Claudius issued edicts that would have made the Telegraph apoplectic: if you abandoned a sick slave, that slave went free. If you killed a slave instead of treating their illness, you faced murder charges. The hosts note this is the Roman Empire's version of 'woke nonsense' — and that it worked.
Where this was said
At 40:00 · chapter starts 37:16
In the year 50 AD, Claudius orders the expulsion of Jews from Rome, with the historical record offering no clear reason. Fin needs only two words: 'They're Jewish.' This sparks one of the episode's more pointed riffs — that Jewish expulsion is the single constant across every era the show covers, with the hosts framing Netanyahu's modern Israel as a 'Uno reverse' of 2,000 years of persecution. [1] — Fin Taylor "It is the one constant through every era that we talk about on this show, is that if there are Jews there, they'll be kicked out shortly...…" 38:34 The episode then shifts to Claudius's more admirable legacy: his slave protection edicts. If a master abandoned a sick slave, that slave went free. If a master killed a sick slave instead of treating them, the master faced murder charges. The hosts frame this as ancient Rome's version of woke policy — imagining Telegraph headlines about 'squeezing slave owners' who now have to actually care for their human property.
Claudius was described as issuing approximately 20 edicts per day during his reign, compared by the hosts to Trump's prolific executive order output.
Claudius issued a decree allowing people to fart in public, motivated by concerns about the health risks of holding in flatulence.
Claudius issued a historic edict legalising public farting, driven by genuine medical concern about the dangers of holding in gas. The hosts note — with some scientific backing from their researcher Charlie — that suppressed farts can come out as burps that travel through the lungs.
Kierkegaard lost five of six siblings and his mother before adulthood, grew up under a shame-ridden father, fell in love, proposed, then mailed back the ring and fled to Berlin. His inability to live up to his own most important commitment became the engine of his entire philosophical project.
Casanova escaped from Venice's inquisition prison, met Voltaire, Catherine the Great, Benjamin Franklin, and Mozart — then died completely alone in a Slovak castle, broke, telling stories to children who thought he was a crazy old man. His 2,000-page memoir sat unread for decades. A life full of fireworks that meant nothing.
Factories that replaced coal engines with electric ones in the early 1900s got only 6% efficiency gains. Those that redesigned their entire factory around electricity got a 3x productivity improvement. Swapping AI tools into your existing structure will give you 6%. Rebuilding around AI will give you 10x.
Lebanese terrorists backed by Iran were holding American hostages throughout the Reagan presidency. Reagan had loudly campaigned against negotiating with terrorists — putting him in an impossible position that his team quietly decided to ignore.
During the Iran-Iraq War, the US openly supplied Iraq with weapons, training, and intelligence. At the same time, Oliver North was secretly funneling missiles to Iran. The US was playing both sides of a shooting war.
Oliver North traveled to Iran under the alias 'William P. Goode' with a fake passport. CIA Director William Casey allegedly gave him cyanide pills so he could kill himself rather than be tortured if captured. He returned safely and the deal moved forward.
The Pentagon sold missiles to the CIA for $3,700 each. The CIA sold them to Richard Secord at cost. Secord sold them to Iranian middleman Ghorbanifar for $10,000 each. Ghorbanifar charged Iran even more. The profit — including $3 million in interest in one Swiss account — was diverted directly to fund the Nicaraguan Contras.
America secretly transferred 2,000 missiles and missile parts to Iran in 8 shipments over more than a year. Only 3 of 7 hostages were released. Three more were taken. The net result was zero freed hostages and a full-blown constitutional scandal.
On October 5, 1986, a CIA Contra supply plane flew a weapons drop at 2,500 feet in broad daylight. A Sandinista soldier shot it down. The only survivor, Eugene Hasenfuss, had borrowed a parachute from his skydiving brother. He was captured, paraded in front of cameras, and told the Sandinistas everything he knew.
We use essential and analytics cookies to run Vuci. To understand how the site is used: Privacy Policy.
Install Vuci on your phone
Add it to your home screen for a faster, app-like experience.
Install Vuci on your phone
Tap the Share button, then “Add to Home Screen”.
A new version is available
Reload to get the latest Vuci.