The Rise of History’s Greatest Emperor: An Untold Story - Alex Petkas - #1085
Modern Wisdom
04/16/26
•121m
About
Comments
Featured In
Alex Petkas is a historian, writer, and podcaster. What can one of history's greatest empires, and its most notorious leaders, teach us about the modern world? We all know the story of Julius Caesar and his famous assassination... but what really happened? And what lessons from Ancient Rome still shape our lives today? Expect to learn why learning about Roman history is useful or instructive at helping us in the modern world, what Caesar's life teaches us about being a good person, what actually happened the night Caesar crossed the Rubicon, how Cleopatra managed to secretly meet Caesar inside the palace at Alexandria, what Caesar's his last night looked like, the convincing argument that convinced Brutus that killing Caesar was necessary and much more...
Sponsors:
See discounts for all the products I use and recommend: https://chriswillx.com/deals
Get a free bottle of D3K2, an AG1 Welcome Kit, and more when you first subscribe at https://ag1.info/modernwisdom
Get a Free Sample Pack of LMNT’s most popular flavours with your first purchase at https://drinklmnt.com/modernwisdom
Get the brand new Whoop 5.0 and your first month for free at https://join.whoop.com/modernwisdom
Get 35% off your first subscription on the best supplements from Momentous at https://livemomentous.com/modernwisdom
Get ChatGPT to explore ideas, solve problems, and learn faster at https://chatgpt.com
Timestamps:
(00:00) Why Roman History Still Matters Today
(05:18) Julius Caesar: Genius or Tyrant?
(09:58) The Origins of Caesar’s Ruthless Ambition
(25:48) The Pirate Story That Defined Caesar
(29:25) How Caesar Won the the People of Rome
(34:02) The Strategy Behind Caesar’s Loyal Following
(40:58) Caesar & Pompey: Allies or Enemies?
(47:32) When Did Caesar and Pompey Become Enemies?
(55:41) Was Crossing the Rubicon a Declaration of War Against the Senate?
(01:03:07) How Pompey’s Murder Led Caesar to Egypt
(01:16:13) Cleopatra’s Winning Tactics Over Caesar
(01:21:14) Were Caesar and Cleopatra Lovers?
(01:25:18) Inside the Final Day of Caesar’s Life
(01:38:25) The Bad Omens That Caesar Ignored
(01:49:50) The Decisions That Sealed Caesar’s Fate
(01:58:23) Where to Find Alex
Extra Stuff:
Get my free reading list of 100 books to read before you die: https://chriswillx.com/books
Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic: https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom
Episodes You Might Enjoy:
#577 - David Goggins - This Is How To Master Your Life: lnkfi.re/SN-Goggins
#712 - Dr Jordan Peterson - How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs: lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson
#700 - Dr Andrew Huberman - The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain: lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman
-
Get In Touch:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/modernwisdompodcast
Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact
-
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Previous Episode
David Friedberg is an entrepreneur, investor, and podcaster.
What will the future actually look like? With AI dominating the conversation, cutting through the noise matters more than ever. So what’s really coming, and what will it cost us?
Expect to learn why the future if going to be epic even if the cost is high, why the future of tech and AI might be overblown, why we should care about the moon, what AI will actually do to jobs despite Anthropic’s new report, what the future of longevity will look like, why California has turned into a failed state and if David is concerned about the rise of socialism, what David is most excited about right now and much more...
Sponsors:
See discounts for all the products I use and recommend: https://chriswillx.com/deals
Get 35% off your first subscription on the best supplements from Momentous at https://livemomentous.com/modernwisdom
Get up to 20% off Timeline powered by Mitopure (now at a lower price) at https://timeline.com/modernwisdom
Get up to $350 off the Eight Sleep Pod 5 at https://eightsleep.com/modernwisdom
Get 160+ biomarkers tested for just $1/day and save an extra $25 at https://functionhealth.com/modernwisdom
Get ChatGPT to explore ideas, solve problems, and learn faster at https://chatgpt.com
Timestamps:
(0:00) Why the Future Is Going to Be Epic
(6:20) Who Will Control AI: Big Tech or Everyone?
(12:25) Will Everyone Be Able to Use AI Effectively?
(21:38) Should We Build Factories on the Moon?
