Cost of Glory

A conversation with Johnathan Bi (Cosmos Institute, The Great Books podcast) for a deep dive into Stoicism through the life and philosophy of Cato the Younger.

We explore:

• Why Stoicism continues to attract modern audiences
• Jonathan’s personal journey with Stoicism—and why he ultimately turned to other philosophies
• Nietzsche’s critique of Stoicism as a coping mechanism
• How Cato embodied Stoic principles (and where he may have fallen short)
• The tension between Stoic theory and Stoic practice in figures like Seneca and Marcus Aurelius

A conversation with Rob Henderson — Air Force veteran, psychologist, and author of the bestselling "Troubled". 

In this episode:

• Rob's journey from foster care to Cambridge and lessons about status, envy, and human nature
• The psychology of envy and jealousy - from Julius Caesar's assassination to modern politics
• Difference between dominance and prestige in human behavior
• Why envy is one of the most powerful yet unacknowledged human emotions
• How these dynamics shape personal relationships and society
• Why men are drawn to history and the Great Man theory
• What academia misses in its focus on present-day issues
• Luxury beliefs, status games, and why successful people downplay hard work
• Attention spans in the digital age and effects of TikTok and short-form media
• Why biographies and long-form stories matter for character development
• How reading about great and troubled historical figures helped Rob navigate teenage hardship
• Insights on history, psychology, and the hidden forces shaping society

Part 3 of 3 of Caesar's Civil War series. From triumph to near-disaster. Caesar's Egyptian entanglement transforms him from a glorious victor to a desperate challenger. In this episode:

• Pompey's assassination in Egypt and Caesar's unexpected grief over his former ally's death
• Cleopatra's legendary entrance in a bed-sack and her political seduction of Caesar
• The brutal urban warfare trapping Caesar in the palace quarter for six months
• The burning of the Great Library during the harbor battles—400,000 volumes lost
• Caesar's desperate swim to safety while clutching precious documents above water
• Young King Ptolemy XIII's tragic fate and the consolidation of Cleopatra's power
• The lightning campaign against Pharnaces in Asia—"Veni, Vidi, Vici"
• The veterans' mutiny outside Rome and Caesar's masterful psychological manipulation
• Cato's final stand in Africa and his defiant suicide
• The decisive Battle of Thapsus and the strategic genius of fighting on narrow ground
• The massacre of surrendering enemies as Caesar's clemency finally fails

As Caesar recounts, the Republic's future dictator came very close to destruction in the palaces and canals of Alexandria. While Rome descended into chaos under Mark Antony's drunken rule, Caesar fought for his life against war elephants and Numidian cavalry, transformed by his liaison with the living goddess Cleopatra. The man who emerged from Egypt was no longer merely a Roman general, he had consorted with divinity and fathered the son of a pharaoh. 

As Cicero wrote in frantic letters to Atticus: "Where am I to look for solace?" The final campaign that would cement Caesar's supremacy began with the most dangerous gamble of his career.

Works Cited: (Affiliate links - support the show!)