The Troubadour Podcast
"It is the honourable characteristic of Poetry that its materials are to be found in every subject which can interest the human mind." William Wordsworth The Troubadour Podcast invites you into a world where art is conversation and conversation is art. The conversations on this show will be with some living people and some dead writers of our past. I aim to make both equally entertaining and educational.In 1798 William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge published Lyrical Ballads, which Wordsworth called an experiment to discover how far the language of everyday conversation is adapted to the purpose of poetic pleasure. With this publication, he set in motion the formal movement called "Romanticism." 220 years later the experiment is continued on this podcast. This podcast seeks to reach those of us who wish to improve our inner world, increase our stores of happiness, and yet not succumb to the mystical or the subjective.Here, in this place of the imagination, you will find many conversation with those humans creating things that interest the human mind.
The Troubadour Podcast
Why Brutus Killed Caesar: Shakespeare’s Leadership & Betrayal Lessons
Unlock timeless leadership and betrayal lessons from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar as we explore the question: Why did Brutus kill Caesar? In this lecture, we dive into Brutus’s famous “serpent’s egg” soliloquy from Act 2, Scene 1 and unpack how his loyalty to Rome ultimately collides with his love for Caesar. Along the way, you’ll discover:
- Brutus’s Internal Conflict: How his philosophical reasoning convinces him that assassinating Caesar serves the common good.
- Cassius’s Manipulation: Why planted letters and echo chambers can blind even the noblest leaders to hidden agendas.
- Stoicism & Emotional Blind Spots: How Brutus’s Stoic restraint becomes a shield that prevents him from seeing his own ambition.
- Historical Impact: The assassination’s role in ending the Roman Republic and ushering in the Empire—plus modern parallels in today’s boardrooms and tech feuds.
- Practical Takeaways: Leadership red flags, moral agency under pressure, and the dangers of self-sabotage when you “destroy what you love.”