History Unplugged Podcast

Scott Rank

In the Premodern Era, Survival Meant Overcoming Earthquakes, Sieges, Global Cooling, Asteroid Strikes, and Cannibalism

June 13, 2023 ● 33 min

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Have you ever wondered if you could have survived the eruption at Pompeii, escaped San Francisco's 1906 Earthquake, found a seat on Titanic's lifeboats, outrun the Goths in the Sack of Rome, or lived through the apocalyptic Chicxulub asteroid strike?

Surprisingly, the answer to all those questions is yes, even the last one. Today’s guest Cody Cassidy discusses the reasons that the past had an incredibly high mortality rate, along with survival strategies that humans used to keep from extinction. He is the author of “How to Survive History” and helps us appreciate the challenges our predecessors faced.

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