Rome and Ancient Iran—With Jake Nabel
Jake Nabel joins Danny and Derek to explore Roman-Parthian relations, ancient imperial rivalry, cultural misunderstanding, and the politics of historical memory.
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Rome and Ancient Iran w/ Jake Nabel / American Prestige
Danny and Derek are joined by Jake Nabel, Tombros early career professor of classical studies and assistant professor of classics and ancient Mediterranean studies at Penn State, to talk about Roman-Parthian relations in antiquity. The group discusses the geopolitical landscape of the ancient Mediterranean and Near East, the rise of the Parthian Empire and the Arsacid dynasty following the fall of the Achaemenids and Alexander the Great, and the inherent challenges of relying on Greco-Roman historiography. They also delve into how Iranian and Armenian sources reshape our understanding of the period, the deep cultural misunderstanding between Roman hostage-taking and Parthian cliental fosterage, the cultural barriers preventing intermarriage, and the modern Iranian reception of pre-Islamic empires, including contemporary parallels to Reza Pahlavi.
Read Jake’s book The Arsacids of Rome: Misunderstanding in Roman-Parthian Relations.
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Rome’s Colosseum at sunset in downtown Rome on January 10, 2012.
(Filippo Monteforte / AFP via Getty Images)Danny and Derek are joined by Jake Nabel, Tombros Early Career Professor of Classical Studies and assistant professor of classics and ancient Mediterranean studies at Penn State, to talk about Roman-Parthian relations in antiquity. The group discusses the geopolitical landscape of the ancient Mediterranean and Near East, the rise of the Parthian Empire and the Arsacid dynasty following the fall of the Achaemenids and Alexander the Great, and the inherent challenges of relying on Greco-Roman historiography. They also delve into how Iranian and Armenian sources reshape our understanding of the period, the deep cultural misunderstanding between Roman hostage-taking and Parthian cliental fosterage, the cultural barriers preventing intermarriage, and the modern Iranian reception of pre-Islamic empires, including contemporary parallels to Reza Pahlavi.
Read Jake’s book The Arsacids of Rome: Misunderstanding in Roman-Parthian Relations.
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The Nation Podcasts
Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.
The Need for Responsible AI w/ Robert Wright / American Prestige
Danny and Derek welcome to the show journalist and author Robert Wright to talk about the potential and pitfalls of the AI revolution. They discuss how neural networks learn, the differences between predictive and generative AI, machine consciousness, job displacement, the environmental costs of data centers, how capitalism is shaping the AI race, and the need for international regulation.
Read Robert’s new book The God Test: Artificial Intelligence and Our Coming Cosmic Reckoning.
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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