Leonard Lopate at Large: Professor Edward J. Watts

“Readers will find many parallels to today’s fraught political environment,” reads the Publisher’s Weekly review of “Mortal Republic: How Rome Fell into Tyranny” by UC San Diego professor Edward J. Watts. “The powerful influence of money in politics, a delegitimized establishment and the emergence of a personality-driven, populist politicking…His well-crafted analysis makes clear the subject matter’s relevance to contemporary political conversations.” While Americans often compare this particular moment in the nation’s history to the fall of Rome, in this installment of the show, Leonard and Prof. Watts will examine the concrete similarities between the end of their civilization and ours.