History Snacks

Our season is over but Producer Emily will be giving you quick bites of history until we return for next season. Today's History Bite: Pharaoh Tutankhamun's Afterlife.

Our season is over but Producer Emily will be giving you quick bites of history until we return for next season. Today's History Bite: Translating the Ancient Mayan Writing System.

Our season is over, but Producer Emily will be giving you quick bites of history until we return next season. Today's bite: the Rosetta Stone.

The volcano of Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 C.E. and we haven't stopped talking about it since. We discuss the only eye-witness account of the eruption that buried the Italian cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. In this episode we encounter violent eruptions, ancient scientists, natural disasters, villas by the sea, and stranded sea animals.

An extra warning for this episode, there are detailed descriptions of the dangers that occur during a natural disaster, so if that’s going to upset you, skip this one!

Questions answered:

What happened to Pompeii? What happened to Herculaneum? When did Mt. Vesuvius erupt? What happens during a volcanic eruption? Who was the first to describe a volcanic eruption? Did anyone survive Pompeii? Did anyone survive the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius? What was it like in Pompeii?

Rubies, sapphires, and bad omens. We're tracing the history of a couple of cursed gems and seeing what we can learn in the process. In this episode we encounter medieval civil wars, taking gems from dead people, rocks with names, cursed litter, bad friendship practices, and treating people how you want to be treated.

Questions answered:

Do gems have names? Do famous gems have stories? Who was the Black Prince? What happened to Spain after the Roman Empire fell? Who was Peter of Castile? Who was Muhammad the Red? What was the Kingdom of Granada? Did Muslims live in Spain?

Disappearing in the Amazon rainforest looking for the Lost City of Z in the 1920s is a bold look. Let's see if it works out for him. In this episode we encounter the disappearance of an explorer, forced labor on rubber plantations, the death of a pack animal, hostile neighbors, and the disappearance of an explorer.

Questions answered: 

Has anyone ever disappeared in the Amazon? What explorer disappeared into the Amazon rainforest? Do people live in the Amazon rainforest? Where does rubber come from? How was the Amazon rainforest mapped? Who was Percy Fawcett? What was the Lost City of Z?

Special guest: Attila the Hun. Rome didn't fall all at once, but when the Emperor's sister invites the Huns to invade, you gotta know something's not going super well. In this episode we encounter the plague, metaphorical backstabbing, literal backstabbing, the death of a boyfriend, a marriage proposal, and the fall of Rome.

Questions answered:

Who was Attila the Hun? Who were the Huns? What did Attila the Hun do? Did the Roman Empire battle Attila the Hun?

Saint Mark the Evangelist had an interesting life, and then his body had an interesting afterlife. A medieval heist is underway! In this episode we encounter discussion of human remains, religious rivals, demoted saints, severe storms, forbidden trade routes, and customs officials.

Questions answered:

How did Venice get Saint Mark? What happened to St. Mark the Evangelist? Who was Saint Mark? Who was St. Mark the Evangelist? Why is San Marco's Square in Venice special? Why does Venice have San Marco Square?

We've finally reached the Byzantine Empire, with Emperor Justinian. Chariot racing! Angry mobs of sports fans! And the coronation of a fake emperor, what isn't to like? In this episode we encounter too much fandom, political intrigue, many people dying, armies turning on civilians, and sports you don't care about.

Questions answered: 

What is the Byzantine Empire? Who was Emperor Justinian? What is chariot racing? Did ancient people do sports? Who were the Byzantine Emperors?

The whole Roman timeline in under 17 minutes. Julius Caesar included. Can we do it? Sure. Should we have done it? Historians will argue. The important part is not the details we retain, but the Brutuses we meet along the way. In this episode we encounter tyrants, questions about how to run an empire, assassinations, civil wars, a Charlemagne jumpscare, and an extremely quick overview of over 2,000 years of history.

Questions answered:

Who was Julius Caesar? What was the Roman Empire? How long did the Roman Empire last? Who was Brutus? What did Julius Caesar do? What's the whole history of the Roman Empire? What's the Byzantine Empire? What's the Holy Roman Empire? Who was Charlemagne?