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When Republics Collapse: 5 Warning Signs from Ancient Rome

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What causes thriving democracies to unravel from within? Drawing from Mary Beard's scholarship, Tom Holland's insights, and cutting-edge climate research from ice cores, this episode reveals how Rome's republic collapsed through norm-breaking, polarization, and elite competition-offering urgent lessons for modern democracies facing similar pressures.

When Republics Collapse: 5 Warning Signs from Ancient Rome
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How This Personalized Podcast Was Made

This podcast was created using BeFreed’s AI, based on selected books, the creator’s learning goals, and their preferred tone.

Civilizations
link
https://www.befreed.ai/book/civilizations-by-mary-beard
The Rest Is History — Julius Caesar’s Invasion of Britain (Part 1)
link
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0k7m461
Fall of the Roman Republic (Penguin Classics)
link
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/139481549-plutarch-fall-of-the-roman-republic-penguin-classics-l-84
Lead pollution recorded in Greenland ice indicates European emissions tracked plagues, wars, and imperial expansion during antiquity
link
https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1721818115
Violence in Roman Politics
link
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-roman-studies/article/violence-in-roman-politics/0372D6D35D48E46275B16FB845A0EB08
The Great Simplification — Ep. 164: Peter Turchin, “The ‘Decline’ of Nations: How Elite Surplus and Inequality Lead to Societal Upheaval”
link
https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/164-peter-turchin
The History of Rome
link
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-history-of-rome/id261654474
The Storm Before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic
link
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40193368-the-storm-before-the-storm
Episode 335: PAX
link
https://historicallythinking.org/episode-335-pax/
The Fate of Rome
link
https://www.befreed.ai/book/the-fate-of-rome-by-kyle-harper
The Constitution of the Roman Republic
link
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16801365-the-constitution-of-the-roman-republic
Why do societies collapse?
link
http://www.ted.com/talks/jared_diamond_on_why_societies_collapse
Hardcore History: Death Throes of the Republic (I–VI)
link
https://www.dancarlin.com/product/hardcore-history-death-throes-of-the-republic-series/
Extreme climate after massive eruption of Alaska’s Okmok volcano in 43 BCE and effects on the late Roman Republic and Ptolemaic Kingdom
link
https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2002722117
Electoral Bribery in the Roman Republic
link
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-roman-studies/article/electoral-bribery-in-the-roman-republic/1EBBBAF3C1F18D52A79B0A1B3F23AB2C
Lex Fridman Podcast #443: Gregory Aldrete — The Roman Empire: Rise and Fall of Ancient Rome
link
https://lexfridman.com/gregory-aldrete-transcript/
SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome
link
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42442999-spqr
The 6 killer apps of prosperity
link
https://www.ted.com/talks/niall_ferguson_the_6_killer_apps_of_prosperity
From the Gracchi to Nero: A History of Rome from 133 BC to AD 68
link
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/388910.From_the_Gracchi_to_Nero
The moral roots of liberals and conservatives
link
https://www.ted.com/talks/jonathan_haidt_the_moral_roots_of_liberals_and_conservatives
The Last Generation of the Roman Republic
link
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/91204.The_Last_Generation_of_the_Roman_Republic
The Roman Revolution
link
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/167913.The_Roman_Revolution
Tactical Reform in the Late Roman Republic: The View from Italy
link
https://biblioscout.net/article/10.25162/historia-2019-0004
Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic
link
https://goodreads.com/book/show/91017.Rubicon_The_Last_Years_of_the_Roman_Republic
Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order (video)
link
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2022/03/10/principles_for_dealing_with_the_changing_world_order_by_ray_dalio.html
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Input question

What warning signs from ancient Rome can teach us about modern democracy's fragility?

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117

"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."

@Raaaaaachelw
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"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."

@Matt, YC alum
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12
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108

"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."

@Erin, Investment Banking Associate , NYC
platform
comments
254
likes
17

"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."

@djmikemoore
platform
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star
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"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."

@Pitiful
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