A cold, dark summer in 1816 brought an extraordinary group of young writers together on the shores of Lake Geneva—including an eighteen-year-old Mary Shelley. Andrew Stauffer tells the story of that summer and the conversations, dreams, and climate catastrophe that created Frankenstein’s magic.

Later in the show: Goliath might be the most famous giant from the Bible, but he’s not the only one. Paul Thomas takes us on a deep dive into the monsters of biblical stories. And: Greek and Roman mythology is filled with sea monsters. Georgia Irby explains how ancient relationships with the ocean brought these monsters to life.