An episode from 8/4/23: Tonight, we hear from cities under siege: In the first part, I read from the Roman historian Livy’s account of the sack of Rome by the Gauls in 387 BCE. The translation is by T. J. Luce. In the second part, I read from the diary of the French art historian Agnès Humbert, who lived in Paris during the first months of the German occupation in World War Two, and who was involved in some of the earliest resistance activities in France. Finally, I read a small section of William Blake’s long poem, Milton, where his personal mythology is given free reign over the city of London. The music I play in the introduction, from Ludwig Goranson’s score to the movie Oppenheimer, can be found here. Don’t forget to support Human Voices Wake Us on Substack, where you can also get our newsletter and other extras. You can also support the podcast by ordering any of my books: Notes from the Grid, To the House of the Sun, The Lonely Young & the Lonely Old, and Bone Antler Stone. Any comments, or suggestions for readings I should make in later episodes, can be emailed to [email protected].

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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