0:00

Radiolab is supported by the u.s. Bank

0:02

altitude. Go Visa signature card helping

0:04

you earn 4 times. The points on restaurant

0:07

orders. Apply at usbank.com

0:09

altitude. Go to creditor an issuer

0:11

of this card is US Bank National Association. Pursuant

0:13

to a license from Visa USA Inc. Some

0:15

restrictions May apply. 8/5

0:20

letter Radiolab is supported by the

0:22

John Templeton Foundation, funding

0:25

research and catalyzing conversations

0:27

that inspire people with awe and wonder.

0:29

Learn about the latest discoveries

0:31

in the science of well being complexity,

0:34

forgiveness and freewill at

0:36

Templeton Dot. org.

0:45

In when I see studio.

0:50

The you. eight units.

0:55

The know you, are listening

0:58

to radio last, video,

1:00

from the. you and seat

1:03

belts

1:08

Hey. I'm lot of Nasr Mrs Radio

1:10

Lab getting off that old, okay,

1:13

and to kick off this new year are very

1:15

first episode of "Twenty Twenty Two", gotten

1:17

lulu and I were" Supposed to have a conversation,

1:19

know, okay about what our favorite things

1:21

were from last year, like books and movies, that

1:23

kind of excess is it, but

1:25

I have brought you both. Year with

1:27

a ruse, I mean, we may do

1:29

favorite things, but that's not what I'm

1:32

prepared to do with accident, so that was that

1:34

was as they repaired my favorite hijacking.

1:37

You both to says.

1:40

you ready yes very so

1:42

ah we're starting a new year

1:45

The of gonna like the last to sort of blur together

1:47

and I'm constantly thinking like. Which

1:50

was worth twenty or twenty one

1:52

but in that took me to different place which is like

1:55

what, was the worst year. ever

1:58

not in Recent memory

2:00

but in human history like was there an objective

2:03

lee worst year to be person

2:05

alive on planet Earth My?

2:08

my mind goes to ah

2:10

parameter questions yeah okay great when

2:12

is the boundaries Maybe. Let's see the

2:14

worst year in recorded history

2:17

done it, and then worse you

2:19

have, like, an operating definition for that, maybe

2:21

something that like that hit of

2:24

lot of people in. A way that if we

2:26

were alive, then we and

2:28

we had a choice between living

2:30

then and living now we would say yes,

2:33

please twenty or twenty

2:35

one species. You

2:37

are thick, thick mine lot.

2:39

I want to, mean, I'd made his kind of a dark

2:41

thought to have, but I was thinking about in the kind of positive

2:43

like. The worst year

2:46

in human history. can

2:48

pin that down our lease, know

2:50

that, you know, twenty two

2:53

is almost certainly not going to be as bad as ass

2:56

and then I'll feel better about the. That

2:58

and make whatever the head. And whatever

3:00

the head of.

3:04

Oh boy, embracing the sucks that

3:07

is twenty and twenty one, what

3:09

year would you put up against it

3:11

to say this is a worthy adversary I was

3:13

thinking, pompei the black death,

3:16

yeah, that's gotta be tough five"

3:21

The superior, like if you can have focused on your own coffee,

3:23

nineteen thirty nine crusades,

3:26

as wasn't as or century crusades, seventeen

3:28

eighty one Mongolian

3:30

invasion. Which

3:32

was actually there are some really good thing that came out

3:35

of so are you know I? mean you

3:37

could say like forty ninety two from

3:39

the american reactive yeah

3:41

Recently came across this thing that in.

3:44

eleven hundred a day. The

3:46

moon he. heard A

3:49

lot of the year. I

3:51

think that would be. Hair

3:54

buying as either someone who

3:56

is. The original or a, they are very

3:58

interesting cause your.

4:00

Being up a lot of stuff that I'm gonna

4:02

bring okay but yet okay severe

4:04

the year that ice to I think want to make a case

4:07

that this is the worst gear in human history

4:11

is. five thirty six eighty five

4:13

thirty oh okay

4:16

What happened?

4:17

The world and five thirty six, okay, so

4:20

just a quick picture of what? The

4:22

world looked like around the five

4:24

thirty. 200 million

4:26

human on planet Earth or thereabouts.

