Does Democracy Lead to Tyranny? (Rep. VIII) Plato argued that the inevitable next step in political evolution after democracy is tyranny. Many political thinkers throughout history agreed with him. Were they right?
The Forms, the Matrix, and AI w/ John Vervaeke (Rep. VII) Philosophers today often dismiss Plato's Theory of Forms as an outdated and failed attempt to explain knowledge. Cognitive scientist John Vervaeke offers a radically different take on Plato's theory.
Why People Hate Plato (Republic VI) Plato is at once the most loved and possibly the most hated philosopher of all time. This episode explores why.
The Good, the Bad & the Beautiful w/ Gabriel R. Lear (Rep. VI) Book 6 of the Republic is the work’s core section where Plato lays out his metaphysics. Appealing to his signature Theory of Forms, Plato offers a transcendent vision of the Good as the ultimate source of human knowledge.
Thucydides: A Historian for Our Time? w/ Emily Greenwood Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War is a study of the struggle between democracy and oligarchy, as well as a meditation on the dangers of populism and political polarization.
Rome's Lost Epics w/ Rhiannon Evans The oldest Roman epics we have were produced during the Roman Empire. But before becoming an empire, Rome was a powerful republic for hundreds of years. What happened to the Roman epics from the republican period?
The Comedy of Democracy w/ Edith Hall World-renowned classicist Edith Hall joins us to discuss the relation between entertainment and politics in ancient Athens, particularly on the comic stage.
The Persian Wars w/ Ian Morris Ian Morris, archaeologist and professor of Classics at Stanford University, joins us for a discussion on the Persian invasions of Greece in 490-479 BC. How did the Greeks pull off a totally unexpected victory against the biggest invasion force that had ever been launched?
Democracy and Demagogues in Ancient Athens w/ Josiah Ober Historian Josiah Ober of Stanford University joins us for a discussion on ancient Athens, how the Athenian system compared to our own democracy, and what lessons, if any, we can take away from the Athenian experience.
