The Ikarus Inspired Podcast

In this week's casual news recap I share three stories I've been focusing on. What news stories have YOU been following this weekend? Drop them in the comments!!My Three Stories: 🚨 Iran-Israel Escalation: Following Israeli strikes on Hezbollah positions across southern Lebanon and a ceasefire-breaking attack on Beirut, Iran launched its first wave of missiles at Israel since April. With Israel threatening retaliation, Trump urging Netanyahu to stand down, and Iran warning it could block the critical Bab al-Mandab Strait, we unpack the fragile power dynamics at play — and why a lasting ceasefire still feels far off.🗳️ Armenian Parliamentary Election: Armenia holds its first general election since the 2023 ethnic cleansing of Armenians from Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has declared early victory, but with coalition complications ahead and a constitutional referendum looming, his path to a peace deal with Azerbaijan is anything but simple. We also question whether the Western media's "Russia vs. West" framing is really the whole story.🎾 French Open 2026: Alexander Zverev finally breaks through to win his first Grand Slam, and 19-year-old Mirra Andreeva claims the women's title in a tournament full of major upsets. Get full access to athanasios at athanasiosjcy.substack.com/subscribe

Democracy vs. monarchy — which political system actually holds up under scrutiny? If you've never questioned democracy, this episode will.Filip (Pensive Pages) and I spend two hours doing something most political conversations won't — genuinely stress-testing the assumptions you've inherited about how society should be governed. Whether you're a firm believer in democracy or you've always had doubts, you'll walk away thinking differently.It's a philosophical debate that goes back centuries, and it's one you deserve to hear. Get full access to athanasios at athanasiosjcy.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, I use a classic Bulgarian novel by Ivan Vazzoff, called "Under the Yoke," to talk about what it means to kill another individual or animal. I talk about how technology, drones, and artificial intelligence has been designed to prevent humans from feeling the usual emotion and trepidation towards killing that has prevailed for centuries. That feeling of fear and trembling is a "Baptism of Blood," which is a term taken directly from the novel. Why is it a baptism to kill another man, because once you do so, you supposedly are cleansed from the moral codes that have so sanctimoniously defined our human civilization and life. To use a Lockean and Hobbesian term, you are now out of the social contract and into the state of nature.A baptism with Holy Water is a convenient with God, a cleansing of one’s sins and the providing of a clean state for those participating in the act. To murder someone, especially in the way that the three men have done, face to face, only a few paces away, looking them dead in the eye, reverses that covenant, it is thought, and establishes a new one with blood – whereby the sanctity of life carries slightly less weight and taking the blood of another is possible.Now to do so, to actually follow through on the act of these Bulgarian men is difficult, painful and scary – that is why they were petrified, “terrified” when they were given these orders. Man does not naturally, when he considers the totally of the action, want to take the life of another, but only does so, when he’s pushed into extraordinary circumstances or those circumstances fall upon him.But once he do so, it opens up a new world, a new baptism that is hard to come back from.Now to pivot slightly, what I have observed is that in modern times, we have set up our world in such a way as to make the baptism less painful, less difficult, less human.The mass killers of our world are not bandits, not criminals, not individuals or the mafia, but rather governments whose deployment of warfare with drones, artificial intelligence weapons, bombs, long range missiles, and all the rest etc etc… make it easy not to feel the real impact of killing hundreds if not thousands of people – and this is dangerous because as soon as you start reducing the price of the baptism in blood and make it more accessible to many – the more and more people that will take that oath whether they realize it or not – and not find a way back through repentance – the only means back from the blood baptism because they have and would not have understood the severity of the oath that they took.And we do it with animals, which perhaps we consider the killing of less severe – for food I mean – we allow ourselves to participate in the slaughter en mass by designing machines and systems to do all the work.Very few people grasp the full meaning of buying a chicken breast or a steak from a store and perhaps they would if they were forces to kill and produce it themselves. Get full access to athanasios at athanasiosjcy.substack.com/subscribe

