Oh What A Time... - #130 Alexander the Great (Part 1)

Episode Date: August 10, 2025

It’s time to set the stage for one of history’s biggest names. We meet Alexander’s parents: Olympias (possibly sleeping with gods) and Philip II (definitely sleeping with everyone else).Plus, is everything in Alexander the Great’s life explained by the fact he effectively lived in a branch of David Lloyd? If you’ve got more on this, please email: [e-mail] you fancy a bunch of OWAT content you’ve never heard before (and the entirety of the mini-series right now!), why not treat yourself and become an Oh What A Time: FULL TIMER?Up for grabs is:- two bonus episodes every month!- ad-free listening- episodes a week ahead of everyone else- And much moreSubscriptions are available via AnotherSlice and Wondery +. For all the links head to: ohwhatatime.comYou can also follow us on: X (formerly Twitter) at @ohwhatatimepodAnd Instagram at @ohwhatatimepodAaannnd if you like it, why not drop us a review in your podcast app of choice?Thank you to Dan Evans for the artwork (idrawforfood.co.uk).Chris, Elis and Tom xSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Oh, what a time and welcome to, on a history podcast, quite a historic occasion. This is our first ever 10-part mini-series on one subject, and that subject is Alexander. Anton Depp. It's Big John Bosch. His, the history of the Bosch, no, on Alexander the Great. Do you want to quote here from a leading historian Paul Cartledge, the A.G. Leventis professor of Greek culture at Cambridge University about Alexander the Great, which captures why this man is of such importance. In a reign of 13 years, Alexander the Great shot across the Greek and Middle East

infirmament like a meteor, transforming whatever he, often brutally touched, and ensuring the ancient world, and so eventually our world could never be the same again. Now, this is a great quote coming. Until the internet age, Alexander the Great was probably the most famous human being who ever lived. There you. Wow. So this is a man, Big call? It is, it is a big call. Who would you go with then? Pele?

Well, pre-internet. So what, before 1994? Yes, before 1994. The most famous man who ever lived? He's more famous than Noel Edmonds. The first name, that's. Yes. Although I think Edmonds and Alexander the Great would have a lot in common.

I'd like to chuck Jesus into the mix. Oh, yeah. As impossible consent. Aller. Yeah. I didn't mean to be scuttling the appearance. opinion of Paul Cartliss so early in our podcast, by the way. I can give you more of this quote.

He says his astounding career of conquest inspired, not just Caesar and Augustus, but also Mark Anthony, Napoleon, Hitler and other would-be world conquerors from the West. Basically, 13 years. 13 years. So two years more than Thatcher. And look what he achieved. Three years more than Blair. That's incredible.

Half of Alex Ferguson's reign at Man United. What I find most amazing is he done all this by the age of 30 as well. Well, what had you done by the time? Had you conquered Persia by the time you were 30? Where were you? What was your... What did I do? Oh, the age of 30.

Oh, my God. I owned a car. That really is it. And the car I bought off my dad. Oh, my God. That is pathetic. Whenever someone says Alexander the Great conquered the known world by the age of 30, I always think of that Sid Wardale quote.

Eric Bristow. Yeah, me too. I was actually googling it. Alexander the Great had conquered the known world by the age of 30. Eric Bristow is only 28. He actually said, when Alexander of Macedonia was 33, he cried salt tears because they were no more worlds to conquer. Eric Bristow's only 27.

There we go. What I loved was Sid Waddell. Sid Waddell had a very working class background from the northeastern England. I don't know what this is referring to, by the way. You should explain. Darts. The famous Darts commentator, Sidwardell. And also our overseas listeners, you may not know about this. There was a very famous Darts commentator who was the voice of Darts in the UK. He was the British voice of Darts, a man called Sid Waddell. And he was very interesting because he loved Darts and he took dance incredibly seriously, as all commentators should. You can't, you know. But he, even though he had a very working class background and had grown up around Darts in working men's clubs in the northeast of England, he, I think, had studied history at Cambridge.

he would often give these historical parallels to great moments in dance. And that is the most famous one, where he compares Eric Bristow's early success. Great. When Alexander Macedonia was 33, he cried salt tears because they were no more worlds left to conquer. Eric Bristow's only 27. You know, until the internet age,

Eric Bristow was the second most famous man ever to have lived. The point we're trying to make, though, is that Alexander the Great is a man who deserve more than one podcast episode. He's a man whose life is just staggering. It is genuinely staggering what this person achieved, both horrific and incredible. And we're going to cover that. And he's the perfect warm-up to our eight-part series on Eric Bristow as well. Oh, yes. It would have been very, very unsatisfying to do Alexander the Great, even in one episode.

