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The John Batchelor ShowAuthor: John Batchelor
The John Batchelor Show is a hard news-analysis radio program on current events, world history, global politics and natural sciences. Based in New York City for two decades, the show has travelled widely to report, from the Middle East to the South Caucasus to the Arabian Peninsula and East Asia. Language: en-us Genres: News, Society & Culture Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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S8 Ep339: Carthage, Rome, and Imperial Decline The final debate explores the historical destruction of Carthage to illuminate the modern American Empire's troubled trajectory and uncertain future. Germanicus advances a provocative thesis: the United States now mor
Episode 339
Sunday, 18 January, 2026
Carthage, Rome, and Imperial DeclineThe final debate explores the historical destruction of Carthage to illuminate the modern American Empire's troubled trajectory and uncertain future. Germanicus advances a provocative thesis: the United States now more closely resembles Carthage—a wealthy, financialized, multicultural mercantile power relying on paid soldiers and foreign contractors—than the cohesive, destiny-driven Republic of Rome whose citizen-soldiers conquered the known world through shared sacrifice. They observe how historical narratives are invariably shaped by victors, noting that figures from Napoleon to modern filmmakers consistently utilize defeated enemies like Carthage or the Nazis to define national identity and justify present ambitions. A striking reversal emerges from their analysis: Russian propaganda now appropriates Roman symbols of martial virtue, disciplined unity, and civilizational mission, while the United Statesappears increasingly as a "flabby empire of financial usury" potentially facing its own Carthago delenda est moment at the hands of more vigorous rivals. The discussion concludes with a somber warning drawn from Byzantium's fall in 1204, when Crusaders who should have been allies instead sacked the great city: a disunited nation lacking shared vision and collective willingness to sacrifice stands vulnerable to sudden, catastrophic collapse, potentially ending the "American Empire" far sooner than its citizens imagine possible.1450 VIRGIL: DIDO WELCOMES AENEAS TO CARTHAGE
