PODCAST · history
Life Of Caesar
by Cameron Reilly & Ray Harris
A long-form podcast about the lives of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.
Episodes
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VES 29 — Flame Beats Wood (Free Preview)
We're at Masada. Silva has his 10th Legion, a 91-metre siege mound, an iron-plated tower, and a battering ram the size of a small building. The 960 Sicarii inside have a second wall made of logs and dirt that just gets stronger the harder you hit it.... until Silva works out that wood burns....
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VES 29 — Flame Beats Wood
We're at Masada. Silva has his 10th Legion, a 91-metre siege mound, an iron-plated tower, and a battering ram the size of a small building. The 960 Sicarii inside have a second wall made of logs and dirt that just gets stronger the harder you hit it.... until Silva works out that wood burns....
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VES 28 — The Dagger Men (Free Preview)
This episode we're deep into Josephus on the Sicarii, the original cloak-and-dagger assassination squad - literally, they hid curved daggers under their cloaks - who spent the Jewish-Roman War killing other Jews for not being Jewish enough.... according to Josephus, who is of course completely...
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VES 28 — The Dagger Men
This episode we're deep into Josephus on the Sicarii, the original cloak-and-dagger assassination squad - literally, they hid curved daggers under their cloaks - who spent the Jewish-Roman War killing other Jews for not being Jewish enough.... according to Josephus, who is of course completely...
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VES 27 — One Punch, Paetus (Free Preview)
Paetus is back. You remember Paetus - the general who declared "mission accomplished" against the Parthians and then immediately had to beg Corbulo to come rescue him. Now, ten years on, he's got a new emperor and a second chance at glory, and he's found himself a suitably soft target: Antiochus…
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VES 27 — One Punch, Paetus
Paetus is back. You remember Paetus - the general who declared "mission accomplished" against the Parthians and then immediately had to beg Corbulo to come rescue him. Now, ten years on, he's got a new emperor and a second chance at glory, and he's found himself a suitably soft target: Antiochus…
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VES 26 — The Landlord of Judaea (Free Preview)
Bassus is mopping up the last Jewish holdouts in Judaea, and things go about as well as you'd expect for everyone who isn't a Roman. The defenders of Machaerus negotiate a deal to walk free.... turns out the Gentiles living below the fortress weren't included in that deal. Then Vespasian, ever…
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VES 26 — The Landlord of Judaea
Bassus is mopping up the last Jewish holdouts in Judaea, and things go about as well as you'd expect for everyone who isn't a Roman. The defenders of Machaerus negotiate a deal to walk free.... turns out the Gentiles living below the fortress weren't included in that deal. Then Vespasian, ever…
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VES 25 — Pliny's Guide to Menstrual Magic** (Free Preview)
This episode we go deep on the hilltop fortresses still holding out in Judaea after the fall of Jerusalem, which turns into a very long detour through Pliny the Elder's chapter on menstrual blood.... which is, it turns out, absolutely packed with practical tips you can use at home. Don't let your...
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VES 25 — Pliny's Guide to Menstrual Magic**
This episode we go deep on the hilltop fortresses still holding out in Judaea after the fall of Jerusalem, which turns into a very long detour through Pliny the Elder's chapter on menstrual blood.... which is, it turns out, absolutely packed with practical tips you can use at home. Don't let your...
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VES 24 — A River of Gold (Free Preview)
We're covering the triumph of Vespasian and Titus, and our eyewitness is Josephus.... a Jewish priest who watched Rome parade the looted contents of his own temple down the street and somehow managed to keep it together enough to write one of the most vivid accounts of a Roman triumph we have.…
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VES 24 — A River of Gold
We're covering the triumph of Vespasian and Titus, and our eyewitness is Josephus.... a Jewish priest who watched Rome parade the looted contents of his own temple down the street and somehow managed to keep it together enough to write one of the most vivid accounts of a Roman triumph we have.…
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VES 23 — The God in the Dog Mask (Free Preview)
This episode we're deep in the Temple of Isis - which turns out to be exactly where Vespasian and Titus had to spend the night before their joint triumph, for reasons both boring and genuinely weird. We also cover Decius Mundus, a man so obsessed with a married woman that he bribed priests to let...