Yes. Yeah. You know, all three parts around him, it's not enough because the guy is a big deal. Now, I studied modern history at university. I know very little about Alexander the Great, so we've been furnished by our great historian researcher, Dr. Daryl Leworthy. I knew that he was from Macedon or ancient Macedonia. I've been to North Macedonia, and until I googled it this morning, I thought they were the same place, and they're not. So basically, that is the point at which I am coming at this topic from.

I'm now imagining you, I'm assuming this is Wales away. It was, it was a World Cup qualifying. Yeah. And you are turning to your fellow fans and saying things like, look at us coming, following the footsteps of the great Alexander the Great, thinking you're being really bright and intelligent and actually getting it completely wrong. Because I occasionally write pieces about Welsh football for The Guardian,

I'm absolutely delighted that I didn't write one about that because I think I probably would have chucked it in there to try and look clever, and then the comments would have been an absolute car crash. So I'm looking forward to this I have made a point of only learning about the sections of his life that I am covering so the stuff you'll be telling me

will be a genuine surprise to me so I'm very excited to find out about the stuff around that I now know about before we get into the great man himself should we do a little bit of correspondence to kick things off as always It's not just about us

It's also about your fantastic emails The email I've picked out from the mega sack today is I don't feel like that's going to catch up. Trademark, mega sack is from Patrick Murphy. He says, Tom, Ellis, Chris and Oxford Daryl.

Greetings from the Colonies. During episode 113 unlikely sports stars, Tom, when discussing Pope John Paul II playing football, said, they are always really elderly, aren't they? My understanding is they're always getting on a bit. not true Tom you are the victim of a recency bias there you go this is the sort of the intelligence of the listeners we're getting

we're getting comments like you are a victim of recency bias that's the sort of people we're dealing with here half remembered historical facts throughout history there have been several young popes but the leader in the clubhouse after two millennia is pope benedict the ix which makes it the fourth is that the ninth there we go that's good thank goodness this isn't a history pod depending on sources

Niner as I'm sure his friends called him in private could have been as young as I'd like to guess how young this Pope was Oh it's going to be something ridiculous Like 13, is it? Okay, we've got 13 from 11 Or if you'd combine your answer

You'd been correct he was 12 When he took office Yes I said that from the first time He was even the most sensible 12 year old It's not ready to be God's representative on earth. That's a great shame, isn't it?

Because I don't think any 12-year-old, even if you had the wisest person who ever lived and he was 12, you're just not getting that shout. You're not getting called up. I think you're a movie called the prepubescent Pope. That's what it's called.

It's got a nice, nice alliteration in there. It would be massive in Spain, Italy, Ireland, or the Catholic country. South America, you'd clean up. Well, let me tell you more about this. This was his first time he elected to office.

He was actually elected to the office on three separate occasions. We've got a suggestion here from Patrick. This could be a rich sitcom material for Tom, assuming he never wants to visit Italy again. Just imagine a pontiff riding a skateboard around the Vatican in an Added a track suit. Closer to home, I think. Papal superlatives will make a riveting episode to be suggesting that there's a thing. Interesting, though, because to keep going back, I'm racking my brain,

trying to think of managers have gone back. David Moyes in Everton. Howard Kendall had a second go at Everton. Kenny Dalglish had a second go at Liverpool. You know, it's never quite the same. in the second time round, does it? Do I reckon he filmed that? I was a better Pope when I was 12.

More instinctive. Absolutely. Do you know what sticks out to me, though, when I think about it? My understanding of the decision making about who becomes the Pope is that all the pokes sit around and discuss it and decide which of them is going to be the best next Pope. That's right, isn't it? And then they put smoke up and that guy is the Pope.

Is that my correct? That's the basic working. The way you've described it is really, reduced it from the amazing tradition that's in my mind. But essentially, that's what it is. They have a chat about who's going to be the best Pope, and then the best Pope is decided. What is the situation where the 12-year-old has been chosen and is considered the best?

