The ’’Greats’’ of History
A weekly series about people who have been called “The Great,” where we try to get past the honorific and understand who they were, what they did, and why some people seem to like them so much.
Episodes

Oct 22, 2024
Oct 22, 2024
43 min
Let's track Pompey as he pushes in his chips and chooses sides in Rome's first major civil war, -- already! -- gets the name "The Great," and becomes the indispensable man of Rome, all before age thirty.

Oct 15, 2024
Oct 15, 2024
54 min
So, if you haven't figured this out yet, I am a nerd. Nothing brings out my inner nerdery like Rome. Buckle up; we're going to be here for a while!

Oct 8, 2024
Oct 8, 2024
37 min
The story of The Poison King reaches its violent apex. We've spent lots of time with this guy. Would you consider him to be "Great?"

Oct 1, 2024
Oct 1, 2024
32 min
HI. If you've already listened to this, then you realized that I messed up the RSS feed, and published part three BEFORE part one. So, yeah. Six months in and this is my first major flub. But the story is awesome so hopefully you will forgive me.

Sep 24, 2024
Sep 24, 2024
38 min
The king is back from his self-imposed exile in the wilderness. Let's see what he does now that he is back in control of his kingdom.

Sep 17, 2024
Sep 17, 2024
36 min
Part one of our series on Mithridates, a larger than life figure and the deadliest enemy of those obnoxious Romans. You're going to love this guy.

Sep 10, 2024
Sep 10, 2024
40 min
Wu is firmly in control. Let's follow him across his long reign to see if he earns his epithet of "The Great."

Sep 3, 2024
Sep 3, 2024
38 min
We shift our attention to the unification of China under its first Emperor, the spectacular fall of his short-lived dynasty, and the rise of the powerful Han and their greatest of rulers, Wu the Great.

Aug 27, 2024
Aug 27, 2024
38 min
Today moves us to China, where we meet all sorts of fun people, like Yu the Great, Confucius, Lao Tzu, Sun Tzu, and many more! Ancient China was an amazing place.

Aug 20, 2024
Aug 20, 2024
29 min
The conclusion of our look at Ashoka, considered by many to be the greatest ruler in India's history, even if it didn't start out that way.









