The New Roman Empire

#498 – Anthony Kaldellis: Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, Rise & Fall of Empires

Lex Fridman Podcast, 30 June 2026. The book comes up at 3 hr 15 min in.

Anthony Kaldellis describes how writing Streams of Gold led his editor to commission this thousand-page history of Byzantium. He explains his aim was to cast light on the periods between dramatic peaks—showing how institutions and ideologies tie people's lives together—rather than jumping highlight to highlight, so readers can understand why events unfold as they do.

Listen to this episode ↗︎