He fiddled while Rome burned. He married two men. He may even have kicked his pregnant wife to death.

But he ALSO invented animal pelt kink, so could he have been THAT BAD?!

This week, Bash is joined by classicist and queer historian, Professor Andrew Lear, to discuss the scandalous, salacious, and slanderous life of Emperor Nero — Ancient Rome’s most notorious bisexual bad boy.

From castrating (and marrying) his wife’s male doppelgänger to "mauling" strangers’ crotches in animal pelts, the stories about Nero are a masterclass in ancient PR. But why did so many historians vilify Nero in this intensely OTT way?

Join us as we explore the answer to this question and many more, such as:

How did Nero’s mother orchestrate his rise to power – and DID he murder her via collapsible boat?

Did Nero really get gay married? Twice?!

What did Roman “homosexuality” actually look like at the time — and why was being a bottom “not the Roman thing to do” (IYKYK)?

Along the way, we’ll learn why the real scandal for the raunchy Romans wasn’t so much Nero’s queer behaviour, but his dangerous subversion of class and gender hierarchy.

Plus: Justice For Roman Bottoms (my new charity), ancient pegging theories, and a verdict on the real question on everyone’s lips for the past two thousand years:

Was Nero a monster… or the "Elvis Presley Emperor" of the 1st century AD?

🎧 Listen now on ⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠, or wherever you pod. Roman villa sold separately.

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Episode Credits

Written and hosted by Bash.

Guest: Andrew Lear.

Edited by Alex Toskas.

Produced by Dani Henion.

The FIRST Thing You Should Master