As results roll in from the UK’s May 2026 local, Scottish, and Welsh Parliament elections, Matthew Brown and I break down what the numbers really mean for British politics. Reform UK is surging, Labour and the Conservatives are hemorrhaging seats, and the Greens are making inroads with younger voters — so is the traditional two-party system finally dead?Drawing on their years living in Edinburgh, we discuss the rise of Reform UK and what’s driving working-class voters away from the Tories, the SNP’s grip on Scottish politics despite growing incumbent fatigue, the possibility of a Scottish independence referendum, the NHS crisis and why no party seems to have a real answer, and why voter disillusionment is at an all-time high across England, Scotland, and Wales.Whether you’re a politics junkie or just trying to make sense of a rapidly shifting British political landscape, this is a candid, unscripted conversation that cuts through the noise. Get full access to athanasios at athanasiosjcy.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of The Ikarus Inspired Podcast, I explore the mythology of Hera — Greek goddess of marriage, women, and family — and unpacks the deeply human psychology beneath her legendary jealousy. From her persecution of Zeus’s lovers like Io and Echo, to her role in the Trojan War, Hera’s stories reveal a universal fear: the collapse of the kingdoms we build around our identity, status, and relationships. Drawing on pop culture references like Two and a Half Men and the philosophy of Voltaire and Nietzsche, this episode asks: what do we do when the structures that give our lives meaning start to fall apart? Whether you’re a mythology enthusiast, a psychology nerd, or simply someone navigating change, this episode offers timeless insight wrapped in an ancient story.Topics covered: Greek mythology, Hera, Zeus, Trojan War, psychology of jealousy, fear of replacement, Nietzsche, finding meaning, identity and status. Get full access to athanasios at athanasiosjcy.substack.com/subscribe

On the eve of Bulgaria’s April 19th parliamentary election, I sat down with Filip Karaivanov — born in Sofia, now based in Edinburgh — for a deep-dive conversation on why this vote matters far beyond Bulgaria’s borders.We unpack the country’s long struggle with post-Soviet corruption, explain how its parliamentary system actually works (and why the president’s power to appoint caretaker governments has become a major political flashpoint), and explore whether the rising Progressive Bulgaria party can finally break a years-long coalition stalemate.The global stakes are real: like Georgia in 2024, this election is being framed as a referendum on whether Bulgaria leans West or tilts toward Moscow. Filip pushes back on that framing — and offers a more nuanced read of what change in Bulgaria could actually look like.Key themes: Eastern European geopolitics · EU vs. Russia · anti-corruption politics · parliamentary coalitions · Balkan history Get full access to athanasios at athanasiosjcy.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of the The Ikarus Inspired Podcast delves into the often overlooked Assyrian genocide with esteemed Professor of Law, Hannibal Travis from Florida International University. The conversation explores the historical context of the Assyrian genocide during World War I, its connections to the Armenian genocide, and the continuing impact on Assyrian populations today. Professor Travis provides a detailed account of the persecution the Assyrians faced, the geopolitical factors involved, and the ongoing struggle for recognition and reparations. The episode also discusses broader themes of genocide recognition and the challenges in prosecuting and preventing such atrocities. Using in-depth historical and legal analysis, this episode sheds light on one of history's less acknowledged yet significant genocides.I hope you appreciate this insightful conversation about this important part of history. Links: Join this channel to get access to perks:About Dr. Hannibal TravisHannibal Travis is a professor of Law at Florida International University. He has taught and conducted research in the fields of cyberlaw, intellectual property, international and comparative law, human rights, genocide studies, antitrust, and telecommunications. He is also the author of numerous scholarly articles and books on the Assyrian Genocide including: “Native Christians Massacred”: The Ottoman Genocide of the Assyrians during World War I; Genocide in the Middle East: The Ottoman Empire, Iraq and Sudan; Missions, Minorities, and the Motherland: Xenophobic Narratives of an Ottoman Christian “Stab in the Back”; The Greek Minority’s Fate in the Former Ottoman Empire as a Human-Rights Crisis in The Genocide of the Christian Populations in the Ottoman Empire and its Aftermath (1908-1923); and the editor and author of two chapters in The Assyrian Genocide: Cultural and Political Legacies;Books and Articles by Professor Travis on The Assyrian Genocide: : Assyrian Genocide: https://www.amazon.com/Assyrian-Genocide-Hannibal-Travis/dp/0367348640Genocide in the Middle East: The Ottoman Empire, Iraq, and Sudan: nhttps://www.amazon.com/Genocide-Middle-East-Ottoman-Empire/dp/1594604363“Native Christians Massacred”: The Ottoman Genocide of the Assyrians during World War I: https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/gsp/vol1/iss3/8/Missions, Minorities, and the Motherland: Xenophobic Narratives of an Ottoman Christian “Stab in the Back: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-journal-of-middle-east-studies/article/missions-minorities-and-the-motherland-xenophobic-narratives-of-an-ottoman-christian-stab-in-the-back/09ADB28D8DECE21F5212B6D85D76AE0A Articles by Professor Travis: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=49605900:00 Intro03:21 Who Are the Assyrians?10:43: Basic Facts About the Assyrian Genocide14:21 How Were the Assyrians Treated Under The Ottoman Empire?23:59 What Were the Catalysts for the Assyrian Genocide? 35:13 Attempts to Re-Establish an Assyrian State38:36 Who Were the Young Turks?43:01 Allies and Adversaries During World War 1 52:30 What Makes a Genocide a Genocide?56:33 The Difficulties of Establish Genocidal Intent? 01:03:24 The Ottoman's Admission of Genocide01:09:20 Counter Arguments to Genocide Label01:17:27 How Many Assyrians Are Left?01:19:59 The Benefits of Labeling it as Genocide01:25:54 Reparations for the Assyrians Today?01:28:45 The Reverse CNN Effect and Assyrian Persecution Today?#assyrians #christianpersecution Get full access to athanasios at athanasiosjcy.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of the Ikarus Inspired Podcast: Myths Edition, we explore the Greek myth of Atlas, the Titan condemned to hold up the world for eternity. But was Atlas’s punishment only physical—or was it also psychological?Using the myth of Atlas as a lens, this episode reflects on the mental weight of responsibility, the modern experience of information overload, and the growing sense of helplessness many people feel in a world saturated with global crises. From ancient Greek mythology to contemporary anxiety, depression, and moral overwhelm, this episode connects mythic symbolism to everyday life.Perfect for listeners interested in Greek myths, philosophy, psychology, meaning, and the emotional toll of living in a hyper-connected world. Get full access to athanasios at athanasiosjcy.substack.com/subscribe

