117. The library of Ashurbanipal

A volcanic eruption in 79 CE buried a villa. Two thousand years later, an AI read its scrolls.In this episode of What’s New in History, we dive into the jaw-dropping breakthroughs that let artificial ...

26 Mar 202518min

Darius the Great wasn’t just a king—he was the architect of the Persian Empire. In the 510s BC, he faced two major challenges: conquering the Scythians, and organizing the largest empire the world had...

19 Mar 202554min

Rome left us roads, aqueducts, and massive temples—but they also left us a mystery. The Roman Dodecahedron is one of the most bizarre artifacts of the ancient world—found across Europe but with zero e...

12 Mar 202525min

Darius is firmly in charge of the Empire, so what's next? Well go get a bunch of wives for one!Dan takes us through the beginning of Darius' reign of this HUGE empire.Another thing to think about... a...

5 Mar 202534min

From Republic to Autocracy, How Ancient Rome Warns Us About Democracy’s FragilityAlex Petkas is a writer, entrepreneur, and the host of Cost of Glory, a podcast celebrating Western Civilization's emin...

26 Feb 202551min

We wrap up the Roaring 520s BC with a stellar cast of characters: The Buddha, Confucius, Lao Tzu, Darius and more! Tying up loose ends in China, a young Confucius meets the wise old Taoist sage Lao Tz...

19 Feb 202536min

Most high school students are busy with math and history—but Michael Hoffen took it a step further and learned ancient Egyptian! In this episode, we talk with the teen author of Be a Scribe!, a beauti...

12 Feb 202529min

In 524 BC, the unthinkable happened—four capitals in ancient China were engulfed in flames on the same day. But this wasn’t a random disaster; it was foretold. In this episode, we uncover the prophecy...

5 Feb 202535min