When Empires Get Sick, with Patrick Wyman (PODCAST 4-02-2020)

I’m joined by historian and podcaster Patrick Wyman, whose “The Fall of Rome” and “Tides of History” are two of the very best historical podcasts out there, to discuss pandemic diseases in Roman history. We’re talking the Antonine Plague, the Plague of Cyprian, and the Plague of Justinian, and what they meant to the Roman Empire and (especially in the latter case) to world history in general. Later, and apropos of nothing in particular, we discuss Patrick’s recent piece for Mother Jones, “How Do You Know If You’re Living Through the Death of an Empire?”

The Fall of Rome and Tides of History are both available via Wondery or wherever you get your podcasts, and I can’t recommend them enough. As Patrick notes toward the end of the interview he’s got a book coming out in the near future, so keep an eye out for that. You can find Patrick on Twitter @Patrick_Wyman.