Cost of Glory

Cost of Glory

The most influential biographies ever written, admired by leaders, creators, soldiers, and thinkers for nearly 2,000 years: Plutarch’s Parallel lives. Essential listening for anyone striving after greatness. Alex Petkas, former professor of ancient philosophy and history, revives and dramatically retells these unforgettable stories for modern audiences. The subjects are statesmen, generals, orators, and founders; pious and profane, stoics and hedonists. The stakes bear on the future of Western civilization. The cost of glory is always great. Visit costofglory.com to find out more.

Episodes

April 8, 2025 115 mins

The much awaited series on Julius Caesar begins, with the inaugural episode: "Man of Destiny".

In this episode:

  • Caesar's formative years in the shadow of Sulla's dictatorship
  • His early political boldness and refusal to divorce Cornelia
  • The capture by pirates and his merciless revenge
  • Caesar's rise through the ranks of Roman politics as Quaestor and Aedile
  • The Catilinarian conspiracy and Caesar's narrow escape from execution
  • H...
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A conversation with Dr. Brent Seales, professor of computer science at the University of Kentucky and a modern day Indiana Jones who has been using advanced technology to restore and redeem cultural and historical artifacts from the ravages of time.

In this episode:

  • The 'virtual unwrapping' of the Vesuvius scrolls
  • Unearthing an entire new Renaissance
  • Brent's encounters w...
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A conversation w/ Kevin Dolan on Kings of Sparta, Anti-Natalist Roman Aristocrats, and whether Christianity destroyed or saved Rome.

Join me at the Natal Conference, March 28-29, 2025, in Austin, TX!  https://natalism.org

Find Kevin on X at https://x.com/extradeadjcb

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A conversation with Doyle Glass, author of Swift Sword, The True Story of the Marines of MIKE 3/5 in Vietnam, 4 September 1967

Intro Story featuring BlackJack Mulligan.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackjack_Mulligan)

In this episode:
Mastering Fear in Combat

A lawyer's journey to becoming an artist and an author
The ambush begins: "The tree line stood up"
Clea...

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February 6, 2025 29 mins

Thanks to our sponsor SensAi (https://sens.ai/): a neurofeedback brain training system that can change your life.  I'm a user.

Use the code GLORY at checkout to get a $100 off discount on one of their headsets


Cato's Afterlife, Takeaways, Sources.

Some Modern Sources:

Rome's Last Citizen, by Goodman and Soni
Uncommon Wrath, by Osgood
Cato the Younger by Drogula

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January 22, 2025 108 mins

The Finale, of the life of Cato the Younger. In this episode:

  • The burning of the Senate house after Clodius' murder in 52 BCE
  • Cato's failed bid for consulship and his hardline stance against Caesar
  • The outbreak of civil war and Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon
  • Cato's final days and dramatic suicide

A tale of principle and paradox, Cato's resolute stand for Republican values helped precipitate its own downfall. His deat...

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December 21, 2024 102 mins

Thanks to our sponsor SensAi (https://sens.ai/): a neurofeedback brain training system that can change your life.  I'm a user.

Use the code GLORY at checkout to get a $100 off discount on one of their headsets


Part 2 of 3 of the Life of Cato the Younger. In this episode:

  • Cato confronts the rising power of Caesar and Pompey in the Senate
  • The scandalous note from Servilia that backfired on Cato
  • His principled handling of ...
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November 22, 2024 88 mins

CoG in Greece - costofglory.com/retreat to apply.


Episode 1 of the Life of Cato the Younger, Rome's great Stoic statesman.

In this episode:

  • Cato's earliest years and the murder of his uncle
  • His first encounter with Sulla as a precocious youth
  • Cato establishes his reputation: in military service and as Quaestor
  • A Principled stand against Julius Caesar


On this centennial episode, I'd like to thank all of my listene...

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November 6, 2024 22 mins

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How to make progress, and know it. Featuring a few of Plutarch's critiques of some Stoics of his day - whether fairly or unfairly, you can decide.

Also featuring: Diogenes the Cynic, Aeschylus the Poet, Brasidas the Spartan Commander. 

Also featuring: ZEAL

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October 21, 2024 37 mins

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Caesar ties all loose ends in his Gallic Campaign, in part 8, the final episode of our series on Caesar’s masterwork of psychology, strategy, and propaganda: On the Gallic War (De Bello Gallico). 
 
