We are thinking about the Roman Empire! We are joined by Professor David Parnell for a discussion about Flavius Belisarius and the 6th Century Romans.  

A few weeks ago we saw the blunders.  Now the diplomatic wins ranging from ancient Egypt to the Marshall Plan.  

We compare the 1950s, and the 1980s Japanese scare to today to learn how manufacturing, as part of our economy, has changed.  

We cover the Opium Wars, the Taiping Civil War and Stephen Platt's new book: Raider.  We also take a look at current China.  

We look at 17th century Spain as an example of how a great power can decline and fail when it takes on too much debt.  A lesson for the US.  

History denigrating the United States, celebrating dictators and crafting false and misleading narratives used to be the purview of the left.  Now we have it on the right. 

We compare the 1995 Best Picture Oscars with 2025. Then my brother Chris and I ask the question: What the heck happened?

Think the Oval Office imbroglio with Zelensky, Vance and Trump was bad?  We have at least ten worse diplomatic blunders.   

Amidst lots of boasting among MAGA this is a warning against hubris.  We have seen "permanent" majorities be not so permanent.  

Were the crusades about liberating the holy land, the clash of Christianity vs. Islam, or western colonization?  We explore all these views and provide a descriptor of some key events.