The Why Files: Plutarch, Philosophy, and Power with Alex Petkas

About this episode

Ancient classics collide with modern life in this sharp conversation about why Plutarch still matters. In the full episode, Andrew Gentile speaks with Alex Petkas of Cost of Glory, a Princeton-trained scholar who turned a classics PhD into a mission to make Greek and Roman philosophy useful today. This shorter recap distills the original long-form discussion into a fast listen, highlighting how Plato, Aristotle, Stoicism, and Plutarch shaped ideas about leadership, discipline, education, and moral character. Petkas shares his own path from a rough teen period to faith and scholarship, then traces how ancient thinkers influenced real political power—from Syracuse to Sparta to Caesar’s Rome.…