This is a world-history making story (the conquest of what’s now modern France), told by a world-history making storyteller. 

Caesar entered Gaul as a mere politician. H...

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Caesar faces the Gallic Grande Armée through fire and snow, in part 7, the climax of our series on Caesar’s masterwork of psychology, strategy, and propaganda: On the Gallic War (De Bello Gallico).
 
This is a world-history making story (the conquest of what’s now modern France), told by a world-history making storyteller. 

Caesar entered Gaul as a mere politician. He returned 9 years later as a conqueror - and an ene...

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September 12, 2024 67 mins

CoG in Greece - costofglory.com/retreat to apply.


Caesar fights through enemy tribes and orders a Purge in his manhunt for Ambiorix, in part 6 of our series on Caesar’s masterwork of psychology, strategy, and propaganda: On the Gallic War (De Bello Gallico).
 
This is a world-history making story (the conquest of what’s now modern France), told by a world-history making storyteller. 

Caesar entered Gaul as a mere p...

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August 26, 2024 74 mins

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The mighty Caesar returns to Britain, and faces uprisings and deadly skirmishes in Gaul, in part 5 of our series on Caesar’s masterwork of psychology, strategy, and propaganda: On the Gallic War (De Bello Gallico).
 
This is a world-history making story (the conquest of what’s now modern France), told by a world-history making storyteller. 

Caesar entered Gaul as a ...

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Caesar crosses two major bodies of water (and he hasn’t even gotten to the Rubicon yet), in part 4 of our series on Caesar’s masterwork of psychology, strategy, and propaganda: On the Gallic War (De Bello Gallico).
 
This is a world-history making story (the conquest of what’s now modern France), told by a world-history making storyteller. 

Caesar entered Gaul as a ...

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July 19, 2024 65 mins

CoG in Greece - costofglory.com/retreat to apply.


Caesar faces enemies at home and on sea, in part 3 of our series on Caesar’s masterwork of psychology, strategy, and propaganda: On the Gallic War (De Bello Gallico).
 
This is a world-history making story (the conquest of what’s now modern France), told by a world-history making storyteller. 

Caesar entered Gaul as a mere politician. He returned 9 years later as a ...

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July 3, 2024 53 mins

CoG in Greece - costofglory.com/retreat to apply.


Caesar almost loses it all, in part 2 of our series on Caesar’s masterwork of psychology, strategy, and propaganda: On the Gallic War (De Bello Gallico).
 
This is a world-history making story (the conquest of what’s now modern France), told by a world-history making storyteller. 

Caesar entered Gaul as a mere politician. He returned 9 years later as a conqueror - a...

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June 18, 2024 79 mins

CoG in Greece - costofglory.com/retreat to apply.


The beginning of a new series on Caesar’s masterwork of psychology, strategy, and propaganda: On the Gallic Wars (De Bello Gallico). It’s a world-history making story (the conquest of what’s now modern France), told by a world-history making storyteller. 

Caesar entered Gaul as a mere politician. He returned 9 years later as a conqueror - and an enemy of the state. He tel...

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Johnathan Bi left success in the startup world to focus on researching the deep ideas that power the world, and has recently launched his series on the Great Books of the West, starting with his lecture on Nietzsche.


In this episode:

  • What is Rousseau’s impact on the world?
  • Johnathan’s Journey towards the Great Thinkers and their Books
  • The Duality of Heroism & Rou...
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An interview with Johnny Burtka, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. He is a graduate of Hillsdale College, and his most recent book is titled Gateway to Statesmanship—Selections from Xenophon to Churchill.


In this episode:

  • The Mirrors for Princes tradition
  • Obstacles as a Ladder to Greatness
  • The Potency of Xenophon’s ...
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An interview with Nat Friedman, former CEO of GitHub and creator of the Vesuvius Challenge, which aims to crack the riddles of the Herculaneum Papyri.


In this episode:

  • The Genesis of the Vesuvius Challenge
  • Early Attempts to Open the Scrolls
  • Using a Particle Accelerator to Scan the Scrolls!
  • Partnering with Daniel Gross and Brent Seales
  • Nat’s Childhood experience with Op...
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