S8 Ep269: SHOW 12-30-25 CBS EYE ON THE WORLD WITH JOHN BATCHELOR THESDHOW BEGINS WITH DOUBTS ABOUT THE PURPOSE OF WAR-MAKING AS EXPRESSED MOURNFULLY BY HECTOR'S WIFE ANDROMACHE... SHOW 12-30-25 CBS EYE ON THE WORLD WITH JOHN BATCHELOR TRANSLATION AND THE SEARCH F

S8 Ep268: THE WOMEN OF THE JULIO-CLAUDIAN DYNASTY Colleague Daisy Dunn. Dunn profiles the powerful women of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Livia is portrayed as Augustus's essential political partner and diplomat. The segment covers the tragic life of Julia, the lech

S8 Ep268: ANTONY, FULVIA, AND CLEOPATRA'S END Colleague Daisy Dunn. The conversation turns to Mark Antony's unpopular affair with Cleopatra and his wife Fulvia, who instigated a war in Italy to counter Octavian. Dunn highlights the Roman propensity for public emoti

S8 Ep268: CLEOPATRA AND CAESAR Colleague Daisy Dunn. Dunn describes Cleopatra's dramatic entrance from a rug to meet Caesar and secure her rule in Egypt. Despite her intelligence and linguistic skills, the Romans viewed her with suspicion and distaste, labeling her

S8 Ep268: CORNELIA AND SERVILIA: MOTHERS OF ROME Colleague Daisy Dunn. This segment focuses on Cornelia, the educated "one-man woman" who raised the reforming Gracchi brothers to challenge the Roman elite. Dunn notes Cornelia's heartbreak as she tried to dissuade h

S8 Ep268: DIDO AND THE FOUNDING OF CARTHAGE Colleague Daisy Dunn. Dunn recounts the story of Dido, the clever founder of Carthage who tricked a local king to secure land. When Aeneas abandons her to fulfill his destiny, Dido curses him, foreshadowing the Punic Wars

S8 Ep268: ETRUSCANS AND THE WOMEN OF EARLY ROME Colleague Daisy Dunn. Dunn discusses the Etruscans, noting their advanced dentistry and the shock Greeks felt at Etruscan men and women dining together openly. Transitioning to Rome, they recount the violent founding

S8 Ep268: SAPPHO OF LESBOS Colleague Daisy Dunn. Dunn explores the life of Sappho, debunking myths about her appearance and suicide. She explains that Sappho was exiled due to her family's aristocratic background during a time of political revolution. The conversat

S8 Ep268: FEMALE AUTHORSHIP AND THE TROJAN WOMEN Colleague Daisy Dunn. Daisy Dunn discusses the legend of Phantasia, a rumored female source for Homer, and the myth of Leda and the Swan. She argues that the Trojan War likely reflects real historical conflicts at th

S8 Ep268: GRIEF, GAMES, AND ACCEPTANCE Colleague Professor Emily Wilson. After Hector's death, Achilles finds a form of healing through funeral games, which offer a non-lethal model of competition. He even awards Agamemnon a prize without a contest, possibly as a s

S8 Ep268: THE DEATH OF PATROCLUS AND HECTOR Colleague Professor Emily Wilson. The tragedy culminates with Patroclus ignoring Achilles' warning, leading to his death by Hector and the loss of Achilles' armor. Wilson describes Achilles' terrifying return to battle, e

S8 Ep268: THE GORE AND GLORY OF BATTLE Colleague Professor Emily Wilson. Wilson discusses translating the Iliad's vivid violence, drawing on insights from combat veterans regarding the trauma of battlefield death. A central theme is the treatment of corpses; posses

S8 Ep268: AGAMEMNON'S FAILURE AND DIVINE POLITICS Colleague Professor Emily Wilson. This segment details the plot's catalyst: Agamemnon seizing Briseis from Achilles, causing the hero to withdraw from battle. Wilson explains the divine politics, including Hera trad

S8 Ep268: APHRODITE, PATROCLUS, AND TROPHY WOMEN Colleague Professor Emily Wilson. Wilson examines Aphrodite's intervention on the battlefield and her representation of baser instincts like lust. The discussion shifts to Briseis, a "trophy" of war, and her relation

S8 Ep268: TRAGIC COUPLES AND DIVINE INTERVENTION Colleague Professor Emily Wilson. The segment explores key character pairings, starting with Helen's complex view of Paris and her weaving as a metaphor for the story. Wilson analyzes the tragic relationship between

S8 Ep268: HOMER'S NARRATIVE CHOICES AND ORAL TRADITION Colleague Professor Emily Wilson. Wilson discusses the "Homeric Question," noting that oral stories existed for centuries before the alphabet arrived in the 8th century BCE. She highlights the Iliad's sophistic

S8 Ep268: TRANSLATION AND THE SEARCH FOR TROY Colleague Professor Emily Wilson. John Batchelor interviews Professor Emily Wilson about her new iambic pentameter translation of the Iliad. They discuss the historical location of Troy in modern Turkey and the archaeol

S8 Ep267: GEOENGINEERING, ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION, AND DECOUPLING GROWTH FROM DESTRUCTION Colleague Gaia Vince. Vince outlines technological solutions for restoring the planet, such as ocean fertilization, which adds iron to oceans to boost algae growth and sequeste

S8 Ep267: A UNITED NATIONS AGENCY FOR MIGRATION AND THE FUTURE OF FOOD Colleague Gaia Vince. Batchelor and Vince discuss a vision for managed migration where a new United Nations agency allocates migrants to specific cities and industries based on labor needs. Vinc

S8 Ep267: RETHINKING BORDERS AND THE ECONOMIC NECESSITY OF HUMAN MOBILITY Colleague Gaia Vince. Vince argues that while humans have migrated for hundreds of thousands of years, modern borders currently restrict the world's most valuable economic resource: human lab