Ever wonder where we get phrases like “the writing on the wall”? We kick this episode off with a look at the origins of some of our favorite doom-laden idioms—then we drop straight into the chaos of Byzantium. Emperor Nikephoros III is watching his empire disintegrate faster than his advisors can light incense. Two rebellions down, a Norman breakaway state still kicking, and his golden boy general Alexios Komnenos barely keeping the cracks from becoming craters. The emperor sees the end coming—and this episode hits the gas.

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