The sixth century was a time of extreme crisis and extraordinary survival for the Eastern Roman Empire. Justinian I’s reign is the height of this empire. This is his story.
Knowing the history of infectious disease epidemics and pandemics like plague, smallpox, cholera, etc. is important when it comes to understanding whatever new disease comes our way. In this video, I discuss how the plague thwarted Justinian’s efforts to make the Mediterranean a Roman lake again in the middle of the sixth century.
When AIDS came around when I was a kid, the thing that really fascinated me about it was where it came from and how it managed to travel all around the world and become such a problem in such a relatively short time. I have always been interested in how an emerging disease manages to […]
Growing up, my old man always told me, “if you leave them alone, they’ll leave you alone.” That was the word in the house pretty much any time a wasp would fly inside or a creepy spider was in the basement. Just let it be. It’s more scared of you than you are of it. […]
In this second episode on Ebola, I explain what it does to a human host.
In this first episode on Ebola, I explain how it spreads.
Around four years ago, I got the idea to write a show about bubonic plague. Not on just one or two outbreaks or something, but an entire stage show where I just talk about bubonic plague for three hours. Any takers? No? Huh. As a fan of history, I really felt that the story of plague […]
Right around my early twenties I began to get a bit overwhelmed with the feeling that I didn’t know anything. I was haunted by the urge to grow as a person, especially intellectually. I began to load up on literature, physical exercise and classical music. I had always felt a deep attraction to classical music and sadly, it’s not […]
I used to work a terrible job as a pizza delivery guy when I was in high school back in Massachusetts. I had it bad for a hostess who worked at the restaurant with me. Her name was Jill. Jill had long brown hair, she was short and slender and always wore fancy shit. I rarely saw her […]
Sometimes, when I feel the cold, stark truth of reality and sadness breathing down my neck like a long-drowned lover, I draw a cartoon I call Big Boom Balloon. I also did a couple videos based on the characters. Watch my first one here, It’s called Half Baby Jesus. It’s about a boy and his new found friend, […]
Terrifying World 