Ira Flatow

speaker
1,299 appearances 24 recordings 2 series first heard Apr 2026 last heard 6d ago

Ira Flatow’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

Trend

recordings per month · last 12 months
6 · Jun OctJan 26AprJulnow

Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 24 in all, peaking in Jun 2026 with 6.

Appearances

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Science Friday · Did the fire at the Library of Alexandria set humanity back? · 15 Sep 2026 podcast
Hey, it's Ira, and you're listening to Science Friday. voice-verified
In 48 BC, a massive fire ripped through the Library of Alexandria, one of the largest and most significant ancient libraries. voice-verified
It's estimated around 100,000 works of literature were lost, a staggering number. voice-verified
It's hard not to get a little sad at the scale of the great works that no longer exist. voice-verified
Well, throughout history, you know, there are lots of examples of things being lost. voice-verified
You've got lost cities like Pompeii, lost graves of figures like Genghis Khan, lost works of art from masters like da Vinci. voice-verified
And with each loss is a little bit of hope that someday, somehow, they'll be found again. voice-verified
My next guest has been on a quest to document the parts of history that have been lost so we can remember them once more. voice-verified
Sam Kean, author of The Museum of Lost Things. voice-verified
Welcome to Science Friday. voice-verified
Hello. voice-verified
Thanks for having me. voice-verified
Nice to have you back. voice-verified
All right, let's go back to 48 B.C. voice-verified
Do we know what it would have been like to walk through the Library of Alexandria? voice-verified
So you're talking about Greek, Roman scientists, philosophers, things like that? voice-verified
And, of course, so many of these items were made on papyrus, which is so fragile, right? voice-verified
I mean, they would have gone up in flame easily. voice-verified
How much of any of that actually survived? voice-verified
Yet with all this talk about a fire, you raise questions in your book about whether there really ever was a fire. voice-verified
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