You don't know your Roman History unless...

you do. But if you don't, then you should really get your tail and ears over to Mike Duncan's History of Rome podcast and blog. I'm only about 12 hours into it (!) but I can say it's fascinating, well paced, and very informative. Mike does a great job of distilling the most thoroughly researched ancient people in history down to digestable 20-ish minute podcasts that really show both the events and the uniquely Roman mindset that made them great (and then, later, not so great).

Don't let the author's somewhat deadpan delivery turn you off... it's a devious feint so his sardonic wit can catch you even further off guard. Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the podcast so far:

On divination about an impending naval battle with Carthage:

What made [the Romans] think they'd be victorious without the approval of
the sacred chickens is beyond me.

On the less-than-honest actions of a certain senator:

Boo, Claudius. Boooo. (Sounding bored now) Booooo-oooo-oooooooooooooo. Ooo.

On the conversation between Hannibal and Scippio Africanus in Syria some years after the 3rd Punic war:

Who's the best general now, suckah?

In the interest of full disclosure, The History of Rome may not keep you enthralled if you're already a keen student of Roman history - it does too good a job of hitting high points and keeping the facts breezy to allow for deep exploration. But for those of us whose knowledge of Rome doesn't challenge that of their stolen Gods, this is a great find.