The Roman Empire's reputation precedes it: a wingspan that stretched from Syria to Spain, and from the Nile to Scotland's doorstep. Centuries of unbroken rule, a unified commonwealth, and at one point nearly a quarter of the world's population. And then, it all came tumbling down. Why Rome fell has been a favored subject of armchair theorizing pretty much since the empire started teetering—and now, one historian has a bold new idea. Kyle Harper joins us on the podcast to explore how climate change and disease might have played a key role in the fall of an entire civilization.

Go beyond the episode:

• Kyle Harper’s The Fate of Rome: Climate, Disease, and the End of an Empire
• Read an excerpt from the book on how the Huns laid waste to the Eternal City
• How we can learn from Rome’s experience with epidemics to contend with emerging diseases today
• Pandemics should scare you: here’s how tropical diseases are on the rise in our own back yard

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