S8 Ep772: Gaius & Germanicus debate in the Londinium wine bar, 92 AD. In our gathering, Gaius and Germanicus address the unfolding chaos of the 21st-century empire for you, veteran centurions. The Emperor is increasingly viewed as unfit by the global commentariat,
The John Batchelor Show
John Batchelor
4.5 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 20 April 2026
⏱️ 24 minutes
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Summary
Gaius & Germanicus debate in the Londinium wine bar, 92 AD. In our gathering, Gaius and Germanicus address the unfolding chaos of the 21st-century empire for you, veteran centurions. The Emperor is increasingly viewed as unfit by the global commentariat, delivering contradictory messages that leave allies and adversaries confused. Germanicusargues the Emperor allowed himself to be led into a failed war in Persia by Mr. Netanyahu, a conflict that lacks strategic objective and risks a consequential defeat. This "ceremonial" military, though dazzling in appearance, mimics the "mini-me" force of Israel, capable only of destroying cities rather than achieving decisive victory. The American public, sensing this failure through the Emperor's erratic social media posts, recognizes the nation is no longer the superpower it once was — as in the Roman tradition, an emperor who loses an army is quickly discarded. (1)
457 AMBROSIAN ILLIAD
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Good evening. On a beautiful spring evening in New England. It was hard, cold rain all |
| 0:11.5 | afternoon. The rain abated. I think the sun would love to come out if the clouds would get |
| 0:15.5 | out of the way. The dappadils have passed in my part of New England, |
| 0:24.7 | and we're setting up for the big blooms coming, the lilies and all of the flowering bushes of the garden. |
| 0:29.5 | At the same time, we're in Lundinium, 92 AD, springtime. |
| 0:37.7 | The centurions are already in place. |
| 0:40.7 | Germanicus is early. |
| 0:42.8 | I am late to gathering. |
| 0:44.6 | We all have our cups of wine. |
| 0:47.3 | And we are faced with a task that we don't relish, which is looking at the chaos in America in the 21st century. |
| 1:00.4 | Last week, I thought we were too gloomy. |
| 1:02.5 | I was hoping for a repair job this week. |
| 1:04.7 | It's not going to happen. |
| 1:07.5 | The emperor is routinely regarded as unfit by many members of the major commentariat, |
| 1:18.6 | major commentariat. Nothing partisan about them. You're only as good as your commentariat at the moment, and ours in many languages, |
| 1:30.5 | regard the emperor's unfit. |
| 1:33.4 | Do they have an alternative? |
| 1:35.2 | No, that's not what I'm observing. |
| 1:38.5 | I observe the unfit part. |
| 1:40.3 | I read the columns. |
| 1:41.9 | I recommend the F.T.'s wolf, certainly. Go overseas. Don't get bogged down in |
| 1:52.5 | partisanship here in America, where your paycheck is in part derived from which side you're on. |
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