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VES 23 — The God in the Dog Mask
This episode we're deep in the Temple of Isis - which turns out to be exactly where Vespasian and Titus had to spend the night before their joint triumph, for reasons both boring and genuinely weird. We also cover Decius Mundus, a man so obsessed with a married woman that he bribed priests to let...
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VES 22 — Titus' Victory Tour
Titus wraps up the Jewish War with a five-month tour of the region, dropping in on city after city with two legions at his back and thousands of Jewish captives in tow.... who he then has killed, in as many creative ways as possible, as entertainment. Meanwhile he's sleeping with Berenice, Jewish...
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VES 22 — Titus' Victory Tour (Free Preview)
Titus wraps up the Jewish War with a five-month tour of the region, dropping in on city after city with two legions at his back and thousands of Jewish captives in tow.... who he then has killed, in as many creative ways as possible, as entertainment. Meanwhile he's sleeping with Berenice, Jewish...
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VES 21 — **The Last Man Standing** (Free Preview)
Picking up where we left off, Vespasian is finally making his way back to Rome and apparently every city he passes through absolutely loses its mind with joy — which Josephus reports with the completely unbiased objectivity you'd expect from a man who literally changed his name to Flavian....
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VES 21 — **The Last Man Standing**
Picking up where we left off, Vespasian is finally making his way back to Rome and apparently every city he passes through absolutely loses its mind with joy — which Josephus reports with the completely unbiased objectivity you'd expect from a man who literally changed his name to Flavian....
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VES 20 — CROWNS FROM THE TEMPLE (Free Preview)
On this episode, the siege of Jerusalem is over and Titus is handing out medals, melting down temple gold to crown his best soldiers, and carving up his legions for their next postings around the empire. We dig into what happened to the early Christian community in Jerusalem — spoiler: nobody...
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VES 20 — CROWNS FROM THE TEMPLE
On this episode, the siege of Jerusalem is over and Titus is handing out medals, melting down temple gold to crown his best soldiers, and carving up his legions for their next postings around the empire. We dig into what happened to the early Christian community in Jerusalem — spoiler: nobody...
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VES 19 — YHWH v JOVE (Free Preview)
On this episode, we wrap up the fall of Jerusalem in September 70 CE — Titus strolls into the ruins, declares Yahweh helped him destroy Yahweh's own temple, and the boys go deep on the genuinely wild linguistic coincidence that the Roman sky-god Jove and the Hebrew God share the same name. Then...
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VES 19 — YHWH v JOVE
On this episode, we wrap up the fall of Jerusalem in September 70 CE — Titus strolls into the ruins, declares Yahweh helped him destroy Yahweh's own temple, and the boys go deep on the genuinely wild linguistic coincidence that the Roman sky-god Jove and the Hebrew God share the same name. Then...
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UNLEASH THE CARL – Vespasian #18 (Free Preview)
This week we finally reach the end of the Siege of Jerusalem — and it's brutal. Titus storms the upper city, the rebels' back is broken, Simon and John have vanished into the tunnels, and by September 25th, 70 CE, the city is rubble and the Temple is gone forever. We also dive into the fate of…
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UNLEASH THE CARL – Vespasian #18
This week we finally reach the end of the Siege of Jerusalem — and it's brutal. Titus storms the upper city, the rebels' back is broken, Simon and John have vanished into the tunnels, and by September 25th, 70 CE, the city is rubble and the Temple is gone forever. We also dive into the fate of…
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Goddamn it, Carl! – Vespasian #17
It's August 70 CE, and the siege of Jerusalem is entering its apocalyptic final act. In this episode, Cameron and Ray pick up where the last one left off — starving rebels launching desperate sorties against exhausted Roman legionaries, Titus ordering his men to burn down the silver-coated temple...
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Goddamn it, Carl! – Vespasian #17 (Free Preview)
It's August 70 CE, and the siege of Jerusalem is entering its apocalyptic final act. In this episode, Cameron and Ray pick up where the last one left off — starving rebels launching desperate sorties against exhausted Roman legionaries, Titus ordering his men to burn down the silver-coated temple...
