience – that sense of knowing enough to know how little we really know; of having great potential, but struggling to fulfil it. And isn't it delightful how Pope compresses all those feelings into these neat little paradoxes: ‘darkly wise and rudely great'. In another famous line, he describes true eloquence as ‘What oft was thought but ne'er so well expressed', which is exactly what he achieves here. We can also note that ‘darkly wise' and ‘rudely great' are not only antitheses expressed as paradoxes, they are also an example of another rhetorical pattern: parallelism, where similar structures are repeated with variation. In this case ‘darkly' and ‘rudely' are both adverbs and ‘wise' and ‘great' are both adjectives, so grammatically they are identical, which suggests both similarity and difference in mankind's relationship to knowledge and power. The next couplet uses a more elaborate parallelism: With too much knowledge for the sceptic side, With too much weakness for the stoic's pride, So both lines say ‘With too much something for the something else'. It's hard to miss the pattern, isn't it? And notice how the couplet form is perfect for laying out two ideas that seem to counterbalance each other perfectly. So we're only six lines in and Pope has put his finger on a central conundrum in human existence, and conveyed it with at least three rhetorical patterns nested inside each other – antithesis, paradox and parallelism. Not only that, he's handled the metre and rhyme with great skill, wrapping each thought up in the neat little bow of a rhyming couplet. And if your mind is starting to boggle, welcome to the world of Pope's verse: elegant, authoritative and very, very clever. When we look closely, there's a lot going on inside every single couplet. He's like a watchmaker, working at a tiny scale, making an instrument with great precision and balance, that keeps perfect time, and chimes beautifully. And Pope's contemporaries would have found it easier to follow the sense than we do, because they were used to reading this kind of stuff. But I'm sure the poetry would often have given them pause, even if only for a moment, as they read. And my guess is that they would have enjoyed this slight difficulty, and the pleasure of making out the sense, with the little dopamine hit of understanding. Like unwrapping a sweet before you can pop it in your mouth and taste it. So I hope we're starting to see why Pope is the undisputed master of the heroic couplet. Even T. S. Eliot had to admit defeat, when he wrote a passage in this style for The Waste Land, only for Ezra Pound to point out tactfully that he couldn't compete with Pope, and draw the red pencil through it. But the form is more than simply one couplet after another. When he stacks them together, they create verse paragraphs, longer units of thought, that function very like paragraphs in prose. So having established the idea of man caught between opposing forces, he goes on to elaborate on the theme to dazzling effect: He hangs between; in doubt to act, or rest; In doubt to deem himself a god, or beast; In doubt his mind or body to prefer; Born but to die, and reasoning but to err; Alike in ignorance, his reason such, Whether he thinks too little, or too much: The couplets are individually brilliant, and cumulatively overwhelming, both in terms of the mental effort required to tease out their meanings, and the tension between action and inaction, divine and bestial impulses, mind and body, birth and death, reason and error. And I think that's why I find this line so funny: Whether he thinks too little, or too much: It feels like he's throwing his arms up and laughing and admitting that he's overthinking it all. The verse paragraph ends with three more couplets, where he sums up the nature of man: Chaos of thought and passion, all confused; Still by himself abused, or disabused; Created half to rise, and half to fall; Great lord of all things, yet a prey to all; Sole judge of truth, in endless error hurled: The glory, jest, and riddle of the world! Although Pope is describing a ‘chaos of thought', his own thinking is always sharp, however convoluted his argument becomes. So he sticks to the themes of power and knowledge, undercutting man's pretension by saying he is ‘Great lord of all things, yet a prey to all', and ‘Sole judge of truth, in endless error hurled'. And he ends this paragraph with another rhetorical device, the tricolon, which uses three parallel elements to build to a conclusion: The glory, jest, and riddle of the world! We're familiar with this pattern in famous quotes from Julius Caesar, ‘I came, I saw, I conquered', the US Declaration of Independence, ‘Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness', and Shakespeare: ‘Friends, Romans, countrymen!' Here, Pope uses it with typical precision, since if someone is both the ‘glory… of the world' and it's ‘jest', i.e. the butt of its jokes, then that makes that person a ‘riddle': The glory, jest, and riddle of the world! So this sums up the nature of man, and sets up the jesting irony of the next verse paragraph: Go, wondrous creature! mount where science guides, Go, measure earth, weigh air, and state the tides; Instruct the planets in what orbs to run, Correct old time, and regulate the sun; If this were the start of the poem, we might be forgiven for taking Pope's words at face value, but in the light of what has gone before, it's pretty clear that ‘wondrous creature' is a mocking criticism. He was writing this in an age where Newtonian physics was in the ascendancy and people were full of enthusiasm about the new discoveries in science and the possibility of understanding and mastering the physical world. And given that we are still living in a so-called age of reason, I think his criticisms of scientific overreach are still relevant, and the joke is still funny, when he talks about instructing the planets in what orbits to follow, correcting time and regulating the sun. As if measuring were full understanding, let alone complete power. But Pope doesn't confine his criticism to scientists. He also has philosophers in his sight: Go, soar with Plato to th' empyreal sphere, To the first good, first perfect, and first fair; Or tread the mazy round his followers trod, And quitting sense call imitating God; He clearly doesn't have a lot of time for Plato's first principles. Neither is he impressed by the contemporary vogue for what we would call Orientalism: As Eastern priests in giddy circles run, And turn their heads to imitate the sun. It's possible that he had in mind the whirling dervishes of Persia, or maybe this is just a caricature of his idea of ‘Eastern priests'. So obviously this is a joke that hasn't aged so well. OK he ends this verse paragraph with a final jab, which restates the idea from the opening couplet in bluntly comic fashion: Go, teach Eternal Wisdom how to rule – Then drop into thyself, and be a fool! It's hard to imagine a more apt image of intellectual presumption than trying to teach Eternal Wisdom a thing or two, but just in case we miss the point, Pope rams it home with relish: Then drop into thyself, and be a fool! And this is another characteristic aspect of Augustan poetry, particularly the satirical kind, that it can be very crude and direct, with a passage of sophisticated argument followed by a line or two where the mask drops and the insult is laid bare. And no, it's not big or clever, but let's face it, sometimes it can be deeply satisfying. One more little detail, which I can't help wondering about: notice how both of these couplets, conveying the same basic idea in very different tones, both hinge on the word ‘thyself': Know then thyself, presume not God to scan; The proper study of mankind is man. Go, teach Eternal Wisdom how to rule – Then drop into thyself, and be a fool! So that word ‘thyself' could be used to refer to various individuals, and knowing Pope, I wouldn't be surprised if he intended all of them at once. Firstly, the phrasing sounds proverbial, in which case each couplet is an injunction to mankind at large. Secondly, it could refer to the reader, any reader, of the poem, whether Viscount Bolingbroke, an 18th-century wit, or you and me, reading the poem together on this podcast. It could also refer to the specific targets of Pope's criticism, such as the overreaching scientists or philosophers. I think Pope may also have had in mind a target nearer to home: himself. W. B. Yeats wrote in one of his essays, ‘We make out of the quarrel with others, rhetoric, but of the quarrel with ourselves, poetry'. And it's entirely possible that Pope is doing both at once: we've seen the brilliance of his rhetoric, in puncturing the pretensions of his fellow men and women. Yet by making poetry as well as rhetoric, he is arguably arguing with himself as well. It was of course be entirely right and proper and expected for a Christian such as Pope to admonish himself as well as others, for the many and various sins he describes in An Essay on Man. So from a moral viewpoint, I think I'm on pretty safe ground in suggesting that ‘thyself' includes Pope. But I would go further, and say that the idea of a brilliant mind that is not quite brilliant enough to fully understand itself may have been a deeply personal subject for Pope. Because what we have here is an extremely clever warning about taking cleverness to extremes. Maybe the irony was not lost on Pope. As he wrote in another poem, An Essay on Criticism, ‘A little learning is a dangerous thing'. So perhaps as we hear this passage again, and enjoy the sparkling wit and scurrilous attacks on others, we can also detect a note of self-reflection, and self-accusation, that makes it a little more poignant than it first appears. From An Essay on Man Epistle II By Alexander Pope Know then thyself, presume not God to scan;The proper study of mankind is man.Placed on this isthmus of a middle state,A being darkly wise, and rudely great:With too much knowledge for the sceptic side,With too much weakness for the stoic's pride,He hangs between; in doubt to act, or rest;In doubt to deem himself a god, or beast;In doubt his mind or body to prefer;Born but to die, and reasoning but to err;Alike in ignorance, his reason such,Whether he thinks too little, or too much:Chaos of thought and passion, all confused;Still by himself abused, or disabused;Created half to rise, and half to fall;Great lord of all things, yet a prey to all;Sole judge of truth, in endless error hurled:The glory, jest, and riddle of the world! Go, wondrous creature! mount where science guides,Go, measure earth, weigh air, and state the tides;Instruct the planets in what orbs to run,Correct old time, and regulate the sun;Go, soar with Plato to th' empyreal sphere,To the first good, first perfect, and first fair;Or tread the mazy round his followers trod,And quitting sense call imitating God;As Eastern priests in giddy circles run,And turn their heads to imitate the sun.Go, teach Eternal Wisdom how to rule –Then drop into thyself, and be a fool!   Alexander Pope Alexander Pope was an English poet and translator who was born in 1688 and died in 1744. As a Catholic he was barred from university and public office, so he educated himself and forged a brilliant literary career, becoming the leading poet of Augustan England, celebrated for his razor-sharp satire and polished heroic couplets. Early success came with An Essay on Criticism and The Rape of the Lock, followed by monumental translations of Homer that made him financially independent. His later works, including The Dunciad, attacked dullness and corruption. In An Essay on Man, he explored human nature, providence, and moral order with epigrammatic clarity. He lived at Twickenham, where he created a famous garden and grotto.   A Mouthful of Air – the podcast This is a transcript of an episode of A Mouthful of Air – a poetry podcast hosted by Mark McGuinness. New episodes are released every other Tuesday. You can hear every episode of the podcast via Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts or your favourite app. You can have a full transcript of every new episode sent to you via email. The music and soundscapes for the show are created by Javier Weyler. Sound production is by Breaking Waves and visual identity by Irene Hoffman. A Mouthful of Air is produced by The 21st Century Creative, with support from Arts Council England via a National Lottery Project Grant. Listen to the show You can listen and subscribe to A Mouthful of Air on all the main podcast platforms Related Episodes From An Essay on Man by Alexander Pope Episode 89 From An Essay on Man by Alexander Pope Mark McGuinness reads and discusses an excerpt from Epistle II of An Essay on Man by Alexander Pope.Poet Alexander PopeReading and commentary by Mark McGuinnessFrom An Essay on Man Epistle II By Alexander Pope Know... Occupied by Tim Rich Episode 88 Occupied by Tim Rich  Tim Rich reads ‘Occupied' and discusses the poem with Mark McGuinness.This poem is from: Dark Angels: Three Contemporary PoetsAvailable from: Dark Angels is available from: The publisher: Paekakariki Press Amazon: UK... Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold Episode 87 Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold  Mark McGuinness reads and discusses ‘Dover Beach' by Matthew Arnold.Poet Matthew ArnoldReading and commentary by Mark McGuinnessDover Beach By Matthew Arnold The sea is calm tonight.The tide is full, the moon lies...

