An episode from 11/19/21, where I read about two disasters separated by nearly two thousand years: the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in the year 79, and the earthquake that destroyed so much of San Francisco in 1906. My sources are a letter from Pliny the younger (⁠read it here⁠), where he describes Vesuvius and Pompeii, while an article by Jack London (⁠read it here⁠) takes us to San Francisco. I end with a reading of Laurie Sheck's poem "Pompeii," from her 2003 book, ⁠Black Series⁠.

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Any comments, or suggestions for readings I should make in later episodes, can be emailed to [email protected].