Scientists discovered that multiple volcanic eruptions plunged the world into darkness and famine in 536 CE.
As heard by us
A playful investigation into why 536 became shorthand for catastrophe.
The episode treats 536 as a proper historical mess and works through the mystery with a mix of curiosity and disbelief. It moves from a world dimming catastrophe to tree ring studies, cold summers around 540 C.E., and the historians who began asking why 536 became such a…
Why you'd press play
You want the story behind the year 536, when things got cartoonishly bad.
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