Want to support the podcast? Join our Patreon or buy us a coffee. As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you. In today's episode, we are exploring how Shakespeare depicts Julius Caesar's "falling sickness," commonly believed by historians and scholars to be epilepsy. First, we'll discuss how the play Julius Caesar can be read as a disability narrative and how it reflects early modern anxieties around invisible disabilities like epilepsy.  Then, we will look at how Shakespeare depicts falling sickness or epilepsy across the canon and determine whether or not the depictions are as accurate as they are often celebrated to be. Finally, we will share an alternative diagnosis for Caesar's symptoms based on what is known of historical Caesar's medical history.  Content Warning: Emetophobia, brief discussion of eating disorders Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp. Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander. For updates: Join our email list Follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod Visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com Support the podcast: Become a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone  Buy us a coffee Bookshop.org: Since 2020, Bookshop.org has raised more than $38 million for independent bookstores. Shop our Shakespeare Anyone? storefront to find books featured on the podcast, books by our guests, and other Shakespeare-related books and gifts. Every purchase on the site financially supports independent bookstores. Libro.fm: Libro.fm makes it possible to purchase audiobooks through your local bookshop of choice. Use our link for 2 free audiobooks when you sign up for a new Libro.fm membership using our link. Find additional links mentioned in the episode in our Linktree. Works referenced: Breuer, Horst. "Bilder Der Epilepsie Bei Shakespeare / Representations of Epilepsy in Shakespeare." Medizinhistorisches Journal, vol. 37, no. 1, 2002, pp. 5–19. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25805304. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026. Hamlyn, Tim. "The Nature of Caesar's Illness." Latomus, vol. 73, no. 2, 2014, pp. 360–67. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24858427. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026. Hobgood, Allison. (2009). Caesar Hath the Falling Sickness: The Legibility of Early Modern Disability in Shakespearean Drama. Disability Studies Quarterly. 29. 10.18061/dsq.v29i4.993. 