Who are the other options in the room? Well, Tom, but isn't the whole process, it's very secretive. So although they're locked in that room deciding, could it actually be a little skateboarding contest? Are they playing mouse truck? It's a monopoly. We don't know how they're. actually decide we think they're discussing it.

It could be lots of little competitions, Tetris. That's a really good point, actually. Sensible soccer. Imagine his school report. Yeah, he's a bright boy. Unfortunately, he has taken his eye off the ball academically a little bit by being God's representative on earth at the age of 12.

And so I am worried about his sats. He's always late because the Pope-mobile so slow as well on the way into school. Being driven in by his mum, embarrassed. We actually think it's gone to his head a little bit. So thank you very much for that, Patrick. That is a I stand corrected. There was a much younger

pote than I expected. They're not always getting on. I was entirely wrong. If any of you lot want to get in contact and correct us on anything else, here's how. All right, you horrible lot. Here's how you can stay in touch with the show. You can

email us at hello and oh what a time. And you can follow us on Instagram and Twitter at, oh, what a time, pod. Now, clear off. Reports suggest that Canadian taste buds are bored to tears. My mouse can't handle another dull drink. Summertime smoothie experts everywhere are recommending a watermelon wake-up from booster juice. It's so smooth, cool, and refreshing.

And ridiculously delicious. Enjoy the watermelon wave and watermelon explosion smoothies available all summer long at a booster juice near you. Stay cool, Canada. Booster Juice, Canadian-born, blending since 1999. I'm John Robbins, and on my podcast, I sit down with incredible people to ask the very simple question, how do you cope? From confronting grief and mental health struggles to finding strength in failure. Every episode is a raw and honest exploration of what it means to be human. not always easy, but it's always real. Whether you're looking for inspiration, comfort, or just

a reminder that you're not alone in life's messier moments, join me on How Do You Cope? Follow now wherever you get your podcasts, or listen to episodes early and ad-free on Wondery Plus. How Do You Cope is brought to you by Audible, who make it easy to embark on a wellness journey that fits your life, with thousands of audiobooks, guided meditations and motivational series. Welcome to our 10-part mini-series on Alexander the Great. In this episode, I will be talking you through the origins of the conqueror himself. Boys, what are you discussing?

After that, I'm going to be telling you about his education. It's mind-blowing who he was taught by, I'll be honest. And I'll be discussing what we know about Alexander the Great. And because obviously he lived such a long time ago, there aren't an enormous amount of principal sources. And then if you want to enjoy the full Alexander the Great story, you can now if you are an oh what a time full timer so all the episodes are now available for subscribers so you can absolutely spend your summer binging on the story of alexander the grey if you so wish but shall we begin back in 356 BCE let's go back in time Alexander the third of

Macedon has just been born there he is look at him gorgeous oh how recently born because They're a bit slimy to begin So you say gorgeous But there's an initial 15 seconds When they're not gorgeous And they need to be wiped down Don't worry it up They've cleaned him up

He's all right He's all right He's nesting The old 15 seconds Where you think to yourself Oh my God What have I done? What is that?

I've bitten off more than I can chew you Oh shit I know this is very early To go tangential But did you cut the umbilical cord God no I said I'll mess it up Yeah that's what happened Did they ask me

I said no you do it I think this is this is your area Yeah yeah You carry on. I did it, but it's like, I don't want to do this. I just like the peer pressure. I didn't want to get into the chat about it, so I did do it. But I was like, you're the professionals.

When a cleaner doesn't come around your house and go, do you want to do it? Yeah, I've got a squidgy if you want it. Don't delegate. I say there's a 15% chance. I'm going to cut the wrong thing. And it could be anything. It could be a cable running up to some kind of heart monitor. It could be my son's tone.

So I'm just getting in a war panic the wrong thing. That was basically why he said. I said, I said, I was like, I just cut his leg off. So just do it. And I'll do it to prove a point. So you don't make me do it. It's so disgusting as well. Like, well, I don't know what that thing is.

It's kind of weird. It's not disgusting. It's amazing. It makes, you know, it provides life in the womb, I'd say. It's actually the most beautiful thing around. Still got mine. It's really nice. The touch to me, yeah.

