Ancient Rome Refocused

I really really wish this cast was still up. I always go back and listen to old ones. I cannot get enough. I guess life got in the way for Rob Cain. Its a shame. Miss his voice. I get stoned and wonder what the dude is doing now.?

Some episodes are hit or miss, but overall Rob Cain does a great job of presenting Roman history in a very immersive and thought-proviking fashion. I like the show, but some of the subject matter, especially in later episodes, has been a little bit less exciting. Hopefully it’s not in a decline like Rome’s, and will resurge in all its glory!

If you want chronological view of Rome, then this may not be for you. However, if you want to feel how it was like to live in the period, or to get an understanding of how our current world compares in certain aspects covered by the various episodes in this podcast, this is well worth a listen. I don’t believe this podcast is trying to be a complete history of the period, rather it takes interesting topics, event, people or aspects of society and tries to give the listener an appreciation of th... more

Quality shows in many ways and the blend of fact and fiction is well considered.

Heavy on content, but light on originality, this podcast tries to be more than a dull affair in history. The result is lackluster; the narration and formatting leave something to be desired (if you want to be accessible, maybe 1.5 hour episodes is the wrong way to do it!) and it can get preachy and repetitive, even with its tumultuous and varied subject matter.

i could only manage half an episode, pretty ordinary. The way this bloke talks is pretty funny, imagine an over the top cliche' hollywood actor doing shakespear hard to take anything he says seriously.

Mike Duncans history of rome this is not.

Ancient Rome Refocused fleshes out and brings life to that list of Emperors. Though Rome is ever-present in today's world, from science, to politics, to even our own English language (much more if you speak one of Latin's linguistic daughters), Rome's presence in today's world is ubiquitous.

Rob Cain adds a sense of belonging, of standing at the Forum, in the Senate or at a villa and experience a day in the life of Rome with each episode! It is a great podcast, highly recommended.

Finally!... another instalment in one of my favorite podcasts. I started my quest to understand Rome with Mr. Duncan's History but, Mr. Cain is by far more entertaining. His style is, in my humble opinion, much more engaging than Dan Carlin's Hardcore. He's like the Uncle you see on holidays & can't wait for the stories after dinner; complete with voices and flamboyant gestures!

Hey, gotta tell you, your podcast is great! In my latest trip with my son we listened to, among others, the "I'm an Emperor and Your Not" podcast, and it really freaked him out (he's eight). I got to explain to him how being the most powerful man in the world might not be as great as it is cracked up to be and what all that freaky whispering was suppose to mean. Of course, he annoyed me for the next couple days with his own "freaky whispering."

Anyways, your dramatizations are the "hook" th... more

I know the podcaster is knowledgable. And i know he loves his subject. But, to be honest, this is a rather dull historical podcast. I just couldnt keep my mind on the narrative and i really struggled to understand the theme of each episode. To be honest,it appears to be an unfocused ramble about Rome. If you really want a good, solid, interesting and informative podcast about ancient Rome that is also funny; i recommend The British History Podcast. I really tried to get into 'refocused' (four ep... more

Mr. Cain,

I'm writing to plea for more episodes! I've listened to those available far too quickly.

This is a great podcast for those pondering the dark side of the human condition, the origins of modern life, and a poetical and digestible taste of history.

Bear

This podcast is great ( a part for the music half way through the first one ). It bring a different way of looking at history it really drag you in to the past and compares modern time to Rome times. It could do with some little improvement but that is me just nick picking

I've really enjoyed the episodes I've heard so far.

In this podcast, Cain uses a story-telling approach to discuss the life, culture, and society of ancient Rome. The episodes are somewhat hit or miss for me, and though I think his perspective has potential, his production quality definitely has room to grow before he reaches the caliber of Mike Duncan or Dan Carlin.

I very much enjoyed his episodes on the hardships of roman life and the episodes on spartacus, but other episodes often lack either quality or appeal. I really wanted to like his st... more

I recently subscribed and listened to all ten of the episodes available on iTunes. Overall they have been highly entertaining, though if you're already a Roman history buff you won't be learning much that you didn't already know. That being said I found the dramatic narratives at the beginning to be riveting and the interviews keep my interest throughout.

Two small complaints however. First, please ditch the several minute long musical interludes as (for me anyway) they are highly annoying... more