Throughline Radiolab: Worst. Year. Ever
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Mar 19, 2024 Exploring the worst year in history - 536 AD, with catastrophic events like a supervolcano, plague, and famine. Reflecting on global crises and historical parallels. Listening to hymns for the dead from Axum, raising questions about suffering in different eras.
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Global Dust Veil Triggered A Deadly Cascade
- In 536 AD a massive volcanic/spectral event likely threw ash into the stratosphere, creating a global "dust veil" and a dramatic temperature drop.
- That prolonged cooling triggered crop failures, famine, and destabilized societies across hemispheres.
Crop Failure Linked To Pandemic Vulnerability
- The cold decade after 536 produced widespread crop failure recorded as "failure of bread" in Ireland and food collapses across Asia and Europe.
- Starvation and weakened immunity set the stage for infectious disease to spread rapidly.
Plague Followed Environmental Collapse
- Justinian's Plague (around 541) followed the climatic shock and likely killed tens of millions across Europe and beyond.
- The sequence shows how environmental shocks can amplify disease outbreaks into continental catastrophes.