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 24th of February, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We go to the Gospel of John 20:25. Thomas said: “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” Folks, there is nothing worse than doubting. We need to stop doubting and we need to start believing. They talk about Thomas being the doubting Thomas but I want to say to you that Thomas eventually believed. Eight days later, the Lord came and stood in the midst of them and He said to Thomas, ”Thomas, put your finger here and look at my hands and reach your hand here and put it into my side and do not be unbelieving but believing.” Verse 28 - the Bible tells us that when Thomas saw this, he said, ”My Lord and my God.” Thomas did eventually believe and he believed so much that he went to India to preach the Gospel and there he was martyred. I want to say something to you. It is better to have doubted and then believe, than to have never believed at all. Of course, once you see, then you don't need faith, do you? But to believe, having not seen Jesus, is a wonderful thing and that's what Jesus said to Thomas, ”There will be those who come after you who have never seen me and yet believe.”It is so sad for me when people are determined not to believe the word of God. There is more evidence that Jesus Christ walked on this earth than there is that Julius Caesar existed. Why is it that our hearts become so hardened? I want to say to you today, you really need to believe by faith. I want to pray for you because I believe there are some people who are listening to this thought for the day every morning, but you still don't believe. Now please, if you want more faith to believe that Jesus Christ not only is alive, not only is He the saviour of the world, but that He's coming back soon, pray this prayer after me: Dear Lord Jesus, please forgive me for doubting You. Lord, when I look around and I see the devastation in the world, I find it hard to believe, but today I choose by faith to believe that You, Jesus Christ, are the Son of the living God. Amen.God bless you and have a wonderful day.Goodbye.

Wes & Erin continue their discussion of Shakespeare's “Julius Caesar,” and its sustained reflection on how political power is constructed, located, and legitimated. Upcoming Episodes: “Amadeus,” Susan Sontag’s “On Photography.” Pre-order Erin’s forthcoming book “Avail” here: http://subtextpodcast.com/avail For bonus content, become a paid subscriber at Patreon or directly on the Apple Podcasts app. Patreon subscribers also get early access to ad-free regular episodes. This podcast is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Visit AirwaveMedia.com to listen and subscribe to other Airwave shows like Good Job, Brain and Big Picture Science. Email advertising@airwavemedia.com to enquire about advertising on the podcast. Follow: Twitter | Facebook | Website

Send me a text!The decade long pacification of Gaul as seen through the eyes of Julius Caesar. Support the show war102podcast@gmail.comhttps://war102.buzzsprout.com

