Emperor Nero (Radio Edit)
You're Dead to Me
BBC
4.7 • 11.8K Ratings
🗓️ 1 May 2026
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Greg Jenner is joined in ancient Rome by Professor Mary Beard and comedian and actor Patton Oswalt to learn all about Emperor Nero.
Nero has gone down in history as one of Rome’s most infamous rulers – the villain in any number of films and television programmes, and the man who fiddled while the eternal city burned. He was also emperor during a number of momentous moments in the history of ancient Rome, including the revolt in Britain led by Iceni warrior queen Boudica. But does he deserve his notorious posthumous reputation?
This episode explores the man and the myth, examining Nero’s complicated path to the imperial throne, his relationship with famous philosopher Seneca the Younger, his murderous behaviour towards the women in his life, and the numerous plots that swirled around him. Along the way, we take a look at the more ridiculous moments in Nero’s life, including the athletic games he founded, the festival to himself that he instituted, and his numerous dramatic appearances on the stage.
This is a radio edit of the original podcast episode. For the full-length version, please look further back in the feed.
Hosted by: Greg Jenner Research by: Aimee Hinds Scott Written by: Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Dr Emma Nagouse, and Greg Jenner Produced by: Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner Audio Producer: Steve Hankey Production Coordinator: Gill Huggett Senior Producer: Dr Emma Nagouse Executive Editor: Philip Sellars
Transcript
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| 0:29.4 | Race across the world, the detour. |
| 0:31.4 | Watch an eye player, listen for more on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:37.6 | Hello and welcome to Yodentemite, the Radio 4 comedy podcast that takes history seriously. |
| 0:42.6 | My name is Greg Jenner. |
| 0:43.7 | I'm a public historian, author and broadcaster. |
| 0:45.9 | And today, we are flouncing back to the first century and fiddling while Rome burns, |
| 0:50.6 | as we learn all about Emperor Nero. |
| 0:52.7 | And to help us tell apart our Giulio Claudians from our Flavians, we have two very special guests. In History Corner, she is a renowned classicist, author and broadcaster. Maybe you've read one of her best-selling books, including Pompeii, the Life of Roman Town, 12 Caesars, Women in Power, or her most recent Emperor of Rome. You'll know her from all kinds of BBC TV programs, |
| 1:11.0 | including Pompeii New Secrets Revealed, and she's the co-host of the acclaimed Instant Classics podcast. It's only Professor Mary Beard. Welcome Mary. Well, it's great to be here and be with both of you and even in the company of the Emperor Niro. We'll see about that. We'll see how we feel about him later. |
| 1:44.7 | And in Comedy Corner, he's an Emmy and Grammy award-winning comedian and actor. He's appeared in many of my absolute favourite sitcoms, including AP Bio, Bojack Horseman, Veep. He starred in films including Rattatooey, Ghostbusters Frozen Empire and Secret Life of Pets 2. Or you've called him on the celebrity edition of the American and great British baking show. |
| 1:46.1 | He's a culinary master and you'll definitely remember |
| 1:47.5 | and you'll definitely remember. Life of Pets 2. Or you've caught him on the celebrity edition of the American Great British Baking |
| 1:44.4 | Show. He's a culinary master and you'll definitely remember him from our episode on the |
... |
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