Pompeii's story is usually told through the lens of catastrophe—perfectly preserved bodies frozen in ash, a civilization erased in hours, sort of like a Roman version of the Chicxulub impactor that killed the dinosaurs 65 million years ago —but the real tragedy isn't just that Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. Worse is that we've forgotten the thousands of ordinary people who lived full, ambitious lives before that final day. These stories include a slave named Petrinus hoped to buy his freedom with earnings from side work, fish sauce merchant Aulus Umbricius Scaurus (who shipped garum bottles as far as Gaul while planning his next business expansion), and wealthy entrepreneur Julia Felix prepared her rental apartments to host the mysterious Cult of Isis. The mortality rate was only 9-11 percent because residents had eighteen hours to evacuate before superheated ash clouds arrived—this wasn't the extinction of the dinosaurs, yet we've reduced these vibrant lives to silent ruins and plaster casts.

Today's guest is Jess Venner, author of The Lost Voices of Pompeii: A Gripping History of Seven Lives on the Last Day in Pompeii. We discuss how she reconstructed the life of slave Petrinus from a single loan contract listing him as collateral between two women, the condiment tycoon Scaurus sold his famous fermented fish sauce throughout the Roman Empire, and how politician Gaius Cuspius Pansa's campaign advertisements still cover the city walls two millennia later. We also see why nearly 20% of Pompeii remains unexcavated and how new X-ray phase-contrast tomography is finally allowing researchers to virtually unroll carbonized Herculaneum papyri, potentially recovering lost Epicurean philosophy once thought destroyed forever.

Pompeii's story is usually told through the lens of catastrophe&mdash;perfectly preserved bodies frozen in ash, a civilization erased in hours, sort of like a Roman version of the Chicxulub impactor that killed the dinosaurs 65 million years ago &mdash;but the real tragedy isn't just that Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. Worse is that we've forgotten the thousands of ordinary people who lived full, ambitious lives before that final day. These stories include a slave named Petrinus hoped to buy his freedom with earnings from side work, fish sauce merchant Aulus Umbricius Scaurus (who shipped garum bottles as far as Gaul while planning his next business expansion), and wealthy entrepreneur Julia Felix prepared her rental apartments to host the mysterious Cult of Isis. The mortality rate was only 9-11 percent because residents had eighteen hours to evacuate before superheated ash clouds arrived&mdash;this wasn't the extinction of the dinosaurs, yet we've reduced these vibrant lives to silent ruins and plaster casts.
Today's guest is Jess Venner, author of The Lost Voices of Pompeii: A Gripping History of Seven Lives on the Last Day in Pompeii. We discuss how she reconstructed the life of slave Petrinus from a single loan contract listing him as collateral between two women, the condiment tycoon Scaurus sold his famous fermented fish sauce throughout the Roman Empire, and how politician Gaius Cuspius Pansa's campaign advertisements still cover the city walls two millennia later. We also see why nearly 20% of Pompeii remains unexcavated and how new X-ray phase-contrast tomography is finally allowing researchers to virtually unroll carbonized Herculaneum papyri, potentially recovering lost Epicurean philosophy once thought destroyed forever.

For history lovers who listen to podcasts, History Unplugged is the most comprehensive show of its kind. It's the only show that dedicates episodes to both interviewing experts and answering questions from its audience. First, it features a call-in show where you can ask our resident historian (Scott Rank, PhD) absolutely anything (What was it like to be a Turkish sultan with four wives and twelve concubines? If you were sent back in time, how would you kill Hitler?). Second, it features long-form interviews with best-selling authors who have written about everything. Topics include gruff World War II generals who flew with airmen on bombing raids, a war horse who gained the rank of sergeant, and presidents who gave their best speeches while drunk.

A show about American history, world history, World Wars 1 & 2, the Civil War, and much more.

History Unplugged Podcast

History Unplugged is one of the longest-running history podcasts of its kind, with over 1,000 episodes covering everything from Alexander the Great's plans for European colonization to the untold story of Alabamians who fought for Sherman deep inside Confederate territory. Topics range from the Bronze Age Collapse to the naval campaigns of the Barbary Wars to Daniel Boone's forced adoption by a Shawnee chief. Guests on the show include history professors, Pulitzer Prize winners, consultants for historical films, and outsiders like Joakim Brodén from Sabaton. The show is hosted by Scott Rank, a history professor specializing in the Ottoman Empire and author of 12 books. And for those who love to spin the wheel of what-if, the show regularly ventures into alternate history, exploring questions like what the USSR's victory in the Cold War would have meant for the modern world, or how our current map might look if the Confederacy had survived the Civil War.

 

History Unplugged is one of the longest-running history podcasts of its kind, with over 1,000 episodes covering everything from Alexander the Great's plans for European colonization to the untold story of Alabamians who fought for Sherman deep inside Confederate territory. Topics range from the Bronze Age Collapse to the naval campaigns of the Barbary Wars to Daniel Boone's forced adoption by a Shawnee chief. Guests on the show include history professors, Pulitzer Prize winners, consultants for historical films, and outsiders like Joakim Brod&eacute;n from Sabaton. The show is hosted by Scott Rank, a history professor specializing in the Ottoman Empire and author of 12 books. And for those who love to spin the wheel of what-if, the show regularly ventures into alternate history, exploring questions like what the USSR's victory in the Cold War would have meant for the modern world, or how our current map might look if the Confederacy had survived the Civil War.
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