764 Two Thousand Years of Roman History (with Edward J. Watts) | My Last Book with Nathan Hensley

The History of Literature

Jacke Wilson

History, Arts, Books

4.6 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 5 January 2026

⏱️ 76 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What do we talk about when we talk about ancient Romans? For many of us, it's typically a fairly narrow slice of history: the toga-clad figures of Cicero and Caesar, perhaps, as their republic shades into empire before collapsing at the hands of barbarians a few hundred years later. In this episode, Jacke talks to Edward J. Watts, whose book The Romans: A 2,000-Year History takes a different approach, providing a sweeping historical survey of two thousand years of Roman history. Through this comprehensive overview, Watts shifts our focus away from Rome's fall, instead bringing to light the qualities that helped Rome endure for so long. PLUS Nathan Hensley (Action Without Hope: Victorian Literature After Climate Collapse) stops by to discuss his choice for the last book he will ever read. Join Jacke on a trip through literary England! Join Jacke and fellow literature fans on an eight-day journey through literary England in partnership with ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠John Shors Travel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ in May 2026! Scheduled stops include The Charles Dickens Museum, Dr. Johnson's house, Jane Austen's Bath, Tolkien's Oxford, Shakespeare's Globe Theater, and more. Learn more by emailing jackewilsonauthor@gmail.com or masahiko@johnshorstravel.com, or by contacting us through our website ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠historyofliterature.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Act soon - there are limited spots available! The music in this episode is by Gabriel Ruiz-Bernal. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠gabrielruizbernal.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Help support the show at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/literature ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠historyofliterature.com/donate ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	The History of Literature Podcast is a member of the Podglomerate Network and Lit Hub Radio.
0:09.3	Hello, you might be familiar with the story of ancient Rome, or at least key parts of it,
0:14.8	the fall of the republic and the rise of empire. Or maybe some of the Caesars, Julius, or Augustus, Nero, Claudius, Caligula.
0:25.0	Maybe you've read books about Cicero, or the military battles against Hannibal.
0:30.3	The Crossing of the Tiber. These eras and events are etched into our cultural consciousness.
0:36.7	And maybe you've studied the fall of Rome,
0:39.2	read the explanations of what happened to end it all.
0:42.3	So what else is there to know?
0:44.9	Our guest today says,
0:47.0	Sure, you can look at the events that led to the end of Rome,
0:50.0	but every mighty empire has ended.
0:52.1	Falling apart is the easy part.
0:55.5	How did Rome endure for 2,000 years?
0:58.3	What was the secret to Rome's incredible longevity?
1:02.9	What made Rome Rome?
1:06.0	Edward J. Watts today on the history of literature.
1:46.9	Okay, here we go. Welcome to the podcast. I'm Jack Wilson. Happy New Year. It seems like a good year to talk about massive successes as well as failures. America is 250 years old this year. A blip of time. Rome had a 2000 year history. Let's talk about that instead. And some housekeeping here at the podcast,
1:52.5	boy, are we excited about 2026. We'll be announcing something special for our Patreon members soon.
1:58.9	If you'd like to be on that list, you can go to patreon.com slash literature. And we're headed to Literary England on our very first history of literature podcast
2:03.5	tour with an itinerary packed with sites and events and a lot you won't find on the itinerary,
2:11.4	past guests of the show who are going to stop by and shake hands, answer questions, and be
2:16.7	part of the general fun.
	...

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