As I reflect upon the greater part of the weekend, I realized that I came out of it a better person, more knowledgeable, more wise, and having accomplished certain things that I set out to do. I wish I could reflect at the present moment more profoundly.On the readings of Alexander the Great. It’s remarkable to me that I almost shed a tear at the point in the book when Alexander died, because I had become so connected to the character in the book. Now, when Alexander died, or right before he died, his last words remained so true to his commitment to excellence above all else.When asked who should succeed him? Who should be the new king of the world’s largest empire at the time, he replied, quote, the strongest one. Alexander never bothered with lineage or nationalism. What he cared about was greatness. On a fundamental level, and it’d be easy to sit back here and scrutinize all the atrocities that the Macedonians did in fact commit under his direction, dismissing him as a great evil tyrant. That would be easy. And that’s certainly a route you can take in a case you can make.But the fact remains. Alexander’s occupation or his field of practice was war. And as far as war was an art at that time, Alexander excelled in it. He excelled in that art. I think that one conclusion that I found myself strangely admitting at the end of the book was that Alexander was truly great, not just in a mystical sense of the word, like, yeah, he expanded the Macedonian Empire, and that’s great and all.But at his craft as a general in the art of War, he was quite literally great. However terrible the rules of war were at the time, however terrible the mechanisms through which people conducted war at that time, however terrible and awful war is in general, and as an art. But so much as it isn’t art or wasn’t art, he excelled in it.And one of the most fascinating examples of this was on Alexander’s return back from India en route to Macedonia. Now, as he’s retreating back, Alexander stops by the tomb of the great King of Persia, Cyrus the Great. Now Persia at the time was the Greeks foe the Greeks enemy. But Alexander wanted to go and pay his respects to the great king.And when he comes to that tomb and finds it defiled by the Greeks, we put in charge after conquering it, after conquering Persia. Alexander’s horrified that a great king, albeit an enemy king, has been mistreated. And so what does he do? He orders a massive investigation into who was responsible, severely punishing them and ordering the tombs. Immediate restoration.All of this because greatness mattered to Alexander more than anything. Get full access to athanasios at athanasiosjcy.substack.com/subscribe

After waking up at 3:30 a.m. to watch Novak Djokovic lose to Carlos Alcaraz in the Australian Open final, I found myself asking a simple question: why do I care so much?In this reflective episode, I explore the emotional pull of sports fandom, nostalgia, identity, and the difficulty of letting go of the things that once brought us pure joy. A meditation on gratitude, aging, and choosing what we care about—even when it hurts. Get full access to athanasios at athanasiosjcy.substack.com/subscribe