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VES 16 — Slip, Trip, and Slit: The Floor of the Temple Claims Another One (Free Preview)
It's 70 CE, the walls of Jerusalem are crumbling, and the city is eating itself alive — literally. In this episode of Life of Caesar, Cameron and Ray wade deep into Josephus's harrowing account of the final, grinding assault on the Antonia Fortress and the Temple Mount, where the siege of…
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VES 16 — Blood on the Marble: How Not to Storm a Temple (Free Preview)
It's 70 CE, the siege of Jerusalem is entering its most savage phase, and Titus is running out of patience. In this episode of Life of Caesar, Cameron and Ray wade through the blood-soaked, famine-ravaged final weeks of the Roman assault on the Holy City, guided by the gleefully self-serving...
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VES 16 — Blood on the Marble: How Not to Storm a Temple
It's 70 CE, the siege of Jerusalem is entering its most savage phase, and Titus is running out of patience. In this episode of Life of Caesar, Cameron and Ray wade through the blood-soaked, famine-ravaged final weeks of the Roman assault on the Holy City, guided by the gleefully self-serving...
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VES 16 — Slip, Trip, and Slit: The Floor of the Temple Claims Another One
It's 70 CE, the walls of Jerusalem are crumbling, and the city is eating itself alive — literally. In this episode of Life of Caesar, Cameron and Ray wade deep into Josephus's harrowing account of the final, grinding assault on the Antonia Fortress and the Temple Mount, where the siege of…
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The One About Yoda - Vespasian 15
In this episode, we return to the sweltering heat of August, 70 CE, where the Siege of Jerusalem has reached a gruesome stalemate. We take a deep dive into the survival story of the defector-turned-historian Josephus, flashing back to his "miraculous" (and highly suspicious) escape from the Siege...
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A Tight-Ass Situation in Jerusalem - Vespasian 14
In this episode, Cameron and Ray dive into the increasingly grim and desperate Siege of Jerusalem. Following a tactical blunder where Titus's eagerness led a thousand legionaries into a congested urban death trap, the Roman commander recalibrates his strategy with brutal efficiency. We explore…
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Titus Likes It Tight - Vespasian 13 (Free edition)
In this episode of *The Life of Caesar*, Cameron and Ray navigate a brain-bending "red yarn" conspiracy board that connects the dots between James Bond’s *Moonraker*, Nazi rocket scientists, and the ancient naturalist Pliny the Elder. Once they finally reach the gates of Jerusalem in 70 CE, the...
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Titus Likes It Tight - Vespasian 13
In this episode of *The Life of Caesar*, Cameron and Ray navigate a brain-bending "red yarn" conspiracy board that connects the dots between James Bond’s *Moonraker*, Nazi rocket scientists, and the ancient naturalist Pliny the Elder. Once they finally reach the gates of Jerusalem in 70 CE, the...
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Three Walls and a Funeral - Vespasian 12
It’s 70 CE, and the noose is tightening around Jerusalem. In this episode, we follow Titus as he turns the siege into a masterclass of Roman engineering and psychological warfare, deploying 23-meter-tall siege towers and massive battering rams to systematically dismantle the city's defenses. We...
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The Siege That Crawled: How Rome Engineered the Fall of Jerusalem - Vespasian #11
In Episode 11, the focus tightens on Titus as the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE moves from positioning to execution. Drawing heavily on Josephus’ rare eyewitness account, the episode walks listeners onto the northern walls of the city to watch Roman engineering doctrine grind into action:...
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Miracles, Madness, and the Art of Siege Warfare - Vespasian #10
In Episode 10, Cameron and Ray pick up the siege of Jerusalem at a critical moment, with Titus narrowly escaping death yet again during reckless reconnaissance near the city walls. Using Josephus as their primary source, they explore how first-century historians casually attributed battlefield…
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Blessed Are the Cheesemakers… and the Siege Engines - Vespasian #9
In this episode we veer joyfully between kung fu bloodletting, the perils of super-semen, and the siege tactics of first-century Jerusalem. Once the digressions slow down enough to let history through, we paint a vivid picture of Jerusalem at the outbreak of the Jewish War: a bustling pilgrimage...
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Batavians Dance, Romans Sink, Goodbye Tacitus
This episode picks up the Roman story on two fronts at once: Cameron and Ray debate Schrodinger’s cat, Minecraft physics and the metaphysics of Tylenol, before steering the ship back into Tacitus’ account of the Batavian revolt. The Rhine frontier is in chaos, the Batavians are dancing across...
