In which we begin our "Adapt or Die" Series. The Byzantine empire was under attack, and tens of thousands of people in Constantinople were dying every week. It wasn't the Vandals or the Ostragoths, it was a disease that brought terror and death on a massive scale. Even the Great Justinian himself is not spared from the illness. Corpse halls, ghost ships, headless sailors, plague-ridden serpents, fever dreams and apocalyptic visions, and the wrath of God. We begin the episode with an intro to our complex relationship to one of the most ancient of all life forms. If you want to skip all bacteria stuff, The Plague of Justinian begins at 14:30

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