4:30

The Roman Empire. Do you know fully

4:33

flowered fractured

4:35

into to someone's thing? It happened

4:37

in China, it also fractured. it

4:41

is the plastic period of

4:43

the Mayan civilization in central america

4:47

so he's are like societies like

4:49

these are real societies you know with

4:51

major cities then sewage systems

4:53

and music themes and stuff like

4:55

that like it's like we're not quite in the modern world

4:58

but we're in like in world we're recognize

5:00

okay so While it fun. With

5:02

and loot basically, yeah. Can

5:06

I What happens in

5:07

536 is

5:09

not particularly clear

5:13

are the leading theory is The

5:15

volcanic eruption.

5:19

singular up center is it a string of them?

5:21

Almost certainly a string of them, but at least

5:24

one of them was.

5:27

The enormous unclear.

5:29

where this eruption happened exactly

5:32

but spewed out ass

5:34

and sell faith and even seine be some black

5:37

into the stratosphere outwards

5:39

citizens There's

5:43

there's actually. There's another thing that

5:45

happened last have an extra twist which,

5:47

is that put it this one scholar and what she thinks

5:49

happened ah was that

5:51

few years prior, Haley's

5:54

comet passed by. earth and

5:58

busy with just one It

6:00

pale and to the debris from

6:02

that hill entered our atmosphere

6:06

broke, up. in the

6:08

in the night sky as and you could actually see as

6:10

twinkling

6:15

Can you imagine

6:17

if they if it if the to? Things

6:20

were separate events, but happened on the same day.

6:23

And you now be a Marina Del Rey of me and or

6:25

it could have been something completely different, the triggered all this,

6:28

but this is like best guesses. Though

6:32

whether he was the volcanic sort

6:34

of plume or whether it was the

6:36

comment like debris

6:39

creates dissing, they collect dust veil

6:41

over the earth. That. Triggers

6:44

other strains regional weather patterns, including

6:46

dust storms, which cause even more

6:48

dust so in November and December,

6:51

five thirty six than the Chinese city of Nanjing

6:53

there's have A. Report from

6:55

the city that said quotes yellow

6:57

dust rained down like snow it could

6:59

be scooped in hand. Not

7:02

last

7:03

From February 5:36 to June

7:07

So a year-and-a-half basically

7:09

solid winter. Yeah.

7:16

It's basically the coldest.

7:18

decade in the last two thousand years

7:21

thousand that triggers ah

7:23

like massive crop failures and

7:26

yeah

7:26

That famine so in Ireland

7:29

and five thirty six and then often five thirty

7:31

nine it's written in their animals

7:33

they have a quote failure of bread

7:36

or. similar food shortages are

7:38

documented in korea

7:41

japan and china get so

7:43

bad by the five forties that

7:45

in one area north of yellow river seven

7:48

or eight out of every ten people

7:50

died while and because the crops

7:52

had failed Where did we?

7:55

Survivors were forced to eat the corpses of no

7:58

one, no one. The

8:00

places where this hit

8:02

worst was Scandinavia

8:05

seventy five percent of

8:07

the villages the excavate from around

8:09

that time like you can tell that they were abandoned

8:12

basically. it's like all these nordic people are like

8:14

screw up we're getting outta here and then they get

8:16

on their boats and then they like to travel around the

8:18

world and now it's like all you

8:20

need now is like an alien invasion

8:24

Now. Would there's I mean there is more

8:26

or another issue with this massive

8:29

dust veil that some people speculated

8:31

about is like people were not dating

8:33

a lot of sunlight so they're? Not creating

8:35

vitamin D and their bodies and

8:38

vitamin among other things helps

8:40

boost your immune system to fight bacterial

8:42

infections and also you

8:44

can imagine they're all these farms

8:47

and. Fields with crops, the plants

8:49

are dying, the rats in

8:51

the field and the other animals that are living

8:53

out their start coming to

8:56

where the people have, you know, stores

8:58

of. Grain of rice or whatever and

9:00

that's near where people are living so now you have

9:03

people who are hungry weaker

9:05

immune system possibly immune sort

9:07

of compromised meeting.

9:09

these filthy desperate animals like rats

9:12

who are carrying microscopic sense

9:15

so i'll let you guess what happens

9:17

next A.