Измислица или истина е историята? В новия епизод на подкаста Pop Script с водещ писателя и кинокритик Благой Д. Иванов се отправяме на плаване из мътния океан на историографията, пречупена през популярната, но и през класическата култура. Гости са двама души с плашеща ерудиция, но също така и с пленителна реторика – това са театроведът Миряна Димитрова (автор на „Julius Caesar's Self-Created Image and Its Dramatic Afterlife“) и историкът Александър Стоянов (автор на „Българите между две катастрофи – 1396-1944 г.“). Тройната дружина се отдава в студиото на Ratio на свежи разсъждения върху автентизма и художествените интерпретации на реални хора и събития от (сравнително) далечното минало. Също така, те предпазливо и що-годе оптимистично отправят поглед към бъдещето в края на разговора, отговаряйки на следния тегав въпрос: в напрегнатите времена, в които живеем, имаме ли шанс да се оправим и съхраним, без да се стига до ескалация? Tази бъдеща аудиовизуална христоматия съдържа още теми и питанки като: • Илюзия ли е достоверността, когато историята се разказва, преразказва и съхранява? • А илюзия ли е достоверността, когато историята се преработва от изкуството? • Превърнал ли се е Уилям Шекспир чрез творчеството си в своеобразен персонаж – ocoбено чрез филми като „Влюбеният Шекспир“ на Джон Мадън, „Анонимен“ на Роланд Емерих и „Хамнет“ на Клои Жао? • Дали пиесите на Барда са основна причина да възприемаме днес повече като фикция фигури като Гай Юлий Цезар? • Могат ли сериали като „Рим“ да развенчаят митичната осанка на древността? • Как изобразителното изкуство на творци като Жак-Луи Давид помага на Наполеон Бонапарт да изгради своя въздействащ имидж? • Бил ли е адекватно представян досега в книги и филми обичащият котките кардинал Арман Жан дю Плеси дьо Ришельо? • C „да“ или с „не“ трябва да подхождаме към исторически компрометираните, но художествено издържани продукции на режисьори като Мел Гибсън („Смело сърце“), Ридли Скот („Гладиатор“) и Зак Снайдър („300“)? • Сложни личности като Винсент Вилем ван Гог могат ли да бъдат опознати и разбрани чрез комбиниране на литература, кино и лични архиви? • Кой е барон Франц Нопча фон Фелшьо-Силвас... и защо си струва да научим повече за него? • Смислени и правдиви ли са т. нар. woke сюжети? • Как иронията, самоиронията и карикатурата работят при велики разказвачи като Мел Брукс („Пламтящи седла“), Роуън Аткинсън („Черното влечуго“) и комедийната трупа „Монти Пайтън“? • Поради каква причина не можем да третираме собствените си национални герои по друг начин, освен канонично... и бихме ли могли някой ден да видим Васил Левски в схватка с чудовището от Лох Нес? • И още: от гениални майстори на четката (като Иван Айвазовски и Ждислав Бекшински) през средновековни владетелски фигури (като папа Инокентий III и херцогиня Елеонор Аквитанска) до неочаквани страдалци и герои на своите епохи (като Джефри Хъдзън и Абрам Ханибал) – кого би било любопитно да видим интерпретиран в изкуството, който не е бил досега адекватно или изобщо представян никъде?

Banned In Sparta”- Collaborative Album with Classical Greek Poets and Modern Folk Singers Helmed by Robin BatteauRobin Batteau's “Banned in Sparta” is a collaborative album of songs based on poems by Classical Greek poets and recorded by a number of friends Tom Paxton, Eric Andersen, Livingston and Kate Taylor, Matt Nakoa, Robin Lane, 2-time Tony winning actor James Naughton and his gifted children Keira and Greg, plus Carolyn Hester.  Robin was inspired by an Ancient Greek History class he took when he returned to Harvard during the Pandemic to finish a degree he started in the 1960s. Robin earned the World Record of taking a 50-year break (between 1970 to 2021) to return to Harvard and finish his degree in 2022.   “Banned In Sparta” focuses almost entirely on poets from Ancient Greece between 700 and 400 BC.  One poet, Gaius Valerius Catullus (84 – 54 BC), as smitten with the ghost of Sappho as Robin or Alcaeus, is from Rome during Julius Caesar's reign, for whom Eric Andersen performs “Cross (of Gold),” an ode to interlaced and conflicted feelings, “Odi et Amo"— I hate and I love.The title “Banned in Sparta” finds its name from Archilochus, the Bob Dylan of the 7th century B.C., a warrior-poet so irreverent he was “Banned in Sparta.”  James Naughton sings the song “Archilochus Re-Deemed (I Am a Servant of the Lord God of War).” Kate Taylor performs “Telesilla's On the Wall,” from the female poet Telesilla, who led her fellow women warriors to victory against those same renowned Spartans. “The Greek Lyric poets performed live, and were the stars of their day,” says Robin. “They were singer/songwriters, they played the lyre (hence "Lyric") and danced around the stage like Tom Paxton and Taylor Swift.”Robin, who studied Ancient Greece and Integrative Biology at Harvard, found that most of what was left of the poems were fragments and myth, “So I mosaic-ed songs to reflect their expressions and intentions— who they were, and are to me.”         A range of female poets contributed to the lyrical history of Greece including Corrina, whose “In Her Loving Arms” is sung by Carolyn Hester, and Praxilla's “The Most Beautiful Thing in the World,” a hymn to Adonis, sung by Keira Naughton.  Sappho's writing inspires “Terra Cotta Heart,” sung by Robin Lane.  Livingston Taylor sings “My Sappho, Sweetly Smiling” from the smitten neighbor and rival Alcaeus. The fun and frolicking “Shake your Hair (You Thracian Filly),” sung by Tom Paxton. Pianist and folk singer Matt Nakoa offers a Bruce Hornsby-like treatment for Simonides of Ceos's “Theatre of Memory (Man of Gold).”    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-like-it-s-live--4113802/support.

Wes & Erin continue their discussion of Shakespeare's “Julius Caesar,” and its sustained reflection on how political power is constructed, located, and legitimated. Upcoming Episodes: “Amadeus,” Susan Sontag’s “On Photography.” Pre-order Erin’s forthcoming book “Avail” here: http://subtextpodcast.com/avail For bonus content, become a paid subscriber at Patreon or directly on the Apple Podcasts app. Patreon subscribers also get early access to ad-free regular episodes. This podcast is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Visit AirwaveMedia.com to listen and subscribe to other Airwave shows like Good Job, Brain and Big Picture Science. Email advertising@airwavemedia.com to enquire about advertising on the podcast. Follow: Twitter | Facebook | Website

