Where this was said
Bonnius Blues
At 23:33 · chapter starts 21:06
With Claudius's conquest complete and his imperial power at its height, Fin introduces the woman who arguably ran the show: Empress Messalina. Renowned for her promiscuity, she reportedly competed with Rome's most famous prostitutes to see how many men she could sleep with — making her, as Fin dubs her, 'Bonnius Lewis, the original Bonnie Blue.' [1] — Fin Taylor "Empress Messalina was reportedly so sexually prolific that she competed with Rome's most famous prostitutes to see how many men she could s…" 29:30 Horatio connects Messalina's dominance to Claudius's wider pattern of being controlled by the women in his life, both politically and sexually — 'much like Blair,' Fin notes, pivoting to an extended riff on Cherie Blair as Lady Macbeth pulling Tony's strings. The Cherie Blair tangent becomes so consuming that Fin theatrically announces he needs to pause the episode for personal reasons.
The word 'Philistine' — meaning an uncultured, anti-intellectual person — traces directly back to the Biblical enemies of Israel. It entered English via 17th century German slang. The hosts point out the extraordinary irony that what Jewish people called their ancient enemies became a standard English put-down.
