On Plato's "Apology"

In 399 BC, the Greek philosopher Socrates was on trial. He believed in free-thought and sought truth by questioning everything, including society. And the Athenian government decided he was dangerous. Plato’s Apology is a first-person account of Socrates’ trial written in the form of a “dialogue,” an exploration of philosophical ideas through real and imagined conversations. Steven Smith is a professor of Political Science and Political Philosophy at Yale University. His research focuses on the problem of the ancients and moderns, and he is the author of books such as Modernity and Its Discontents and Reading Leo Strauss. See more information on our website, WritLarge.fm. Follow us on Twitter @WritLargePod. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Om Podcasten

There’s more to a book than what’s written on its pages: a book can change the world. In each episode of Writ Large, host Zachary Davis talks with one of the world’s leading scholars about one book that shaped the world we live in—whether you’ve heard of it or not. These conversations go beyond the plot summaries to unpack each book’s context and creation, and reveal its lasting influence on the ideas of today. Learn more at writlarge.fm