You wear it as a belt, don't you? It's 200 miles long because my mother lives in West Wales. Your dad refused to cut it. It's nice. Your mum can always find you. When she needs you to come back home, she'll sort of like start to roll it in. Yeah, she'll just yank it.

Do you know one of those things that hoses are on in a garden? Well, you turn the wheel and it brings you back in. It's quite sweet. Good idea, actually. On a night out as well, you can just tie your umbilical cord to like the giraffe beer and just pour it in without having to go to the bar. Yeah, yeah. There you go. So he's popped out, okay, Alexander the Great. He's looking great, according to you.

He's had the wipe down. That's where he's post-wiped-down. He's a post-wiped-down baby. Lovely. Cotton bed sheets, there he is, snoozing. He would reign Alexander III of Macedon from 336 to 323 BC, and he would go on to become one of the most, as we've established, famous figures in all of history. But let's start his story before he's born. Let's start it with his parents and a family history that was already quite, turbulent before he was born. His father is kind of a big deal. So Philip II of Macedon wasn't expected to take the throne, very much like Queen Elizabeth II's dad, George the 6th. Oh yeah. He was kind of expected to be a spare. He was in the royal family, but never expected to take the throne. He had two older brothers, Alexander the second, and Perdiccas,

the third, as well as three younger stepbrothers. So he's like the Prince Harry of the ancient world, basically, isn't he? I think he's even Yeah. Lower than Prince Harry. Really? He's well down the queues. He's got two older brothers. So there's no, he's, he's less than Harry.

Okay. And he's got three younger stepbrothers as well. He's got a daily male pullout, but you wouldn't recognize him in the street. I don't think he's even on a plate, you know? He's not even at the back, the pullout at the back. No, no. He is on a plate, but the people who have his plate are complete of balls.

He's second row of St. Paul's when the Queen dies, basically. He's like the second row of pews. So he's just behind sort of Kate and William. And you can see him. Yeah. Nicholas Witchell knows it is. Your average punter in the street doesn't. That's perfect.

So Philip II of Macedon, he was born in 382 BC. He's the younger son of King Amintus III. As I mentioned, he's got two older brothers. Alexander II, Peridicus, the third, as well as three younger stepbrothers. Now the path of the kingship, as I've mentioned, it is very crowded. Philip is far, far, far from the front of the line. But Macedon was a dangerous place for kings.

In 368 BC, Philip's older brother, Alexander II, was assassinated. The throne then passes to the next brother, Perdicchus III. His reign doesn't last long, either. He dies in battle in 360 BC. With both older brothers gone, Philip stepped in as regent for his young Neufus. nephew, the new king, Amintas the 4th. So his nephew, even his nephews, ahead of him. Wow. But Philip was a skilled political player. Before long, he sidelined his own nephew, who remained alive but powerless, unlike some English kings, who have done away with their

nephews. He did keep King Amintas the 4 alive. But he declared himself, Philip II of Macedon, king in 359 BC. Now, as king, Philip stabilized Macon. Macedon's shaky position. He reformed the army, expanded its size, and he took on rivals across Greece. He defeated enemy coalitions, including Athens, and by the mid-350s BCE, Macedon was becoming a dominant power in the region. How do you reform the army in 350 BC? Yeah.

You can't even email your generals. No, that's very true. Such a bollick. Word of mouth. How does it work? Pass it on, basically. If you stood on something and started shouting, only you, most 100 people are going to hear you.

That's a big job. At best, it is pass this on to the guy to the left, and then you're facing a real Chinese whisper situation, aren't you? Yeah, yeah, you're a nightmare. The trips at the back are getting entirely the wrong information. Yeah, nightmare. Do you know what, it's hard enough, like, reforming a football club when you've got a squad of 18 players to do it for an army.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Before the birth of Christ. At least with the football club, you can get them all in. And you say, right, put your phones down and listen, because things are changing. So, Philip, at this point, he is single. But in 357 BCE, Philip married Olympius, a princess from the kingdom of Epirus, a region in the northwest of Greece and southern Albania. The marriage was political sealing and alliance, but Olympius was a remarkable figure in her

