Doomed astronauts and doomed Romans

I’m ending my night with this chilling gem from the November 2003 edition of Atlantic Monthly, “Columbia’s Last Flight” by William Langewiesche.

This was Langewiesche’s first piece after his multi-part report from the World Trade Center site, one of my favorite pieces from the magazine. Find more of his work here.

Also, check out one of my favorite shows, “Secrets of the Dead,” which took a closer look at what really happened at the Roman city of Herculaneum when Mount Vesuvius exploded, burying it and Pompeii for centuries. Later, the series explored the recent discovery of Roman cargo ships near the beautiful Italian island of Ventotene. Why they were there and why they sank has been a famous mystery, until now.

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