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Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is walk away.

In this episode I explore the lives of two men who understood that truth better than anyone: Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus and George Washington. These were leaders who were given immense power during times of crisis. They led with strength and resolve. But when their duty was done, they stepped down. They went home.

This isn’t just a history lesson. Whether you’re building a business, navigating a relationship, leading a team, or chasing your own goals, the idea of knowing when to let go matters. We live in a world that glorifies constant striving, "hustling" and grasping on to ambition. But history tells us something else. It tells us that the people we remember with the most respect are often the ones who had the courage to say “enough" before their disastrous fall.

History does not smile upon those who did not heed this warning rooted all the way back to the Ancient Greek Myths of stories like Icarus and Narcissus.

In this episode we look at what made Cincinnatus and Washington so different. We talk about the ancient myths and figures from history that have warned against the hunger for more. And we reflect on how restraint, humility, and walking away with dignity can be more powerful than any crown or title.

I hope this episode leaves you thinking not just about the past, but about your own life too. Because power is not just about what you take. It’s about what you choose not to.

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Before the cross, there was the bull and dagger. Before churches rose across Rome, underground temples echoed with chants to a forgotten god. In this episode of Talks History, we dive into the shadowy world of Mithras—the bull-slaying mystery deity who once rivaled Jesus for the soul of the Roman Empire.

Who was this caped god born from stone, worshiped by emperors and legionaries alike? Why did Mithraism flourish across the empire only to vanish without a trace? And what might the world have looked like if his cult, not Christianity, had shaped the Western soul? And why did Christianity ultimately capture the hearts and minds of Western Civilization?

This isn’t just a tale of gods and temples—it’s a battle of ideas: exclusivity vs. inclusivity, strength vs. salvation, ritual vs. revelation.

If you’ve ever wondered how religions rise, fall, and rewrite the course of history, this is the episode you don’t want to miss.

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Most wars last years. This one couldn’t outlast a podcast episode.

In 1896, the British Empire declared war on the tiny sultanate of Zanzibar, and wrapped the whole thing up in less time than it takes to cook a full English breakfast.

But beneath the trivia-night absurdity of “the shortest war in history” is a brutal, brilliant display of imperial power, a palace in ruins, and a sultan who learned the hard way what happens when you challenge the world’s largest empire without a plan… or navy.

In this episode, we dig into how a miscalculated succession crisis, three British warships, and exactly zero patience turned a royal dispute into a 38-minute spectacle of firepower. You'll hear about defiant sultans, strategic telegrams, and a royal yacht that didn’t stand a chance. It’s a war with everything condensed into less than an hour.

Because sometimes, history doesn’t need a battlefield.

Sometimes, all it takes to erase a kingdom… is 38 minutes.

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