9:19

Plague, all kinds of sicknesses, all

9:22

kinds of sicknesses, yes, but especially one

9:24

so to the college Justinian plague,

9:26

this is a with of five, forty,

9:28

one of five years later this.

9:31

, spreads basically

9:33

across all of Europe OP's commonly

9:35

estimated to have killed tens of millions

9:37

of people. trying to sort of

9:39

construct The composite reality.

9:43

I'm only thing. The you have been cold

9:45

as hell there's a rat.

9:47

bacteria yeah so.

9:50

so these two geoscientists the others

9:53

and repeat know ramp you know

9:55

They basically like comb through all

9:57

of like anything written.

10:00

Around that time, all over the world to

10:02

try to find, like, did a who talked about this

10:04

and what'd they say I'm in here some of what they said?

10:07

"This is guy from Italy states

10:09

many type person or cathy doris senator",

10:12

he says. The

10:14

sun seems to have lost it's wanted light

10:16

and appears of bluish color. We

10:19

marvel to see no shadows of our

10:21

bodies at noon on the moon

10:24

to even when it's orb is full

10:26

is empty of it's natural splendor

10:29

we've. had spring without mildness

10:31

and summer without seat

10:35

That is sad that.

10:37

really

10:38

Well as the like know.

10:41

like you feel the cold

10:43

Here's. Here's here's another one this like is equally

10:46

vivid: I sank services, Mesopotamia

10:48

services around the area where Syria is

10:50

now a guy named Does Zacharias

10:53

of My To Lean probably pronouncing. Are on

10:56

close the winter with severe one

10:58

so much so that from the large

11:01

and unwanted quantity of snow.

11:04

The birds perished. There

11:06

was distressed among men from the

11:08

evil thing oh. my gosh

11:12

"Whenever the evil things mean

11:14

they're I don't know, just left and in there because did

11:16

not know what that meant and was like, ooh

11:18

that's really dark and sinister"

11:22

Wow, where everybody the entire

11:24

globe is suffering through A. In

11:27

month, winter.

11:28

The unclear of the whole globe, but much of the northern

11:30

hemisphere, for sure. Then. The

11:33

Mayan history there's.

11:35

this period so if this is the classic

11:37

period of mine history it's then there's this little

11:39

many period that they called they classic period

11:41

hiatus i'm and they have

11:44

they my and people would make these special decorative

11:46

stone pillars stone like mark history and

11:48

what is going on it's history that i'm basically

11:50

they just pause making them At

11:52

what do you think?

11:54

Okay, we kind of talked about what it felt like

11:56

temperature wise. But like, what do you think the

11:58

world's sounded like? During

12:01

these years. The here.

12:06

Law.

12:08

I get to dub with the birds diane

12:11

probably. quieter and now

12:13

by What last

12:16

is an, imagine

12:18

like walking on dried grass like

12:20

that kind of found maybe like you know the little scurrying

12:23

of the rat feet over the. fallowfield

12:26

or whatever And

12:28

when probably pick that the suit?

12:30

Three less plans for break

12:33

a race you probably get like.

13:11

Radiolab

13:12

is

13:15

supported by saatva. Your

13:17

old bed can be costing you more than

13:19

think with Sleep comes a bad

13:21

mood bad can lead lower

13:24

productivity less energy. Did

13:26

your old bed and start owning your and

13:29

nights with a new stop the Choose

13:31

9 handcrafted for type of

13:34

sleeper. Plus every thought the order

13:36

free glove delivery. So set

13:38

up your new bad take your old or

13:41

visit,

13:42

saatva.com To

13:44

get $200 off purchases of,

13:46

a $1,000, or more. That's

13:48

saatva.com

13:52

Radiolab. life.

13:55

Hey,

13:57

it's like a Radiolab is supported

13:59

by the New York. Then. Royal Society and

14:01

it's new podcast for the ages with

14:03

host David Am Rubenstein, where he

14:05

explores the history of the United States and

14:07

beyond, with renowned historians

14:10

and authors like Jill. The poor rancher

14:12

now Michael Best Last and

14:14

Isabel Wilkerson, who discuss wide

14:17

range of topics from presidential biographies

14:19

to the people who have shaped the American story

14:21

for download now. On Apple, spot

14:24

fight or wherever podcasts are available.

