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"A BROKEN war veteran, coming home." The real meaning of The ODYSSEY, with Prof. Peter Meineck 04.06.2026 58хв

Christopher Nolan's retelling of Homer's famous epic is causing a lot of sassy drama these days, so I thought it'd be appropriate to have a chat with a Greek Mythology expert, and pick his brain on what this foundational poem of Western literature is really about - because cause truth be told, I don't think I really know. Is The Odyssey about heroism? Homecoming? Fate? To find out, I talk to Prof. Peter Meineck, the renowned professor of Classics in the Modern World at NYU. And since the internet seems ablaze with controversy regarding Christopher Nolan's upcoming adaptation, we have a chat about that as well...

The horrific life of SLAVES in Ancient Rome. With Dr. Emma Southon 27.05.2026 1год 22хв

When we discuss Rome, we usually talk about the Emperors, the Warlords and the Conquerors, rarely about ordinary Romans... and almost never about the people who actually built it - the slaves. With her recently released book SERVUS: How Slavery Made the Roman Empire, historian Emma Southon attempts to shift that narrative. In this convo we talk about how one could became enslaved, what it was like to visit a Roman slave market, how slaves coped with the brutality of their everyday life, but also, why the Romans are so easy to roast.

The Summer of FIRE and BLOOD: The Peasant's Revolt that Almost SHATTERED Feudal Europe. With Prof. Lyndal Roper 16.05.2026 1год 12хв

In 16th century Europe, few events were as momentous as the German Peasants’ War - an explosive rebellion that shocked the ruling houses of the Holy Roman Empire. Driven by the ideas of Reformation, apocalyptic preaching and an all-out anger about the increasingly cruel conditions of serfdom, bands of peasants marched to war, during which they came close to overturning the entire feudal order… To find out why the revolt started, how it engulfed an entire nation and why it ultimately failed, I talk to Lyndal Roper, a celebrated historian who's the 2026 recipient of the Holberg prize, and the author of the award winning book, Summer of Fire and Blood: The German Peasants’ War.

From Bauhaus to Buchenwald - the NAZI takeover of Weimar. With Katja Hoyer 08.05.2026 1год 5хв

You're an ordinary German, living in 1920's Weimar when the Nazi party takes over - WHAT do you do? That's exactly the question that Katya Hoyer, "Britain's favourite German historian," wanted an answer to.For her latest book, Weimar: Life on the Edge of Catastrophe, she spent years combing the Weimar archives, inspecting the fates of its citizens who were living through some of the most turbulent times in world history - what choices did they end up making? Did they resist, look away or even support Hitler's murderous regime?In this gripping conversation, Katja and I talk about Weimar's contrast to Berlin, Hitler's infatuation with the city... But also how it went from being the birthplace of Bauhaus to hosting the biggest concentration camp on German soil...

Why did this 600-year European EMPIRE suddenly fall apart? With Prof. Pieter Judson 27.04.2026 1год 8хв

For at least 600 years, the lands of modern day Slovenia (where I'm from), belonged to the famous Habsburg dynasty. But how did this small aristocratic family from Switzerland come to form the first global empire in the world?Was the multi-ethnic monarchy really a "prison of the peoples" or was it in fact a modernising state?And most importantly - how come it all fell apart so quickly in 1918?In this lovely (and friendly) sparring session, prof. Pieter Judson, author of the seminal book The Habsburg Empire: A New History explains why the Habsburg Empire often gets a bad rep in history books, and why its high time we should change that.

What did the Ancient Greeks REALLY THINK about race, sexuality, slavery and religion? With Prof. Tony Spawforth 13.04.2026 1год 13хв

Ever since their civilisation ceased to exist, the Ancient Greeks have been appropriated to suit various agendas. But what did they actually think and believe? For example - how did they see other, non-Greek people? Was sexual orientation even a thing in Ancient Greece? Did they ever wrestle with the institution of slavery?To help me find answers to my burning questions, I talked to Tony Spawforth, professor emeritus of ancient history at Newcastle University, and the author of the fantastic book, What the Greeks Did for Us.

