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

October 3, 2025 68 mins

A conversation with Johnathan Bi (Cosmos Institute, The Great Books podcast) for a deep dive into Stoicism through the life and philosophy of Cato the Younger.

We explore:

  • Why Stoicism continues to attract modern audiences
  • Jonathan’s personal journey with Stoicism—and why he ultimately turned to other philosophies
  • Nietzsche’s critique of Stoicism as a coping mechanism
  • How Cato embodied Stoic principles (and where he may hav...
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A conversation with Rob Henderson — Air Force veteran, psychologist, and author of the bestselling "Troubled". 

In this episode:

  • Rob's journey from foster care to Cambridge and lessons about status, envy, and human nature
  • The psychology of envy and jealousy - from Julius Caesar's assassination to modern politics
  • Difference between dominance and prestige in human behavior
  • Why envy is one of the most powerful yet unacknowledg...
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Part 3 of 3 of Caesar's Civil War series. From triumph to near-disaster. Caesar's Egyptian entanglement transforms him from a glorious victor to a desperate challenger. In this episode:

  • Pompey's assassination in Egypt and Caesar's unexpected grief over his former ally's death
  • Cleopatra's legendary entrance in a bed-sack and her political seduction of Caesar
  • The brutal urban warfare trapping Caesar in the palace quarter fo...
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Part 2 of 3 of Caesar's Civil War series. After his lightning conquest of Italy, Caesar faces his greatest challenge yet as Pompey masses a vast army in Greece. In this episode:

  • Caesar's second dictatorship and revolutionary reforms in Rome—citizenship grants, debt relief, and restoration of the proscribed
  • The dangerous winter crossing of the Adriatic, splitting his forces against Pompey's naval supremacy
  • The siege of Dyr...
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June 4, 2025 109 mins

Part 1 of 3 of Caesar's Civil War series. The die is cast—Caesar crosses the Rubicon and plunges Rome into civil war. In this episode:

  • The political crisis of 51-50 BCE as Caesar's enemies demand his recall from Gaul
  • Curio's shocking defection and proposal that both Caesar and Pompey lay down arms
  • The breakdown of negotiations and Pompey's fateful acceptance of command against Caesar
  • His lightning campaign through Italy as...
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May 10, 2025 130 mins

Part 2 of 3 of the Life of Julius Caesar. In this episode:

  • Caesar forms the First Triumvirate with Pompey and Crassus, uniting Rome's most powerful men
  • His revolutionary consulship of 59 BCE bypasses Senate opposition through popular assemblies
  • The brilliant staging of the Gallic conquest, using allies and tribal conflicts as pretexts for expansion
  • His management of Rome through letters while commanding armies across Gaul
  • T...
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April 8, 2025 113 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 with Silicon Valley and some DOGE members
  • The long-term...
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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"
Clear headed leadership of Lieutenant Murray
The heroi...

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February 6, 2025 25 mins

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 98 mins

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 the Cyprus annexation mission
  • The formation of the First Triumvirate and Cato's resistance
  • His memorable year as Praetor and battles against corruption
  • The death of Julia and Crassus sets the stage for civil war
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November 22, 2024 86 mins

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 listeners and patrons. On to the next hundred!

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November 6, 2024 20 mins

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 35 mins

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. He returned 9 years later as a conqueror - and an enem...

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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 65 mins

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 politician. He returned 9 years later as a conqueror -...

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August 26, 2024 72 mins

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 mere politician. He returned 9 years later as a conqu...

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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 mere politician. He returned 9 years later as a conqu...

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