It's the age of the anti-hero, and Machiavelli can help explain why. Talking through the life of Agathocles, tyrant of Syracuse, and discussing the portrayal of him in The Prince, Spencer probes deeper into the uneasy line between recklessness and courage, shamelessness and virtue. Can we find our way out of the war between the sexes to a real vision of what it means to tame the lion of the soul? Plus: a close reading of Taylor Swift. Sort of.

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