"Adapt or Die": The Warning Rome Gives America | Barry Strauss

<p>Interview recorded - 21st of October, 2026On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming on Barry Strauss. Barry is an Author, Hoover Senior Fellow, Cornell professor emeritus, amateur rower, traveler to Mediterranean places.During our conversation we spoke about the current situation around the world, what we can learn from history and the Romans, why we must be able to adapt, risk of collapse of the West and more. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction1:54 - Learning from history4:20 - Revolution leadership5:19 - Comparing today to the past6:46 - Overview of world9:16 - Fourth turning11:23 - End state of democracy?14:48 - Push away from civics16:13 - History unstable19:30 - China&#39;s rise?23:55 - Collapse of the Western Empire?27:19 - Equity in society33:54 - Drone revolution35:51 - Geopolitical Shift40:33 - Changing balance of power43:48 - France conflict48:08 - Messages to takeaway?Bestselling author Barry Strauss is a classicist and a military and naval historian and consultant. He is a recognized authority on leadership and the lessons that can be learned from the experiences of the greatest political and military leaders of the ancient world, among them, Caesar, Hannibal, and Alexander.Strauss is the Corliss Page Dean Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University as well as the Bryce and Edith M. Bowmar Professor in Humanistic Studies Emeritus at Cornell University, where he is the former Chair of the Department of History as well as Professor of History and Classics. He is Series Editor of Princeton’s Turning Points in Ancient History. He also served as Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Department of Defense Analysis at the Naval Postgraduate School. He holds a Ph.D. from Yale and a B.A. from Cornell.Professor Strauss has spent years researching and studying the leaders of the ancient world and has written and spoken widely of their mistakes and successes. He is also a widely acclaimed military and naval historian whose analyses of the strategies and campaigns of some of history’s great commanders reveal the successful rules of engagement that were true on the battlefield and resonate in today’s boardrooms and executive suites.Strauss is a winner of the 2025 Bradley Prize, honoring his lifelong dedication to the study and teaching of Western civilization and classical and military history.In recognition of his scholarship, Strauss was elected to membership of the American Academy of Sciences and L