What the bible is all about; Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil vs Tree of Life; Walls of misunderstanding; Pharisees and Sadducees; The serpent in the garden; Whole truth?; Why Leviticus was written; Pontius Pilate's position; Monetary system in Judea; Decline of Roman republic; Duty to fellowman; Evidence of salvation; Knowing the WHOLE Jesus; Devil believes in Jesus; Have you repented?; Things God hates; Nicolaitans and Baalam; Charity; Levites; Atonement; What we thought we knew that just ain't so; Lev 5:1 Awkward translation; Jewish Christmas lights story; Hating; The "world" God loves; All MIGHT be saved; Bearing witness to iniquity; Carcase?; Unclean things?; Sacrifice?; nun-biet-lamad-hey; Julius Caesar and the Gauls; Unclean bread provided by Rome; Foolish things; Golden calf; Reserve fund?; Oaths; Bound to unknown crimes; Guilt; Confession - to whom?; Making recompense; How to have a healthy community; Unintended consequences; Trespass offerings; Stones of the Levite altars; Touching unclean things; Offering covering the trespass; Taking care of the needy; Social welfare via the altars; Turtledove?; Cheating; Sprinkling blood?; Christ forbade us…; Atonement for sin?; Ransom, price of life, sacrifice; Things of value; The principle: you caused damage; Owning up; Responsibility; Spirit of a free society; v12 - bringing to priest; "fire"; Why the old men wept; Forgiveness; Paying it forward; Reparations?; Freewill offerings; What Christ was doing; Making amends; Forgiven by whom?; Prodigal son example; Whose house do you live in?; Getting back to your father's house; Repent and seek His kingdom and righteousness; Why a priest?; Wise, efficient giving; "Kingdom"; Determining what you owe in recompense; Things forgotten; Injuring someone is a trespass against the LORD; Human resources; Caiaphas and Jesus; Pay it forward.

Today, I'm thrilled to announce my interview with veteran actress Elizabeth Marvel, who is currently starring in THE DINOSAURS at Playwrights Horizons. Tune in to hear some of the stories of her legendary career, including her unlikely beginnings, how Michael Langham gave her her Broadway debut in THE SEAGULL, performing the controversial revival of JULIUS CAESAR in the Park, why she wants to form a new National Actors Theater, being an American actor at Stratford, working with Glenda Jackson on KING LEAR, her collaboration with Ivo Van Hove, finding a new take on A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, researching THE LITTLE FOXES, starring in TOP GIRLS as a new mother, the drawings Edward Albee made during SEASCAPE, acting opposite Frances Sternhagen, why PICNIC was an exorcism for her, approaching Shakespeare like music theory, what draws her to new work, and so much more. Don't miss this candid conversation with one of Broadway's best.

In this episode of the Broad Street Review Podcast, host Darnelle Radford welcomes director Morgan Green to discuss the Philadelphia Theatre Company's adaptation of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. They explore the shared leadership model in Philadelphia theatre, the unique interpretations of the cast, and the relevance of the play in today's society. The conversation delves into character analysis, choreography, and the audience's engagement with the production, highlighting the emotional and political themes that resonate with contemporary issues.A Bold and Modern New AdaptationCaesarAdapted by Tyler Dobrowsky From Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare Directed by Morgan GreenWhat would you do to protect your home?Shakespeare's classic political tragedy is reborn as a gripping contemporary thriller in this bold new adaptation by Tyler Dobrowsky. Caesar stays true to Shakespeare's original language but trims the story to its leanest, most urgent core—cutting to the heart of ambition, authoritarianism, and the cost of protecting democracy.Brutus, a principled Roman senator, joins a conspiracy to assassinate Julius Caesar, fearing the rise of tyranny. But once the deed is done, the fragile dream of liberty spirals into violence, unrest, and civil war. As alliances shift and Rome descends into chaos, the play asks: Who gets to hold power? And at what price?Running just 95 minutes, Caesar is fast-paced and fiercely relevant, inviting audiences to draw parallels between ancient Rome and the political tensions of our world today.In a season about what it means to be home, Caesar asks: who gets to shape the future of a nation? And what are we willing to risk to defend the place—and people—we love?ABOUT MORGAN CLAIRE GREENPTC: Debut. Off-Broadway: Five Models in Ruins, 1981, LCT3; Staff Meal, Playwrights Horizons; School Pictures, Playwrights Horizons. Regional: Hilma (Opera), Eternal Life Part 1, School Pictures, Fat Ham (digital; Pulitzer Prize for Drama), Wilma Theater. Additional premieres include Five Models in Ruins and The Karamazovs (film). Awards: Obie Award. Leadership: Co-Artistic Director of Philadelphia's Tony Award–winning Wilma Theater, where she has directed numerous world premieres and new theatrical collaborations.FOR TICKETS AND INFORMATION: https://philadelphiatheatrecompany.org/caesar/

Send a textWhat we honestly have is ancient testimony, not “medical proof.What the ancient sources actually sayTwo major biographers written well after Caesar's death report episodes that sound like seizures:Suetonius (writing ~150 years later) says Caesar was “twice attacked by the falling sickness” during his campaigns, and also mentions fainting fits and nightmares later in life. Plutarch also describes Caesar as having episodes of illness and uses them at times to explain his behavior in public life (though Plutarch's descriptions are not clinical “case notes”). And in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Casca calls it “the falling sickness”—that's Shakespeare drawing on the same tradition rather than independent medical evidence.   His exact words are He - meaning Julius Caesar - fell down in the market-place, and foamed at the mouth, and was speechless.Romans often used morbus comitialis for what we'd now associate with epilepsy (the idea being that a seizure could halt a public assembly). So: yes, the term points toward epilepsy—but it's still a label from ancient writers, not a diagnosis with modern criteria.How reliable is it?Reasonably important, but not ironclad:These accounts come from biographies written later, using earlier sources we don't always have, and they can mix observation, hearsay, and   moral storytelling. “Falling sickness” could have been applied loosely to several kinds of sudden collapse—not only epilepsy.What might it have been, in modern terms?There's genuine debate. Some modern clinicians/historians argue the episodes may fit transient ischemic attacks (mini-strokes) or other causes of sudden fainting/weakness rather than epilepsy. Others still argue that “late-onset epilepsy” remains plausible based on the descriptions. Do we have reliable proof? No—no medical records, no exam notes, no contemporary clinical description.Do we have credible ancient reports that Caesar had episodes called “falling sickness”? Yes, especially Suetonius. Support the showThank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.

