The Ancient Roman Origins of Government Disaster Response

When we reflect on the history of government response to natural disasters such as plagues, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and now Covid-19, we discover that the expectation that central governments should play a role in recovering from such disasters can be traced back to the actions of three Roman emperors of the 1st century: Titus, Nero and Tiberius. This podcast traces their history of response to disasters and how it relates to today.   Written by Steven L. Tuck, Professor of Classics at Miami University. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at http://origins.osu.edu/connecting-his....   This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit http://origins.osu.edu.   Video production by Laura Seeger and Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Production assistance by Kristin Osborne. Audio production by Paul Kotheimer, College of Arts & Sciences Academic Technology Services. The Origins' editorial team includes Editors Nicholas Breyfogle, Steven Conn and David Steigerwald; Managing Editors Lauren Henry, Sarah Paxton and Brionna Mendoza; Associate Editor: Mina Park and Kristin Osborne   We thank the Stanton Foundation for their funding of this and other Origins projects. http://thestantonfoundation.org/  Follow us on Twitter: @HistoryTalkPod and @OriginsOSU, Facebook: @Origins OSU and Tumblr: at osuorigins.tumblr.com.   This content is made possible, in part, by Ohio Humanities, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this content do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.