Patrick Wyman, host of the Tides of History podcast and author of The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World, is back on the program, this time to talk about Ridley Scott's Gladiator films. In this first part of the conversation, they largely focus on Gladiator II, delving into the actual historical merit of the movie, the figures it depicts, both films' commentary on modern masculinity vs the reality of ancient Rome, the political economy of gladiators, Ridley Scott's Orientalism, beast fights, differences in how the two movies portray ideas of democracy, and more.

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Read Patrick's piece for Slate, "The Case for Gladiator II".

Be warned, this is full of spoilers.

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