Shilo Brooks returns to continue our exploration of Xenophon's "The Education of Cyrus" Book II where Cyrus goes to war against the Assyrians and we try to tease out what fundamentals of warfare Cyrus discovers versus what he's taught by the Persians.

Shilo Brooks returns to the pod to discuss Book I of Xenophon's "Education of Cyrus" examining the early upbringing of Cyrus and the nature of government.

Andrea Radasanu returns to discuss the Sicilian Expedition from Thucydides "History of the Peloponnesian War."

Jeff and Brian are joined by Shilo Brooks, Director of the Engineering Leadership Program at the University of Colorado - Boulder, to discuss the role of engineering in the liberal arts and his lovely essay on the Wright Brothers for Scientific American:

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/why-did-the-wright-brothers-succeed-when-others-failed/

https://www.colorado.edu/herbst/shilo-brooks

Jeff and Brian are joined by Dr. Andrea Radasanu, Acting Director of the University Honors Program at Northern Illinois University, to discuss Thucydides "History of the Peloponnesian War," specifically the Athenian plague and Pericles funeral oration.

For more info on Andrea and NIU, click here: https://www.niu.edu/honors/about/staff.shtml

Brian and Jeff are joined by Claudia Hauer, St. John's College Tutor and Visiting Professor at the United States Air Force Academy to discuss her new book "Strategic Humanism: Lessons of Leadership from the Ancient Greeks."

To pre-order, click below:

https://www.politicalanimalpress.com/product/strategic-humanism/

Join Brian, Ashley Johnson (https://www.writethinkdream.com/) and Anne Kniggendorf (twitter: @annekniggendorf) in their discussion of the 19th century classic, Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert.

Our dear friend, co-founder, co-host and great souled human, Lise van Boxel, has passed away. We present our humble tribute.

ANNOUNCEMENT: We recently learned that C&C co-founder Lise van Boxel has been diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer. She is currently undergoing treatment. If you would like to help and express your support, please visit the GoFundMe page created for her benefit.

In this episode, Brian is joined by guest Scott Hambrick, founder of Online Great Books. Brian will be teaching a seminar through Scott's website starting in January. Sign up here and receive a 25% discount.

Brian and Scott discuss questions raised about war in Book 6 of Homer's Iliad.

We begin our next "close read" series with the first two sections of Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra, which conclude with the famous line "God is dead." Lise, Jeff, and Brian discuss Nietzsche's imagery, allusions, and treatment of questions of love, envy, and humanity.