Often my commute from Spokane to Seattle and evenings in the hotel are spent listening to the Teaching Company's Great Courses. The lectures are an excellent means of making the 300 mile one-way drive pass much more quickly. This week's journey heard Machiavelli In Context in the CD player. This is perhaps the second or third time through this series for me. Still fascinating with each listening. With each playing, I become more tempted to pick up a copy of Machiavelli's Discourses on Livy.
After a number of recommendations from friends, I finally took a listen to Dan Carlin's Hardcore History (see: Hardcore History). Both Scott and Jake have recommended Carlin's series more than once. What finally pushed me to giving it a listen was a recent two part series on the Achaemenid Persian rulers.
In two, four hour episodes, Carlin weaves a very interesting and entertaining tale of the Persian empire. Carlin is a fascinating storyteller and had me riveted to the podcasts throughout. Putting ancient Persian dynastic history into a contemporary context makes the lessons learned relevant for today's modern listener. Cyrus the Great as Henry Ford? Yep, that analogy is included.
No painting for me this week, however.