own right, strong-willed, ambitious, and closely associated with religious cults. So both Alexander the Great's parents were a big deal. It reminds me a little bit, you know, he's kind of been bred for success, isn't he really? It reminds me of it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Is it Laura Trott, the cyclist, who's married a fellow cyclist? Yes, that's right, yes. I think she is married to another cyclist, yeah. If that kid isn't a well-champion cyclist, what's going on? You've got serious questions have got to be asked. If he's still on a balance bike at three, then you have to ask questions what's

not good enough. What's going on there? So are you saying he's a bit of a nepo baby, or is that a bit unfair? So we say that Alexander is a nepo baby? He's a nepo baby who's in far more danger than most nepo babies. That's true, exactly. Most of the nepo babies I can think

of aren't going to get killed in battle potentially unless they make very, very different life choices. Brooklyn Beckham or whatever. Yeah, yeah. King Phillips, wife Olympias wasn't always called Olympias. According to the later historian Plutarch, she was known as Polyzina,

then changed her name to Muratale when she joined a religious cult and finally adopted Olympius in 356 BCE. And that year was the same year that Phillips horses won at the Olympic Games. Wow! 356 BCE. That's amazing.

Well, you're astonished. They won the 100 metres. Yeah, but you know, it's funny, isn't it? Because whenever I think of the royal family or our royal family with a horse, I always think of Devon Locke, the Queen's horse falling at the national. Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, it's also, if his horses were winning,

it's kings of this period during their downtime, which isn't the kind of thing you think about very often. You tend to think of them in battle or making great strategic decisions as opposed to going to watch the horse racing. He's a stag. I'd argue, though, it's actually not that impressive because he's the king, so he should have the best horses, shouldn't he?

Like, by dint of the fact, he's a king. Like, he must have, he's not turning up with some raggedy old donkey, he's bought. Yeah. You're not impressed. Exactly, he's bought for a handful of corn at some fare or whatever. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

And it's looking a bit thin, and he's off his food, actually. He's not right. He's not over the same. You should, it should be a given, that you win because you must have the best horse. But there is still a culture of that now. You still get members of the royal family

in equestrian and stuff like that during the Olympics now. You get a Princess Anne did it, didn't she? She did. Once again, she would have had access to the best horse. And whenever they win a medal, you're not impressed because you're, as you always say, you should win. Absolutely, you should have the best horse. Exactly. So, back to

356 BCE. That same year, Olympius gave birth to their son, Alexander. Ancient writer, especially Plutarch, love to embellish this moment with divine omens. Olympias supposedly dreamed of a thunderbolt striking her womb. Philip dreamed of sealing her womb with the image of a lion. And later... Okay, bit odd.

Yeah. I stamp with it. Come on, mate. Yeah, yeah. Jeez. Mate, you're weird. I'm having a kid with you. You're weird.

Later, a serpent, this is important, was said to have been seen in Olympius' bed, which Philip interpreted as a sign that she had been visited by a god. Ooh. Or she was having an affair with a snake. Yeah, all of it weird. It's very weird at this point. Anyway, the message was clear.

Alexander was destined for greatness, maybe even semi-divine. For the Greeks, this wasn't just propaganda. It was part of a pattern. Many great leaders were rumoured to have divine parentage. And later in life, Alexander would lean into this idea, famously identifying himself as the son of Amun Zeus, a fusion of the Greek god Zeus and the Egyptian god Amun. Imagine that.

That's a big claimant. A fusion of gods. All these religions have combined and given birth to me. No pressure. Meanwhile, Philip, his dad, continued his campaigns. At one point during the siege of Methone, he lost an eye, an injury later woven into the divine narrative. An oracle supposedly told Philip he'd lose the eye he used to spy on a god in the form of a serpent sharing his wife's bed.

So an oracle said, because you saw that serpent, whatever I you saw that serpent with, you're going to lose it. Wow. Because you were spying on the gods. Philip and Olympias had one other child together, a daughter called Cleopatra, and like most royal daughters of the time, she was married off. for political purposes, in this case, to her own uncle, Olympius's brother, Alexander I'm first of Iperus. That is not ideal. I mean, the thing is about all these intermarriages among the monarchies of old is that it really does simplify the Christmas get-together. It does, I don't want to marry my niece.