14:28

Hey, it's lot of really lab is supported

14:30

by the John Templeton Foundation.

14:33

The funding research and catalyzing conversations

14:35

that inspire people with awe and wonder.

14:38

Learn about the latest discoveries in the science

14:40

of well being complexity, forgiveness

14:43

and freewill at Templeton

14:45

Dot. org.

14:48

An unsolved murder a suburban

14:50

coldest a. must have an investigation

14:53

i'm nancy solomon for two years

14:56

i've been trying to find out what happened to do Enjoy

14:58

Sheridan political insiders connected

15:01

to several for.

15:01

Revenue married. they're putting

15:04

out there what happened and murder

15:06

suicide this was just not the john and

15:08

choice any of us knew That

15:10

in a New Jersey. Oh, man. How

15:13

do you noise? My hands

15:15

on now.

15:17

You

15:20

know, and I keep thinking about it. Any?

15:24

The new, their human in this moment.

15:27

Would be.

15:29

Thinking about their own sorry state

15:31

and their family and know be

15:33

their village. But

15:35

that would be the sort of circumference of their awareness.

15:38

They had no big picture so

15:41

late, I doubt anybody had to big picture of

15:43

it right, but mean, we can see that it was a global

15:45

catastrophe and we see

15:47

that about our own moment. In

15:50

way that they couldn't, so I wonder

15:52

if it would have felt like the worst year average

15:55

to it's funny to think that, like the awareness

15:57

of the whole magnifies

15:59

the. The misery and my

16:01

God.

16:01

When if of the whole, maybe makes you feel

16:03

less lonely about. The yeah, that at you.

16:06

That are no idea when you're in there was someone

16:08

who just like got on a horse and was like I'm

16:10

in ride until.

16:13

Like and out a bit, I get the sun best

16:15

and now have riding, so he were ever

16:17

gonna buy.

16:18

Had a the clothes and.

16:20

then like never get there

16:21

Yeah yeah I guess for guess what keep

16:24

thinking about suddenly is given,

16:26

that I'm an old man and now it's my sort of

16:28

inherited birthrate to complain about young people.

16:31

there's a such fixation on mental

16:33

health amongst mental month you know kids

16:36

right Then I think thank God that's

16:38

amazing, but the same time think why your life

16:40

so great, you know, mean, but

16:42

then think. They feel

16:44

great probably doesn't like objective

16:46

leave. Their lives are so much

16:49

more comfortable than a life would have been and five thirty

16:51

six right. but maybe

16:53

by virtue of the expanded awareness

16:55

that we all carry They

16:57

don't feel good. You. Know, I thought

17:00

guess that's what was thinking about was like, what

17:02

if we endured five thirty six

17:04

now, right like what is a comment

17:06

and volcano blew up? Can you imagine

17:09

the wall to wall CNN and the tweeting

17:11

in the retweeting in the constant like

17:13

sharing of misery, it must

17:15

feel that it would feel like misery amplified

17:18

in? A way that it probably hasn't had any other time.

17:21

That been better sharing, yes,

17:23

there is misery amplifier than

17:25

that, but like think about when the Italians.

17:29

Me that video for us, you remember

17:31

that? That I say something

17:34

nine, sit here and again.

17:35

The auto of like take it seriously

17:38

learn from on the inside for

17:40

a couple of weeks of, felt

17:42

like that was moment where the cross

17:44

planetary. awareness

17:48

The allowed our best sides. They

17:51

try to come out. Let's

17:53

work together and my I worked together. And

17:56

and like they kind of. Watching

17:58

how different leaders approach it and then?

18:00

"The able to just look back and see what works

18:02

and then take strategies and make mistakes

18:04

and learn and the sharing

18:06

and the solidarity allowed us to

18:08

way more quickly collaborate", he's

18:11

I mean, that the yeah. The i that is true,

18:13

but it's like okay like.

18:15

Then. Back of I'm thirty six, right probably

18:17

most people live on planet Earth at the

18:20

time believe that what was happening the

18:22

horrors that were be falling them were

18:24

coming from above. It will act of God

18:26

or Gods and then now what's going

18:28

on so much of what's going on is it

18:30

feels like it's happening because of us.