Want to support the podcast? Join our Patreon or buy us a coffee. As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you. In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Cassius argues that "Men at some time are masters of their fates: The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings." In this week's episode, we are exploring early modern ideas of fate and the stars and the practices and beliefs of astrology in Shakespeare's time.  We'll discuss the difference between the early modern concepts of natural and judicial astrology, the popularity and influence of astrology and astrologers in Early Modern England, and how it found its way into plays like Shakespeare's. Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp. Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.   For updates: Join our email list Follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod Visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com Support the podcast: Become a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone  Buy us a coffee Bookshop.org: Since 2020, Bookshop.org has raised more than $38 million for independent bookstores. Shop our Shakespeare Anyone? storefront to find books featured on the podcast, books by our guests, and other Shakespeare-related books and gifts. Every purchase on the site financially supports independent bookstores. Libro.fm: Libro.fm makes it possible to purchase audiobooks through your local bookshop of choice. Use our link for 2 free audiobooks when you sign up for a new Libro.fm membership using our link. Find additional links mentioned in the episode in our Linktree. Works referenced: Bragg, Melvin, host. "Renaissance Astrology." In Our Time: Science, BBC Radio, 14 Jun 2007. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007nmym Cash, Cassidy, host, and Barbara Traister, guest. "Episode #13: Interview with Barbara Traister exploring astrology, doctors, herbs, and witches in Shakespeare's England." That Shakespeare Life, episode 13, Cassidy Cash, 16 July 2018. https://cassidycash.libsyn.com/episode-13-interview-with-barbara-traister-exploring-astrology-doctors-herbs-and-witches-in-shakespeares-england Kassell, Lauren, host. "Simon Forman: astrology, Medicine and Quackery in Elizabethan England." University of Oxford Podcasts, University of Oxford, 26 Oct 2011. https://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/simon-forman-astrology-medicine-and-quackery-elizabethan-england Lipscomb, Suzannah, host, and Benjamin Woolley, guest. "Elizabeth I's Conjuror: John Dee." Not Just the Tudors, episode 364, History Hit, 9 Oct 2024. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/elizabeth-is-conjuror-john-dee/id1564113869?i=1000670531385 Oxford English Dicitionary. "Astrology, N. Meanings, Etymology and More | Oxford English Dictionary." Oxford English Dictionary, 2026, www.oed.com/dictionary/astrology_n. Oxford English Dicitionary. "Astronomy, N. Meanings, Etymology and More | Oxford English Dictionary." Oxford English Dictionary, 2026, www.oed.com/dictionary/astronomy_n. Schifini, Julia and Amanda McLoughlin, hosts, and Kelly Downes, guest. "Episode 361: Astrology and Shakespeare (with Kelly Downes)." Spirits Podcast, episode 361, Multitude Productions, 8 Nov 2023. https://spiritspodcast.com/episodes/shakespeare-and-astrology  Shakespeare, William. Twelfth Night, or What You Will , edited by Keir Elam, ARDEN SHAKESPEARE, LONDON, UK, 2008, pp. 180n1.3.132-5. Third. Walker, Katherine. "Almanacs as Underdogs: Folger Shakespeare Library." Folger Shakespeare Library Almanacs as Underdogs Comments, Folger Shakespeare Library, 19 Mar. 2019, www.folger.edu/blogs/collation/almanacs-as-underdogs/.  Smith, William Bruce, "Shakespeare and astrology" (1989). Chapter 2. Master's Theses. Paper 1083

Wes & Erin continue their discussion of Shakespeare's “Julius Caesar,” and its sustained reflection on how political power is constructed, located, and legitimated. Upcoming Episodes: “Amadeus,” Susan Sontag’s “On Photography.” Pre-order Erin’s forthcoming book “Avail” here: http://subtextpodcast.com/avail For bonus content, become a paid subscriber at Patreon or directly on the Apple Podcasts app. Patreon subscribers also get early access to ad-free regular episodes. This podcast is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Visit AirwaveMedia.com to listen and subscribe to other Airwave shows like Good Job, Brain and Big Picture Science. Email advertising@airwavemedia.com to enquire about advertising on the podcast. Follow: Twitter | Facebook | Website

Every divorced dad needs to hear Charles Brownlee's story. This episode reveals the brutal reality of what happens when the system completely fails fathers. Charles survived hell heroin addict dad, crackhead mom, left starving as a child. Built a life: 14 years logging, $500K house, 4 kids, wife of 15 years. Then it all collapsed. Wife's mental illness (75+ suicide attempts/year), stabbed him multiple times, kidnapped the kids. He got shot twice, lost everything. Now rebuilding from nothing focused on being worth coming home to when his kids return.  What You'll Discover: • The shocking truth about mental health and custody battles • How false accusations can destroy a father's life • Why documentation is critical (Charles had witnesses but still lost) • The brutal reality of family court bias against fathers • How to stay strong when you've lost everything • Why choosing peace over revenge protects your future with your kids • The spiritual strength needed to survive complete devastation    Powerful Moment: "I can't be no good man behind bars or dead. I have to be worth somebody worth coming home to when those kids do come home."   WATCH the full video episode on YouTube  LISTEN everywhere: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts SUPPORT the mission: https://www.patreon.com/daddyissues   ⭐ If this episode helped you, please leave a 5-star review and share with other dads who need to hear this.   FREE Resources for Divorced Dads: • Father's rights legal directory • Crisis support hotlines • Mental health resources for men • Legal documentation guides • Custody battle preparation checklist   This episode covers difficult topics including domestic violence, mental health crises, and child custody battles. Listener discretion advised.   Got your own story or need support? Email: daddyissuespodcastshow@gmail.com   #CustodyBattle #DivorceAdvice #FathersRights #FamilyCourt #DadLife #MentalHealth #ChildCustody #DivorceStrategy #LegalAdvice #DaddyIssues #Resilience #Faith    