I've got two nice girls, but it is not what I'm looking for in the relationship. Philip himself had seven wives in total but Olympias remained one of the most significant in part because of her son's future. By the late 340s BCE, Philip had transformed Macedon into the dominant military power in Greece but his greatest victory came in 338 BCE at the Battle of Charonia

where he defeated the combined forces of Athens and Tebes. With that win, declared leader of the League of Conrith, effectively the commander of all Greek states united against a common enemy, Persia. Obviously, that's going to become important later in the story too. Now, if Philip and Olympius' marriage seemed politically cold, their life at court was anything but modest. Philip built his palace at Agai, modern-day Virginia, the most impressive royal residence in the Greek world. It was three times the size

of the Parthenon in Athens. Wow. Wow. It had banquet halls. Okay. Dozens of bedrooms, baths, a gymnasium and even a theatre. A David Lloyd. He built a David Lloyd to live in. I've been living in a David Lloyd with a

cafe. Tennis. Lived in a pewer gym. Wow. I think having a property that big would be annoying. I've always thought that, that... I agree. Just, whenever you forget

something, somewhere else, he's like, oh, I've got to walk through 15 rooms to go and get my... I agree. It would be a bollick. I mean, like a... Host up. Absolutely. Yeah. I was in Seoul Campbell's house with Soul Campbell recently, and it was a

massive house. I said, wow, what a big house. And he was like, it's too big. So I think this is... He looked really depressed when he told me. It was like, they'd been stressing him out living in this mansion. So I imagine Philip the second was actually, it got annoying living in a David Lloyd for him. Well, now then, this is potentially the angle that no historian has ever thought of.

He's been studied for 2,000 years, Alexander the Great. But any bad decisions he makes, we can pin on the fact that he was living in a house that was so big it was a lion and he was stressed. It created a monster. We might have changed historical interpretations of Alexander the Great forever. No historian's ever thought Yeah, it would be a ballad Yeah Living in a David Lloyd

Yeah Well a lot of psychologists Look to the childhood Don't they? To see what went wrong If someone loses their mind later in life His house is massively stressful He doesn't know where anyone is

Let me give you a C Yeah Yeah he's six And he doesn't know where his shoes are Mum Mum Mum Mum

And he just walked in room to rum Mum Mum Room 432 Mum Mum mum Mum Mum, mum, where are my shoes, shoe, shoe, this is too big.

I'm on the 15th floor, floor, floor, floor. It's untenable, tenable, tenable, tenable. Who's all these people playing tennis in our gardens, gardens? Why is our house got a vending machine? I got a question there, Chris. Why does gardens echo? Gardens surely would be the one, but wouldn't it? Well, it's in the winter where they've got those big inflatable bubble things.

yeah so philip's enormous mansion was a physical symbol of philip's dominance a place where political power luxury and spectacle all came together for an exorbitant £100 a month for a family membership but for philip controlling greece wasn't the end goal it was just the beginning persia loomed across the egyptian and the vast empire to the east was the next grand prize and in the palace at a guy a young Alexander was watching learning and waiting for his turn oh come on whoa okay but mainly looking for his parents mainly trying to find his parents yeah yeah he can't find his school books it's really really annoying he's playing football with his friends he's already halfway through the match and he can't find his boots

he's lost his water bottle and he can't find his shit pads far be it for me to complain, Dad, but this is really amazing, okay? All right, that's it for this week. If you want to get the rest of this mini-series right now, you can do that by becoming an oh, what a time, full-timer. Next week we'll be hearing about the assassination of Alexander's dad, Philip II, and we're also going to hear about Alexander's

stamping his authority on Greece and coming face to face with Persia. But if you want all that right now, you can become an O-Watertime full-time. Like I say, for all your options, go to O-Watertime.com, or you can sign up by a Wondery Plus and another slice. And may I say, Chris, and I think you'll agree, Al, that this story is best heard with real momentum going from one bit to the next straight through. I think if you break it up, it loses something. So I would get all the hearts now.

That would be my recommendation. But only if you care about storytelling in history It's your choice But there you go And part two will be out tomorrow So we'll see you then Bye Bye

Bye Follow oh what a time on the Wondry app, Amazon music or wherever you get your podcast. And you can listen early and ad free right now by joining Wondry Plus in the Wondry app or on Apple Podcasts. And before you go, tell us about yourself by completing a short survey at Wondry.com slash survey.