Nazi truth serum, the MKUltra plot and feeding LSD to your mom. With Norman Ohler 01.04.2026 55хв

It's a real pleasure having Norman Ohler, author of Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany, back on the pod. Norman recently published a spiritual succession of his bestseller called Tripped: Nazi Germany, the CIA, and the Dawn of the Psychedelic Age, which recounts the wild history of LSD... In this conversation we talk about the Nazi quest to find a truth serum, the crazy MKUltra plot concocted by the CIA, as well as Norman micro-dosing his mother to alleviate her Alzheimer's symptoms.

Let's talk about the BITCOIN BROS. With Prof. Dan Cassino 21.03.2026 1год

Despite it's mainstream presence for more than a decade, Bitcoin has yet to make a convincing argument about its use case. Nevertheless, the cryptocurrency space has become the home of a fascinating subculture - that of the Bitcoin Bros. But who are these people? Why do they hinge their identity to this digital casino? And finally - do they actually believe in crypto, or are they in it for other reasons? As someone who actually used to work in the space (although reluctantly) I was more than happy to turn to Prof. Dan Cassino, author of the recently released book, Bitcoin Bros: Masculinity, Cryptocurrency, and the Future of Men.

Some children claim they remember their PAST LIVES - what's happening? With Dr. Philip Cozzolino 08.03.2026 1год 19хв

Dr. Philipp Cozzolino is a research Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Neuro-behavioral Sciences at University of Virginia's Division of Perceptual Studies, where he investigates reports of past-life memories from children around the world. In this wonderful chat we discuss his work on death anxiety, the incredible testimonies of kids who claim to have lived before (as well as his thoughts on what might be going on), and finally, whether he thinks death is the end.

The real REASON empires fall - and how close WE are to the brink... With Luke Kemp 17.02.2026 1год 22хв

Luke Kemp, a research affiliate at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk researched 324 cases of societies, usually empires (which he called Goliaths) that collapsed - and soon found one thing they all had in common... In this (slightly terrifying) conversation we discuss the main questions featured in Luke's groundbreaking book, Goliath's Curse - questions like why are hierarchical societies always a bad idea, what usually goes wrong first and finally, why we seem to be heading for a collapse of our own.

The RENAISSANCE: Ideas, Art, Money, libertine Popes, House of Medici and Savonarola. With Prof. Kenneth Bartlett 09.02.2026 1год 10хв

I always wondered whether the Renaissance was a truly groundbreaking historical event - or has it become just a self-referential cliché? Talking to Prof. Kenneth Bartlett (author of The Renaissance in Italy: A History), I finally had a chance to ask... In this illuminating conversation we talk about the movement's main ideas, the timeless art they produced, the political intrigues of Florence, the House of Medici and finally, their creepy adversary, friar Savonarola.

In the 21st century, (pop) CULTURE has been a complete dumpster fire - WHY is that? With W. David Marx 28.01.2026 1год 2хв

What do Kanye West, Taylor Swift, Mark Zuckerberg and Donald Trump have in common? As cultural critic W. David Marx argues in his new book Blank Space, they are all generators and representatives of a MONOCULTURE that has taken over the planet. From VICE magazine's domination of the early 2000s and Kanye's forays into high fashion to the rise of the tech bros, we are living through a time in which everything seems to be increasingly turning into mush.But how did we get here? Listen to my convo with David here!

The old ECONOMIC ORDER is dead - but what is REPLACING it? | With Prof. Branko Milanovic 02.01.2026 59хв

The era of neoliberal globalisation that has dominated economies 90's and early 2000's is coming to an end. But what comes next? Renowned economist and inequality researcher Branko Milanovic believes the world is entering a much more precarious phase, one in which countries bet on nationalist interests instead of free trade, but also a world in which China is rising and the West if falling. But what are the underlying drivers of this new order? And how will it play out in the real world? More in my conversation with Branko!

From SAMURAI to SHINKANSEN - the Rise, Fall and Stagnation of MODERN JAPAN, with Prof. Christopher Harding 21.12.2025 1год 7хв

As someone who moved to Japan not too long ago I was always fascinated with the country's unique history, particularly with the question of how did a country so completely isolated from the industrial revolution become a global superpower in just a few short decades? How did it manage to totally transform its society, military and culture? And finally, where did it all go wrong?Join me and historian Christopher Harding, author of A History of Modern Japan, as we explore Japan's journey from the Edo period's isolation to the transformative Meiji Restoration, discussing how Japan's victory in the Russo-Japanese War marked its emergence as a modern power, only to later slide into the shadows of World War II fascism... But also, how the country faces new challenges today, balancing tradition with modernity in a world primarily marked by the rise of China.