This is Part 2! For Part 1, check the feed!This week we're tracing the life of one of the most famous people to have ever lived: Caesar! We'll see his relatively humble origins, we'll travel with him to Gaul and Britain and finally, we'll see Cleopatra enter the stage.And this week we're discussing locksmiths, beers in the bath to calm down and so much more. If you'd like to add to our postbag, you can do so by emailing: hello@ohwhatatime.comAnd if you want more Oh What A Time, you should sign up for our Patreon! On there you'll now find:•The full archive of bonus episodes•Brand new bonus episodes each month•OWAT subscriber group chats•Loads of extra perks for supporters of the show•PLUS ad-free episodes earlier than everyone elseJoin us at

Wes & Erin continue their discussion of Shakespeare's “Julius Caesar,” and its sustained reflection on how political power is constructed, located, and legitimated. Upcoming Episodes: “Amadeus,” Susan Sontag’s “On Photography.” Pre-order Erin’s forthcoming book “Avail” here: http://subtextpodcast.com/avail For bonus content, become a paid subscriber at Patreon or directly on the Apple Podcasts app. Patreon subscribers also get early access to ad-free regular episodes. This podcast is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Visit AirwaveMedia.com to listen and subscribe to other Airwave shows like Good Job, Brain and Big Picture Science. Email advertising@airwavemedia.com to enquire about advertising on the podcast. Follow: Twitter | Facebook | Website

This week we're tracing the life of one of the most famous people to have ever lived: Caesar! We'll see his relatively humble origins, we'll travel with him to Gaul and Britain and finally, we'll see Cleopatra enter the stage.And this week we're discussing locksmiths, beers in the bath to calm down and so much more. If you'd like to add to our postbag, you can do so by emailing: hello@ohwhatatime.comAnd if you want more Oh What A Time, you should sign up for our Patreon! On there you'll now find:•The full archive of bonus episodes•Brand new bonus episodes each month•OWAT subscriber group chats•Loads of extra perks for supporters of the show•PLUS ad-free episodes earlier than everyone elseJoin us at

Odd little February is the shortest month of the year. Historians aren’t exactly sure just why that’s the case. But tracing its evolution gives us a capsule history of the evolution of the calendar. The modern western calendar is a descendant of the earliest Roman calendar. It included only 10 months, beginning with March. The months were followed by about 60 days that weren’t part of any month. That system didn’t work very well, though, so two months were added to the end of the year – January and February. Eventually, they were shifted to the start of the year. The lengths of the 10 original months were changed to leave 56 days for the newcomers. But the Romans feared even numbers, so they added a day to January to give it 29. February was the month for festivals of repentance and for honoring the dead, so it stayed an unlucky even number. But this version of the calendar contained only 355 days. So an extra month was added every other year. In those years, the last five days of February were dropped. After that, February remained unchanged until 46 B.C., when Julius Caesar introduced the basic calendar that’s in use today. He named the seventh month for himself: July. And he might have lengthened February to 29 days. If so, it was cut back to 28 by Augustus Caesar, who took the extra day for the month that bears his name: August. Script by Damond Benningfield

Greg Jenner is joined in ancient Rome by Professor Mary Beard and comedian and actor Patton Oswalt to learn all about Emperor Nero. Nero has gone down in history as one of Rome's most infamous rulers – the villain in any number of films and television programmes, and the man who fiddled while the eternal city burned. He was also emperor during a number of momentous moments in the history of ancient Rome, including the revolt in Britain led by Iceni warrior queen Boudica. But does he deserve his notorious posthumous reputation? This episode explores the man and the myth, examining Nero's complicated path to the imperial throne, his relationship with famous philosopher Seneca the Younger, his murderous behaviour towards the women in his life, and the numerous plots that swirled around him. Along the way, we take a look at the more ridiculous moments in Nero's life, including the athletic games he founded, the festival to himself that he instituted, and his numerous dramatic appearances on the stage. If you're a fan of evil emperors, political plots and the bloody history of Ancient Rome, you'll love our episode on Nero. If you want more from Patton Oswalt, listen to our episode on the American War of Independence. And for more Roman history, check out our episodes on Agrippina the Younger, Boudica, and the Rise of Julius Caesar. You're Dead To Me is the comedy podcast that takes history seriously. Every episode, Greg Jenner brings together the best names in history and comedy to learn and laugh about the past. Hosted by: Greg Jenner Research by: Aimee Hinds Scott Written by: Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Dr Emma Nagouse, and Greg Jenner Produced by: Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner Audio Producer: Steve Hankey Production Coordinator: Gill Huggett Senior Producer: Dr Emma Nagouse Executive Editor: Philip Sellars

In this lecture, historian Dr Barry Strauss examines Augustus as the architect of Rome's imperial settlement, tracing how a young heir of extraordinary ambition transformed a republic struggling with civil war into an enduring political order. Tracing events from the turmoil following Julius Caesar's assassination to the victory at Actium, the creation of the Pax Romana, and Augustus's claim to rule as Rome's "first citizen," Strauss highlights how Augustus secured power by building trust, managing rivals, and reshaping public life through law, ritual, architecture, and art. The talk concludes by asking what is preserved and what is lost when a society exchanges republican freedom for imperial stability, and what the study of ancient leadership can still teach us about prudence, courage, and political responsibility today. Applications for Ralston College's MA in the Humanities are now open. Learn more and apply today at www.ralston.ac/apply Authors and Works Mentioned in this Episode: Winston Churchill William Shakespeare Herod the Great Homer Virgil's Aeneid Cicero Mark Antony Julius Caesar Cleopatra  