18:33

Like. Something we're doing to ourselves

18:36

and to each other and sort of

18:38

whether it is are not like it's like lab

18:40

leak or China virus or

18:42

South Africa very at or this. Person is

18:44

not wearing a mask or zapper since didn't get

18:47

boost or whatever it is an end

18:49

as much as the military stuff like that stuff

18:51

also gets amplified on. Twitter. I'm

18:53

no such as much as you have the we're

18:55

all in this together.

18:57

Then you also have the like, it's

19:00

all it's all, it's all this first and fall asleep,

19:02

got the first that. The other shoe.

19:05

I don't know I'm big on the solidarity

19:08

in the long run, making it better any

19:10

deceased like with all of that, mean,

19:12

it says like am officially.

19:15

Rapid bitching about twenty like

19:18

I've done this isn't making okay,

19:21

says that sort of like that thrusters, but

19:23

this does knowing that it people in five

19:25

thirty six, I mean, it's like, says, it

19:27

make you feel. Better

19:29

about. The last two years.

19:32

The know, the in five, thirty six, that was a much force

19:35

here.

19:36

That doesn't make me better so much of me as an AC

19:38

thanks oh it lists. There are are.

19:41

More floors to fall through here like

19:43

we could fall we have longer

19:45

to fall I, got I don't have that makes me feel

19:47

better and events, but it definitely

19:50

makes me not feel. worse you'll

19:52

get a cat is i'm saving their feelings

19:54

for when if and when it does get worse

19:56

as air if wanted to say what I

19:58

would you have less to me with. The about knowing

20:01

about that year. just feel.

20:04

Great for.

20:04

Well, I can go see my shadow.

20:07

And my that's what I'm going to take the year

20:10

ahead. that's going to take into the year ahead

20:12

is like well

20:16

If I could see my shadow, that means there's

20:18

enough sun. Did you enjoy

20:20

the basic? Part of. that

20:23

Then.

20:24

The ground beneath me that is not

20:26

a lava yeah that's no other so

20:29

going into next year at least we've got

20:31

shadows and bread and.

20:34

grounds to see them via

20:52

You don't remember my question.

20:55

It at that was that with last year I

20:57

know of food.

20:59

do you remember when i got a little hung up on muse

21:01

i just couldn't you are you excited

21:03

to see if

21:04

Well before we leave you one more thing

21:06

because after lot of hit us with

21:08

the horrors of that year I,

21:11

was left with this question that just kept

21:13

eating me. as

21:16

a little while later call them both back up

21:18

to add just one last

21:20

little posts

21:21

Hide from the year five thirty six

21:23

yeah what was your question specifically

21:25

with it did? that did the misery

21:28

Create a new genre or will only question

21:31

was great read. The just what with music

21:33

like that.

21:35

You know what kind of music where people making

21:37

and hearing that would have carried

21:39

them? Through and. What

21:42

it actually sound like?

21:45

Though I did a little digging law, and

21:48

I've found someone who had a.

21:50

Pretty interesting answer to that questions,

21:52

at least for one corner the world.

21:54

Should I call you can't or salem

21:57

not Mogul's last resort? A

21:59

more.

22:00

Mug some other saying he

22:02

is a canter in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church

22:05

lives in Virginia now but he grew up in Ethiopia

22:08

and, some of the musical traditions as his

22:10

church songs he sings literally

22:12

every week, yeah, he's has come

22:14

from right around the size, thirty six

22:17

time for her in what was then the Kingdom

22:19

of Ask them for ya ya. ya

22:22

Ordered by the way and

22:24

fact, he told me about one particular

22:26

die from our.

22:29

The out it, you know, they do know that it

22:31

be added these three.

22:32

The your as they are, who, according to tradition,

22:35

was the person made it all this

22:37

music one thousand? Then grass

22:39

six hundred use your got, you know?

22:41

Car mean and of his throughout his, you know, we

22:43

don't know the extent to which the.

22:45

Now of five thirty six affected

22:47

area in there is debate over

22:49

the historical person yard, but

22:52

according to move out your for doesn't it

22:54

was right? Around the year,

22:56

five, thirty six.

