A swampy lagoon on the Adriatic coast of Italy was not a promising place for a city, but Venice grew from a collection of huts on spits of land to a glittering center of commerce and the heart of a maritime empire. Today, we explore the beginnings and rise of this fascinating city from late antiquity to the Black Death.
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Apr 16
Lost Worlds Audiobook Chapter: "The World As It Was"
Patrick's new book Lost Worlds: How Humans Tried, Failed, Succeeded, and Built Our World comes out May 5th! Check out a free preview of the first chapter of the audiobook, "The World As It Was," and learn about the Clovis people and reindeer hunters in Europe at the end of the la ... Show More
50m 43s
Apr 9
What I've Learned From Tides of History
Does history repeat itself? Not really, but that's not the reason it's worth studying: Our past is nothing more or less than the collective record of our species' achievements and failures, and it contains a variety of lessons, few of them easy and straightforward. In this episod ... Show More
33m 56s
Feb 2023
Venise, reine de l'Adriatique
<p>La Cité des doges, la Sérenissime, la reine de l'Adriatique, la cité des eaux... Les surnoms ne manquent pas pour parler de Venise. Cette ville extraordinaire, l'historien Bernard Doumerc lui a consacré plusieurs ouvrages, et notamment "Venise et son empire en Méditerranée, IX ... Show More
55m 5s
Apr 2017
Episode #17: The Casino of the Spirits (Season 1, Episode 17)
Venice-- it's the most serene and beautiful city in Italy, and possibly the whole world. But Venice at night-- all darkened and quiet-- takes up the most space in my imagination. I seriously love the depictions of Venice as enigmatic, shadowy, and even dangerous. Without cars or ... Show More
28m 11s