One of the most devastating disasters that has afflicted humanity are famines.
Unlike other natural disasters, famines do not have a single cause. They have happened all over the world for a wide variety of reasons; some of them have natural causes, and others are man-made.
Famines are typically much worse than natural disasters and are rivaled only by pan ... Show More
Today
Cotton: How It Helped Build The Modern World
It is soft, common, and something most people wear almost every day. Yet behind this humble fabric lies one of the most dramatic stories in human history. Cotton connected ancient civilizations, built global trade networks, fueled the Industrial Revolution, enriched empires, and ... Show More
14m 31s
Yesterday
The World's Oddest Riots
Most riots are born from serious grievances: politics, poverty, religion, or oppression. Yet history is also filled with eruptions of violence that began for reasons so strange, so unexpected, and so absurd that they almost defy belief. Some changed cities, some embarrassed gover ... Show More
14m 21s
Apr 25
Jakob Fugger: The Richest Man in History
When you think of the richest people in history, you usually imagine kings, emperors, or maybe modern tech billionaires. Yet 500 years ago, one merchant banker from Augsburg may have been wealthier than all of them. He financed emperors, influenced papal politics, controlled vita ... Show More
15m 7s
Aug 2024
The Bronze Age Collapse
<p>Around 3,200 years ago, a vast, interconnected civilisation suddenly collapsed. A 'perfect storm' of climate catastrophe, famine, drought and invasion tore apart the eastern Mediterranean, plunging the survivors into decades of turmoil.</p><br><p>Eric Cline is the author of '1 ... Show More
41m 24s
Oct 2025
Ep 191 Famine: More than starvation
As we learned last week, starvation extends far beyond hunger and what a lack of food does to the human body. Similarly, famine is much more than a food shortage and starvation on a population-level scale. This week, we’re picking up where we left off last episode to explore the ... Show More
1h 10m
Sep 2025
541 AD: The Worst Year in History
Was this the worst year in human history? Bubonic plague sweeps across the Mediterranean. The sun vanishes behind volcanic ash. Crops fail, famine bites, and the Roman empire lurches towards collapse.In this episode of The Ancients, the third in our special Great Disasters series ... Show More
1h 4m
Jan 2025
Legends 45: The Only Thing to Fear
<p>The legends that fill our world often give us good reasons to be afraid. But there's one thing most of us fear above all else, and when it succeeds in defeating us, the results can be terrifying.</p> <p><em>Narrated and produced by Aaron Mahnke, with writing by Alex Robinson a ... Show More
32m 9s
Oct 2025
Legends 64: No Rest For the Wicked
Some graves give us answers to the gaps in our understanding of history. A few, though, fill those gaps with terrifying legends that are still alive today. Narrated and produced by Aaron Mahnke, with writing by Alex Robinson and research by Cassandra de Alba. ————————— Lore Resou ... Show More
33m 51s