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Gallienus: The Pragmatist Who Kept Rome Alive
In this special Life of Caesar episode, Cameron and Ray step out of their usual Roman timeline to talk with Matthew and Matteo Storm from The Lost Roman Heroes Podcast about Emperor Gallienus — one of the most underrated rulers of the Roman Empire. Together, they explore the chaos of the...
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Birds, Betrayal, and the Birth of Christianity - Vespasian #7 Preview
In this episode, Cameron and Ray explore Vespasian’s campaign in Judea — a bloody and chaotic chapter that reshaped both Judaism and Christianity. Cameron recounts the revolt’s absurd beginnings — a land dispute, a sacrificed bird on a chamber pot — and follows it through to the Roman siege of...
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Birds, Betrayal, and the Birth of Christianity - Vespasian #7
In this episode, Cameron and Ray explore Vespasian’s campaign in Judea — a bloody and chaotic chapter that reshaped both Judaism and Christianity. Cameron recounts the revolt’s absurd beginnings — a land dispute, a sacrificed bird on a chamber pot — and follows it through to the Roman siege of...
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Bitumen, Blood, and Bias - Vespasian #6 Preview
In this preview of Vespasian episode 6, Cameron and Ray continue their exploration of Tacitus’ account of the Jews and the Dead Sea. They riff on bitumen bubbling up from the “Asphalt Lake,” how vinegar and menstrual blood supposedly affect it, and why the ancients found this both useful and...
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Bitumen, Blood, and Bias - Vespasian #6
In this episode, Cameron and Ray continue their exploration of Tacitus’ account of the Jews and the Dead Sea. They riff on bitumen bubbling up from the “Asphalt Lake,” how vinegar and menstrual blood supposedly affect it, and why the ancients found this both useful and bizarre. The conversation...
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Vespasian #5 (Preview) - Circumcision, Sabbath, and Salt
In this Preview of episode of *Life of Caesar*, Cameron and Ray dive deep into Tacitus’ *Histories* and his account of the Jews during the First Jewish-Roman War. The conversation explores the cultural, religious, and political context surrounding the Jewish people at the time of Vespasian and...
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Vespasian #5 - Circumcision, Sabbath, and Salt
In this episode of *Life of Caesar*, Cameron and Ray dive deep into Tacitus’ *Histories* and his account of the Jews during the First Jewish-Roman War. The conversation explores the cultural, religious, and political context surrounding the Jewish people at the time of Vespasian and Titus’...
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Vespasian #4 - Marc Hyden, author, "Emperor Titus"
In this episode, Cameron is joined by historian and author **Marc Hyden** to explore the life and times of Emperor **Titus Flavius Vespasianus**. They trace the rise of the Flavian dynasty, the chaos of the Year of the Four Emperors, the Jewish-Roman War, and Titus’ surprising path to the…
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Vespasin 3 (free) - The Sticky Wicket
In this chaotic and bloody conclusion to the Year of the Four Emperors, Cameron and Ray chart the political chess game that followed Vitellius’ fall. Mucianus arrives in Rome ahead of Vespasian to consolidate power, dispose of threats, and set the table for the new Flavian dynasty. Antonius…
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Vespasian 3 - The Sticky Wicket
In this chaotic and bloody conclusion to the Year of the Four Emperors, Cameron and Ray chart the political chess game that followed Vitellius’ fall. Mucianus arrives in Rome ahead of Vespasian to consolidate power, dispose of threats, and set the table for the new Flavian dynasty. Antonius…
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Vespasian 2 free - Big Dick Imperium: Vespasian’s Real Power Brokers
In this episode of _Life of Caesar_, Cam and Ray reunite for a characteristically wild ride through ancient Roman history, personal chaos, and philosophical side quests. The boys start by catching up—Ray recounts a week full of weddings, funerals, and destroyed lawnmowers, while Cam confesses to...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
A long-form podcast about the lives of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.
HOSTED BY
Cameron Reilly & Ray Harris
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Life Of Caesar have?
Life Of Caesar currently has 100 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Life Of Caesar about?
A long-form podcast about the lives of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.
How often does Life Of Caesar release new episodes?
Life Of Caesar has 100 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Life Of Caesar?
You can listen to Life Of Caesar on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Life Of Caesar?
Life Of Caesar is created and hosted by Cameron Reilly & Ray Harris.
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