Trees are one way to cool down a city. Architects in ancient Rome also designed buildings with porticos for shade and air flow.

Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, and Pedro Pascal face off in Ridley Scott's "Gladiator II." Review.

Professor of Ancient Rome Lauren D. Ginsberg answers the internet's burning questions about the Roman Empire. What did Romans snack on in the Colosseum? Why does Ancient Roman concrete differ from modern forms of concrete? Did gladiators really fight lions? This Roman expert answers all these questions and much more. Director: Justin Wolfson Director of Photography: Constantine Economides Editor: Louville Moore; Ron Douglas Expert: Lauren Ginsberg Line Producer: Joseph Buscemi Associate Producer: Paul Gulyas; Brandon White Production Manager: D. Eric Martinez Production Coordinator: Fernando Davila Casting Producer: Nicholas Sawyer Camera Operator: Christopher Eustache Gaffer: Rebecca Van Der Meulen Sound Mixer: Michael Guggino Production Assistant: Sonia Butt Post Production Supervisor: Alexa Deutsch Post Production Coordinator: Ian Bryant Supervising Editor: Doug Larsen Additional Editor: Paul Tael Assistant Editor: Billy Ward

Traces of lead pinpoint economic activity, but doubts about contamination have been raised

Traces of lead pinpoint economic activity, but doubts about contamination have been raised

Two thousand years ago, ancient Romans were pumping lead into the air as they smelted ores to make the silvery coin of the realm. Online News Editor David Grimm talks to Sarah Crespi about how the pollution of ice in Greenland from this process provides a detailed 1900-year record of Roman history. This week is also resistance week at Science—where researchers explore the global challenges of antibiotic resistance, pesticide resistance, herbicide resistance, and fungicide resistance. Sarah talks with Sarah Gurr of the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom about her group’s work on the spread of antifungal resistance and what it means for crops and in the clinic. And in a bonus books segment, staff writer Jennifer Couzin-Frankel talks about medicine and fraud in her review of Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou. This week’s episode was edited by Podigy. Listen to previous podcasts. [Image: Wheat rust/Oregon State University; Music: Jeffrey Cook]

Beard, Mary, 1955- author

Geue, Tom, author

Traces of lead pinpoint economic activity, but doubts about contamination have been raised

Traces of lead pinpoint economic activity, but doubts about contamination have been raised