The episode starts with a modern version of the Aeneid. Please forgive me, Virgil. Annie meets a guy visiting from overseas and conspires to keep him in Chicago so she can work her charms on him. It's a 'chicklit' with the makings of a great 'chick movie.' Do you hear that SONY PICTURES?

Mr. Cain then interviews Natalie Haynes who has written the book THE ANCIENT GUIDE TO MODERN LIFE. How modern are our lives? Or are we still living the lives our ancestors lived? Whether political, cultural, or social, there are endless parallels between the ancient and modern worlds. Whether it’s the murder of Caesar or the political assassination of Thatcher; the narrative arc of the hit HBO series, The Wire, or that of Oedipus; the popular enthusiasm for the Emperor Titus or President Obama – over and over again we can be seen to be living very much like people did 2,000 or more years ago. It’s time for us to re-examine the past. Our lives are infinitely richer if we take the time to look at what the Greeks and Romans have given us in politics and law, religion and philosophy and education, and to learn how people really lived in Athens, Rome, Sparta and Alexandria. This is a book with a serious point to make but the author isn’t just a classicist but a comedian and broadcaster who has made television and radio documentaries about humour, education and Dorothy Parker. This is a book for us all, not for an elite.

The show concludes with a plug for the podcast: TWILIGHT HISTORIES by Jordan Harbour. "Listen to the extraordinary podcast: ROME INDUSTRIAL.