Category: Series

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More or Less: Behind the Stats - Can Elon Musk save the US Government $2 trillion?

President Elect Donald Trump has created a new government advisory group ? the Department of Government Efficiency or ?DOGE? - to help cut the US budget.

The world richest man, Elon Musk, will co-head the department and has pledged to cut ?at least $2 trillion? to ?balance the budget?. But is this possible? We talk to Professor Linda Bilmes about what DOGE could or couldn?t do and how she balanced the budget in the 1990?s.

Presenter: Charlotte McDonald Producer: Lizzy McNeill Series producer: Tom Colls Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison Sound Mix: Andrew Mills Editor: Richard Vadon

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Byzantium And The Crusades - BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT – ‘Justinian’s Empire’ Book 4 in The Fall of the Roman Empire

It’s Nick Holmes from the Byzantium and the Crusades podcast. Although I’m no longer making new episodes of this podcast, I thought you might be interested in my latest project which is a series of books as well as a new podcast on the Fall of the Roman Empire.
And I’m contacting you because my latest book, and the fourth in my Roman series, called  ‘Justinian’s Empire’, is out now on Amazon in ebook and paperback. It will be with other distributors later and also available in audiobook probably within the next six months. 
It's about the triumph and tragedy of the late Roman Emperor Justinian’s reign. Triumph because Justinian’s general, Belisarius, recovered North Africa and Italy from the barbarians. Justinian also created a new law code that would endure to this day. And he built extraordinary monuments, like the iconic Hagia Sophia in modern Istanbul, rivalling the great buildings of Ancient Rome.
But all that glitters is not gold. There was also tragedy in his reign, especially with a mini ice-age that caused famine and bubonic plague. And I also suggest Justinian was a ruthless opportunist, and his western conquests drained the empire’s wealth and critically weakened its army.
So, rather than restoring Rome’s greatness did he in fact pave the way for its catastrophic collapse less than a century after his death?

I think the ebook is also really good value at only $4.99 in the US and £3.99 in the UK – probably cheaper than a cup of over-priced coffee! – and certainly cheaper than most other books on the Roman Empire. Paperback is obviously more expensive since I can’t control the printing costs.
The links to Amazon US and Amazon UK are in the notes to this and I do hope you’ll take a look, and if you do buy it and you’re feeling generous why not leave a review? I’d love to hear your feedback.
Thanks for listening and I hope you continue to enjoy Byzantium and the Crusades!

Please take a look at my website nickholmesauthor.com where you can download a free copy of The Byzantine World War, my book that describes the origins of the First Crusade.

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The Indicator from Planet Money - What’s in your wallet? Ask the new Treasury Secretary

Many were waiting longer than expected to hear Donald Trump name his nominee for Treasury Secretary, the person in charge of pursuing his economic agenda. Now, we have an answer: hedge fund manager Scott Bessent. Today on the show, what are the actual implications of what a Treasury Secretary does on you and me? And how does the Treasury Department affect regular Americans?

Related episodes:
The IRS wants to do your taxes for free. Will it last? (Apple / Spotify)
The U.S. economy's biggest superpower, explained (Apple / Spotify)

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