It's our first anniversary of the show, For Love of the World: Conversations with the Hannah Arendt Center on Radio Kingston! Host Roger Berkowitz discusses with James Romm, the James H. Ottaway Jr. Professor of Classics at Bard College, his forthcoming book Plato and The Tyrant, set to be published by Norton in May. The conversation covers Plato's relationships with the rulers of Syracuse, particularly focusing on Dionysius the Elder and the Younger, as well as Dion. Romm and Berkowitz explore the concepts of philosopher kings, the intersection of love and political philosophy, and the relevance of Plato’s political ideas in today's world. The discussion also touches on Hannah Arendt’s interpretation of Plato's philosophy and its implications for modern-day governance and political systems.
00:00 Introduction
00:27 Roger's South American Tour
01:10 Introducing James Romm and His Work
01:35 Plato and His Philosophical Influence
04:22 Dion and the Politics of Syracuse
05:50 Plato's Visits to Syracuse
12:36 The Controversy of Plato's Motives
16:05 The Seventh Letter and Plato's Third Trip to Syracuse
17:26 Plato's Exile and Enslavement
18:49 The Love Triangle and Political Intrigue
20:39 Plato and the Tyrants: A Complex Relationship
24:33 Philosopher Kings and the Role of Philosophy in Governance
30:47 The Lure of Authoritarianism and Plato's Naivety
34:42 Final Thoughts
Plato and the Tyrant (Norton, May 2025) is a hard look at Plato's political misadventure in the Greek city of Syracuse, where Plato collaborated with a despotic regime in hopes of moderating its absolutism, and at the ways his Republic is connected, in disquieting ways, to that Syracusan episode.
James Romm is the James H. Ottaway Jr. Professor of Classics at Bard College and author of numerous books on topics from Greek history and culture. His essays and reviews appear regularly in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Review of Books and the London Review of Books.
Romm's work has also been published in Lapham's Quarterly, which recently announced its new stewardship under Bard College’s Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and Humanities. Learn more and donate online at https://bardian.bard.edu/register/Laphams.