(26:53) How AI is Changing the Field of Fusion
(37:18) Could Manufacturing on the Moon Boost Earth’s Economy?
(41:46) The Fight For Power in Space
(44:33) The Science Behind Age Reversal
(54:11) How Close Are We to Age Reversal?
(56:15) Could Living Longer Unlock Human Potential?
(01:00:07) Why Controlling Superintelligence is Critical
(01:16:01) Is Embryo Selection the Next AI Arms Race?
(01:26:30) How Ohalo is Reinventing Agriculture
(01:36:25) What’s Driving California’s Political Decline?
(01:50:14) Is Socialism the Worst Idea Ever?
(02:06:18) Why Modern Society Feels So Pessimistic
Extra Stuff:
Get my free reading list of 100 books to read before you die: https://chriswillx.com/books
Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic: https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom
Episodes You Might Enjoy:
#577 - David Goggins - This Is How To Master Your Life: lnkfi.re/SN-Goggins
#712 - Dr Jordan Peterson - How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs: lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson
#700 - Dr Andrew Huberman - The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain: lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman
-
Get In Touch:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/modernwisdompodcast
Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact
-
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Next Episode
Adam Aleksic is a linguist, content creator, and author, best known online as the Etymology Nerd.
What’s happening to language right now? Words like “rizz” and “skibidi” can make it feel like you’re out of the loop, but are you actually getting older, or has the internet transformed language into something entirely new? What does the science of linguistics say about this shift?
Expect to learn why 6-7 was voted word of the year for 2025, why TikTok is becoming the most powerful linguistic engine on Earth, if there is a science to meme language, why funny language spreads and what makes it stick, why we should care about linguistics, and much more...
Sponsors:
See discounts for all the products I use and recommend: https://chriswillx.com/deals
Get 10% discount on all Gymshark products at https://gym.sh/modernwisdom (use code MODERNWISDOM10)
Get 35% off your first subscription on the best supplements from Momentous at https://livemomentous.com/modernwisdom
Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period from Shopify at https://shopify.com/modernwisdom
Get 15% off your first order of my favourite Non-Alcoholic Brew at https://athleticbrewing.com/modernwisdom
Get ChatGPT to explore ideas, solve problems, and learn faster at https://chatgpt.com
Timestamps:
(0:00) The Truth Behind “Word of the Year” (2:31) Is TikTok Rewiring How We Speak? (3:27) Do Social Platforms Create Their Own Dialects? (5:34) The Hidden Formula Behind Influencer Language (13:47) Why MrBeast Changes His Voice (17:01) Internet Subcultures and Their Unique Languages (18:33) How Newscasters Engineered Their Signature Voice (21:12) Why Sports Commentators Sound So Distinct (22:38) Is Distribution Is the Key to Going Viral? (26:44) Can You Hear Sexuality in Someone’s Voice? (33:38) Are Lesbian Accents Hard to Identify? (40:32) Should We Replace Words With Emojis? (43:37) The Surprising Evolution of Etymology (45:26) Are Young People Driving Language Change? (47:10) Why We Reject Forced Language (48:34) Where Do Filler Words Come From? (52:14) The Most Powerful Language Tricks Creators Use (54:58) How AI is Changing the Way We Speak (01:02:55) Can One Word Capture a Whole Idea? (01:04:17) Social Media vs AI: What’s Worse For Language Development? (01:08:20) How Language Shapes the Way We Think (01:10:41) What It Really Means to Be Gen Z (01:14:40) Why Teenagers Naturally Rebel (01:20:20) Rapid-Fire: The Origins of Everyday Words (01:24:37) The Power of Creating Your Own Language (01:28:21) Was QWERTY Designed to Be Inefficient? (01:31:57) Does ChatGPT Actually Speak English? (01:33:49) Is Language Evolving Faster Than Ever? (01:35:02) Where to Find Adam
Extra Stuff:
Get my free reading list of 100 books to read before you die: https://chriswillx.com/books
Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic: https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom
Episodes You Might Enjoy:
#577 - David Goggins - This Is How To Master Your Life: lnkfi.re/SN-Goggins
#712 - Dr Jordan Peterson - How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs: lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson
#700 - Dr Andrew Huberman - The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain: lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman
-
Get In Touch:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/modernwisdompodcast
Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact
-
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
If you like this episode you’ll love
Promoted