22:58

That yard composed a brand new book

23:00

of him called. The worth

23:02

it. The found in that book

23:04

about.

23:05

Marjorie, my wife, said: "These

23:08

are when somebody dies, you

23:10

sing songs are more seats.

23:11

It's it's like a book of son's

23:14

for the dead. Yeah.

23:18

Could you sing me just a little bit

23:20

so I could hear are known soccer,

23:23

yeah, August?

23:38

Mark.

23:48

Then it's impossible to know exactly

23:51

how the chronology of the song. The line

23:53

up with the year five thirty six and

23:55

also even how much of the I had story is real

23:58

or apocryphal that. what Don't

24:00

seem likely.

24:01

That if you were to walk into a church

24:04

in Ethiopia about fifteen

24:06

hundred years ago.

24:11

You are morning,

24:13

some one.

24:17

Kind of

24:19

music fan I like

24:22

the. maybe some to you

24:25

The honor that law.

24:34

Ground.

24:38

Wow.

24:39

Well, thank you, thank you so

24:41

much for your time or I beg your watermark

24:44

appreciated, have a great, I hope

24:46

a, you know, happy new year, not ethiopian

24:48

new here, but boring old Gregoire in

24:51

New, yeah. Are you to grant to thank?

24:53

you bye

25:01

It episode was produced by Simon

25:03

Adler with sound and music

25:05

from Simon Adler and Jeremy Bowen, special

25:08

thanks to Dallas Abbott's Mathias

25:11

Nord, vague gold gun and

25:13

reporter and Gibbons, who's article in science

25:15

on five thirty six computers into the first

25:17

place. The open to Daniel Jacob

25:19

Case, alum a Jackie So. And the

25:21

clean had Darryl.

25:23

Who is a fabulous singer songwriter

25:26

with seat connects and?

25:27

Yeah. And I highly recommend you go

25:29

check out her music as an athlete, the

25:31

Darrow, if by the way you want to actually

25:34

hear the conversation that lulu Lu my we're

25:36

supposed. To have about our favorite

25:38

things from last year up, with

25:40

that is actually going up

25:42

right after this to our lab.

25:45

members only seed

25:46

The lab and, his sons

25:48

overseas and i was so excited to share

25:50

made me little fines of the year with

25:52

you so if you do wanna hear it just

25:55

joined the lab

25:56

Head over to Radiolab, Dot. org,

25:59

Flash the Last.

26:00

To sign up check it out if it's for

26:02

you radiolab dot org slash

26:04

the lab thank you for listening this

26:06

is radiolab more lights.

26:09

non catastrophic a stories

26:12

coming up from soon and

26:14

all through the next year whatever it may

26:19

Nothing mind that I'm calling from San

26:21

Diego, California. Radio lab

26:23

at the port and and. Maybe I've had people

26:26

and a thin and hand thing. About understanding

26:28

of science and technology and them. I'm

26:30

more information about Brown at www.

26:34

dot found that or science.

26:36

reporting on radio lab is supported in part

26:39

by science sandbox simons

26:41

foundation initiative dedicated to engaging

26:43

everyone with the process of science Radio

26:46

Lab was treated by Data Boom Rod

26:48

and is edited by soren Wheeler Lulu,

26:51

Miller and lots of Nasr are cohosts

26:53

says he left in Bird with our executive producer

26:56

and Dylan Case is or Director Sound Design.

26:59

or stuff includes i'm in adler

27:01

jeremy bloom back or bressler rachel

27:03

too sick to be very fortuna david

27:06

gable money david boston's yet as

27:08

center noone some and i'm not kill see

27:11

any queuing alex neeson or

27:13

corey and whack pot

27:15

walters in mali what sir

27:17

Would help Antonio Tarver and Sarah Thornburg

27:20

a fact checkers or die, and

27:22

Kelly Emily krieger and Adam

27:24

Chabot.

27:36

Hey, it's lots of radiolab, it is supported

27:38

by the John Templeton Foundation.

27:41

Funding research and catalyzing conversations

27:43

that inspired the people with awe and wonder.

27:46

Learn about the latest discoveries in the science

27:48

of well being complexity, forgiveness

27:51

and freewill at Templeton

27:53

Dot. org.