The alluring MYSTERIES of Göbekli Tepe - the OLDEST monumental site in the world, with Jens Notroff 29.11.2025 1год

The old version of the story went something like this - Homo Sapiens appeared in Africa around 2 to 300.00 years ago and for most of that time, we lived in small hunter gatherer communities, competing with other animals, sometimes more, and sometimes less successfully. That was, until one day we had a gnarly idea to start growing crops, build settlements and settle down for good.However, the mind-boggling discovery of the dazzling Gobekkli Teppe, has thrown this attractively simple narrative into question. But how is it possible that such an impressive complex of monuments, built 12.000 years ago (thousands of years before the first cities ever appeared), was put there by "simple" hunter gatherers... and most of all, why?To tackle these question I turn to Jens Notroff, a German archeologist who actually worked on the site for many years.

We have stopped READING - is it a sign our civilisation is COLLAPSING? With James Marriott 17.11.2025 1год 6хв

In the past 2 decades literacy rates have dropped dramatically... and so have our IQ scores. Writer James Marriott believes these two facts are connected. His Substack article, "The dawn of the post-literate society and the end of civilisation," in which he argues that the absence of reading might signify the end of our civilisation, caused a big stir online...In this conversation we talk about the history of reading, why this immense transfer of knowledge led to the breakdown of feudal society (while making us smarter), but also about how smartphones are fracturing our political systems while robbing us of our most cherished possession - our ability to think.

Hare Krishna, Russian Jesus and the End of the World - Cultural Chaos during the COLLAPSE of the Soviet Union, with Prof. Joseph Kellner 08.11.2025 1год 19хв

Joseph Kellner is a historian of Russia and the Soviet Union at the University of Georgia. He's also the author of the recently released book The Spirit of Socialism - Culture and Belief at the Soviet Collapse. Contrary to Western narratives, culture within the USSR wasn't an eternally grey monolith that we used to see in James Bond movies. Quite the opposite - it was a diverse, often flourishing organism. But what happened to it during the brutal dissolution of the Soviet Union? In this conversation, Prof. Kellner and I discuss the decline and the indescribable shock that accompanied the sudden dissolution of the USSR, before turning our attention to an explosion of wild, "exotic" cultural countries springing up in the new country of Russia.

Joe Rogan keeps claiming the EARTH is cooling down. I talk to an actual CLIMATE scientist to dispel the BS. With David Armstrong McKay 30.10.2025 1год 24хв

Podcaster Joe Rogan keeps claiming that climate change doesn't really exist and that the Earth is in fact, cooling down, negating all available climate science (as well as plain observation). To address this misleading take, and the often cited Washington Post article accompanying it, I talk to Prof. David Armstrong McKay, climate scientist from the University of Sussex.We also talk about the rate of warming in 2025, the global lack of progress on climate targets, the danger of tipping points and whether the Paris Accords target of keeping the warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius is really dead in the water.

Why does the INTERNET suck so bad now? With Cory Doctorow 18.10.2025 56хв

We all know it - the internet has become a huge garbage heap, guided by malignant algorithms and filled with useless apps, mind numbing social media and AI slop. In a word - it's shitty. But how did we get here? And how can we restore the better internet of old?Cory Doctorow, author of the groundbreaking book ENSHITIFICATION: Why Everything Was Built to Break, has a couple of ideas.

Genocide in GAZA, the biggest crime of our time. With Mouin Rabbani 04.10.2025 59хв

The horrific war that Israel is waging against the predominantly civilian population in Gaza has been going on for almost two years, and yet, the slaughter continues to this day. Why is that? To discuss one of the biggest crimes of our time, I talk Mouin Rabbani, an analyst, and commentator specialising in Palestinian affairs, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the contemporary Middle East. We discuss the Western world's immoral support for Israel, Hamas' aims, Netanyahu's plan for Gaza, the indifference of Arab states and finally, the chances for the latest peace plan brought forward by Donald Trump to succeed and finally end the genocide.