He was at various times in his life known as Gaius Octavius Thurinus; Gaius Julius Caesar; and Caesar Augustus. He called himself Princeps, the first man in Rome; the Roman Senate would eventually call him pater patriae, the father of his country. Heir to his great-uncle Julius Caesar, this 19 year old was dropped into the tumult of Roman political violence, and emerged from it the sole and undisputed victor after decades of civil war. He murdered hundreds, and then became the founder of a new Roman system that brought peace and prosperity to Rome's citizens and inhabitants. He was tyrannical and giving, cruel and clever, manipulative and noble. And he has claim to be one of the most successful politicians to ever lead a nation or a kingdom, who created a system which lasted for hundreds of years after his death.With me to discuss Caesar Augustus is Adrian Goldsworthy, author of Augustus: First Emperor of Rome, now being reissued in its second edition. The annoyingly prolific author of a shelf of books, both of ancient history and historical fiction, Adrian Goldsworthy has been described as the OG scholar of the Roman Army and the Mr Darcy of Ancient History. Since his next book comes out in May, this promises to be the first of at least two conversations with him in 2026–and this is his sixth appearance on the podcast.ChaptersIntroduction: Caesar Augustus (0:00)The Standard Received View: Syme's Roman Revolution (1:33)The Importance of Names: Octavian vs Caesar (13:27)Why Not Call Him Emperor? (22:56)Why Did Julius Caesar Pick This Kid? (27:06)Augustus's Talented Circle: Agrippa, Maecenas, and Livia (36:20)Augustus's Travels and Provincial Administration (47:59)Marriage Laws and Religious Reform (57:34)The Aeneid: Propaganda or Great Literature? (64:08)The Last 16 Years and Augustus's Legacy (71:52)

Wes & Erin continue their discussion of Shakespeare's “Julius Caesar,” and its sustained reflection on how political power is constructed, located, and legitimated. Upcoming Episodes: “Amadeus,” Susan Sontag. Pre-order Erin’s forthcoming book “Avail” here: http://subtextpodcast.com/avail For bonus content, become a paid subscriber at Patreon or directly on the Apple Podcasts app. Patreon subscribers also get early access to ad-free regular episodes. This podcast is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Visit AirwaveMedia.com to listen and subscribe to other Airwave shows like Good Job, Brain and Big Picture Science. Email advertising@airwavemedia.com to enquire about advertising on the podcast. Follow: Twitter | Facebook | Website

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 TriumphsHis Reforms His Clemency His Final War in Spain; the Batle of MundaThe Octavius QuestionThe Plots, Dreams, Portents, The men he trusted; the men who betrayed him Thanks to our sponsor, Ai Labs. Visit austinlab.ai to chat with a team member about custom Agentic AI power solutions for your SMB to Enterprise level business.  Powered by Shokworks.Also Thanks Dr. Richard Johnson, the Crassus to this Caesar series.And check out Warlords of History podcast here!

Jacks joins us this week to continue our Season 13 viewing of the hit Hallmark Channel show, When Calls the Heart.ABOUT: WHEN CALLS THE SEASON (SEASON 13 EPISODE 3)Elizabeth welcomes new students as Nathan and Bill investigate wildfire.AIR DATE & NETWORK FOR: WHEN CALLS THE SEASON (SEASON 13 EPISODE 3)January 18 2026 | Hallmark ChannelCAST & CREW OF: WHEN CALLS THE SEASON (SEASON 13 EPISODE 3)Erin Krakow as Elizabeth ThorntonKevin McGarry as Nathan GrantChris McNally as Lucas BouchardBRAN'S WHEN CALLS THE SEASON (SEASON 13 EPISODE 3) SYNOPSISIt's the first day of school, but the classroom just isn't ready. Nathan shows up with flowers for Elizabeth and encourages her, though she wonders if it might be too soon for these new kids to be back in school at all.Speaking of new kids, Gwen is not thrilled about school—and even less thrilled that Rosemary is trying to dress her in ugly, scratchy outfits.Edie talks with Lucas about needing a place to stay and casually starts doing jumping jacks. Lucas is enjoying every second of it.At school, there's a new kid named Rupert who is a total nerd and absolutely not interested in putting up with Allie's nonsense. Unfortunately for both of them, they're clearly the two smartest kids in the class. Competition incoming.The day starts off slowly, so Elizabeth encourages the Hope Valley kids to get to know the Benson Hills kids. Instead, the Benson Hills kids immediately start talking about how much they hate it in Hope Valley.Molly thinks she saw someone carrying something into the woods before the fire. Lee is convinced it was McGinty. Bill and Nathan want to handle things by the book, but Lee is frustrated that they aren't arresting McGinty without proof. Honestly, he should move to America.Allie tries to talk to Ollie about Julius Caesar, but the guy could not care less.Later, Lee spots McGinty having a drink at the saloon and confronts him with the accusations. McGinty refuses to engage and storms out. Lee follows, bumps into him, and McGinty falls—leading to Lee getting arrested.Elizabeth catches Oliver reading Julius Caesar. He explains that he wants to talk to Allie about it, so Elizabeth hands him The Grapes of Wrath instead. You know, something a little more contemporary.Elizabeth decides to make the next school day a fun one, complete with an obstacle course. She notices Toby and Cooper are moping, and they explain they're dealing with something like survivor's guilt.Lee gets home from jail and ends up bonding with Gwen. She's really starting to warm up to him.Edie gets angry with Lucas when he skips a meeting with wildfire victims after getting talked into attending a fancy dinner with a hotshot dealmaker instead.The episode ends with Toby and Cooper finally opening up to Elizabeth. They confess that they started a fire to make stew and thought they put it out properly—but what if they didn't? They're terrified. Elizabeth promises them they're not alone. Watch the show on Youtube - www.deckthehallmark.com/youtubeInterested in advertising on the show? Email bran@deckthehallmark.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.