# How Civilizations Die - with Paul Cooper

An episode of [Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1484511465), 5 Jun 2026, 42 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdrl.fm/18db03/tracking.swap.fm/track/SxlTEPDY7xDg35RXkASs/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/c0ae8c6e-22f0-4e9b-ac1c-ae390037ac53/429f62b2-c891-445d-8bf4-b45f013785b6/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=7f5a4714-6b10-4ccf-a424-ae390037ac70

As Governor of Britannia, Magnus Maximus has a huge army at his disposal, which is just what he needs to secure the Roman imperial throne. But perhaps the impressive general should have looked into the past before focusing on his future. Tim is joined by Paul Cooper, host of Fall of Civilizations Podcast, to explore why powerful civilizations such as the Assyrians, the Han dynasty and the Roman Empire all ultimately collapsed. Paul Cooper is the author of Fall of Civilizations: Stories of Greatness and Decline. For a full list of show notes, see timharford.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them.