Ancient and Modern podcast

Episodes

1. 9

   Agriculture, warfare and democracy

   Victor Davis Hanson is Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and the author of 24 books, the latest of which is The End of Everything: How Wars Descend into Annihilation. We talked about how easy it really is to ravage Attica; the nature of warfare in ancient Greece…

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   Aug 3, 2025

   1 hr 8 min
2. 8

   Sortition, ancient and modern

   Recently I was asked to review The Keys to Democracy: Sortition as a New model for Citizen Power for Polis journal. The book was written by the classical scholar Maurice Pope in the 1980s but has only recently been published by Maurice's son Hugh. I was especially interested in reviewing the book...

   Feb 21, 2025

   59 min
3. 7

   Epidemics, inequality, sex and progress, ancient and modern

   Walter Scheidel is Dickason Professor in the Humanities at Stanford University, and has long been at the forefront of applying social science methods to many of the big questions of ancient and modern history. We talked about the plagues of Egypt; economic inequality over the very long term;...

   Jan 26, 2025

   59 min
4. 6

   Modern movies, ancient world

   Arthur Pomeroy is Emeritus Professor of Classics at Victoria University of Wellington and a leading expert on Tacitus, Roman social history, and the ancient world on the modern screen. In this interview we explore the wild and wonderful world of modern movies about ancient Greece and Rome…

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   Apr 7, 2024

   42 min
5. 5

   East and West, Ancient and Modern

   Ian Morris is the Jean and Rebecca Willard Professor of Classics and a Fellow of the Archaeology Center at Stanford University. We talked about the rise of the Greek city-state; East-West divergences, ancient and modern; and how to understand global history. Along the way we touch on aliens, the...

   May 21, 2023

   1 hr 12 min
6. 4

   Stoicism, Ancient and Modern

   Caleb Ontiveros is the creator of the Stoa app, a platform for modern Stoic practice. We talked about modern Stoicism, Western Buddhism, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, mystical Christianity, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and neo-Epicureanism's apparent failure to launch. Caleb also led a…

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   May 15, 2023

   56 min
7. 3

   Giovanni Pascoli: Desire and Disillusionment

   The poems of Giovanni Pascoli (1855-1912) are marked by themes of desire and disillusionment and are distinguished by a profound and erudite engagement with the classical past. Dr. Elena Borelli (King's College London) joined me to discuss Pascoli and his context, and also to read some excerpts…

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   Apr 26, 2023

   52 min
8. 2

   Democracy, from the Greeks to Brexit

   Paul Cartledge is a professor emeritus at Cambridge. We talked about how weird Sparta really was; whether the Greeks really invented democracy; and what democracy means (and might mean) in modern times. Paul's book Democracy: A Life -...

   Jan 21, 2023

   55 min
9. 1

   Platonism, Liberalism, and Free Speech

   Prof. Patrick Lee Miller teaches philosophy at Duquesne University. We talked about how texts are (and aren't) like drugs; what the best foundation for free speech is; and what Plato might have to offer modern liberalism. Some of Patrick's writings on Plato, the sophists, free speech, and...

   Jul 20, 2022

   1 hr 19 min
10. Democracy and Expertise

    A conversation with my Victoria colleague Xavier Marquez. We talk about Plato's Statesman and some of the issues it raises concerning the place of expertise in a flourishing society. Get full access to Owl of Athena at owlofathena.substack.com/subscribe

    Jun 15, 2022

    55 min
11. Democracy, Liberalism, Rationalism: Classical Athens and Today

    Interview with Prof. Ober on Athenian democracy; democracy and liberalism; and the prospects for liberal democracy. Mass and Elite in Democratic Athens: https://press.princeton.edu/books/pap... Political Dissent in Democratic Athens: https://www.amazon.com/Political-Diss... Democracy and…

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    May 11, 2022

    1 hr 2 min
12. Demokratie und Sklaverei in der Weltgeschichte

    Interview mit Prof. Flaig über Demokratie, Sklaverei, und Kulturkrieg. Die Mehrheitsentscheidung: https://brill.com/view/title/50841?la... Weltgeschichte der Sklaverei: https://www.amazon.com/Weltgeschichte... Tichys Einblick Interview: https://www.tichyseinblick.de/feuille... Get full access to...

    May 4, 2022

    1 hr 10 min
13. La ricezione della democrazia ateniese

    Intervista con Prof. Dino Piovan e Prof. Giovanni Giorgini sulla democrazia ateniese: la sua ricezione, i suoi limiti, e cosa ci potrebbe insegnare oggi. Brill's Companion to the Reception of Athenian Democracy: https://brill.com/view/title/25011 Get full access to Owl of Athena at...

    Apr 26, 2022

    1 hr 1 min