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The strongest short-term cooling event on Earth over the past 2000 years occurred from 536-550 of the Common Era. Historical accounts of an atmospheric dust veil in AD 536 were reported in many locations throughout the northern hemisphere during this time, including: the Mediterranean basin, the British Isles, and China. Summer crop failures and famine were also widespread during this period, with some scholars suggesting that as many as 50 million fatalities can be traced to this event. Historians have also linked several pivotal world events around this time to the strong 6th century cooling, most notably the first bubonic plague pandemic in Europe (“Plague of Justinian”), a weakening of the eastern Roman Empire, and the rapid ascent of Islam. Although some scientists initially believed that the global cooling might have been caused by a comet or asteroid impact, evidence has emerged over the past decade to implicate a series of strong volcanic eruptions. Evidence from ice cores in Greenland and Antarctica suggest that the three separate eruptions occurred in AD 536, 540, and 547. The second of these was apparently the largest of the three and was of tropical origin. The eruption of Ilopango Volcano in El Salvador is thought to be the AD 540 ‘mystery’ tropical volcano that pushed the planet into a food security crisis during the 6th century. This eruption was a magnitude 7 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index, ranking it as one of the top 10 largest eruptions on Earth over the past 10,000 years.

Join us as we examine the eruption of Ilopango Volcano and explore the regional impacts on Central America during this time, including the suggestion that 250,000+ Maya might have perished as a direct result of scorching pyroclastic flows and thick deposits of ash covering all of El Salvador and adjoining regions of Honduras and Guatemala.


Dr. Robert Dull is the Chair of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Cal Lutheran. His research seeks to elucidate human-environment relationships over time, with emphases on the Late Prehistoric and Colonial periods in the Americas. Dr. Dull works on topics ranging from deforestation and food production to climate change and natural hazards. He has spent most of his career working in Central America, although he also has ongoing research projects in California. Dull’s work on Ilopango has been featured by many outlets, including Science Magazine, Forbes, New Scientist, and National Geographic. Dr. Dull grew up in Bakersfield, CA and received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 2001. Before arriving at CLU in 2019 to Chair the newly formed Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, he held full-time academic appointments at UC Berkeley, Texas A&M University, and the University of Texas, Austin.

“BEST New Year’s Eve events in Los Angeles!” LA Times, LA Weekly, Daily News.

Champagne, sparkling juice, and a delectable dessert buffet accompany this rousing, family-friendly Rudie-DeCarlo musical revue with Playhouse joining in the singing, dancing, humor and other delights culled from over 6 decades of audience favorite Santa Monica Playhouse productions. With finger-snapping jazz, foot-stompin’ sing-a-longs, Jewish patter songs, romantic ballads, this show has it all! Add hats, tiaras, noisemakers, leis and streamers and you have a not-to-be-missed New Year’s Eve celebration. “A company that knows what its audience expects from an evening of theatre!” LA TIMES.
Usher in 2024 and the Playhouse's 64th anniversary of continuous theatrical and educational services to the community. Featuring internationally acclaimed Actors’ Repertory Theatre members Holly Gibson, Isabel Lindley, Michala Peltz, Playhouse Co-Artistic Directors Chris DeCarlo and Evelyn Rudie, and guest artists Larissa Dowling, Kellen Gold and J.T. Melaragno, it’s the BEST New Year’s celebration in town!

The 10:30 show lets you celebrate the changeover to the New Year in the theatre with members of the Santa Monica Playhouse Actors' Repertory Theatre. The 7:00 show offers everything the later show does and is a great way to celebrate with the entire family, letting the kids have a real New Year's Eve treat, and get home at a reasonable hour, or kick off an evening of after-theatre dining and celebrating. Champagne, sparkling juice and dessert buffet served 6:30 to 7:00 and 10:00 to 10:30. Tickets go VERY FAST so book today!

“The Playhouse is truly a gem in this city and visiting it should be at the top of everyone’s to do list!” DAILY BRUIN.

Santa Monica Playhouse programs are supported in part by City of Santa Monica and the Santa Monica Arts Commission, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, the Ahmanson Foundation and Playhouse PALS.

“BEST New Year’s Eve events in LA!” lists
LA Times, LA Weekly, Daily News, NBC, DO LA

Champagne, sparkling juice, and a delectable dessert buffet accompany this rousing, family-friendly Rudie-DeCarlo musical revue. Join in the singing, dancing, humor and other delights culled from over 6 decades of audience favorite Santa Monica Playhouse productions. With finger-snapping jazz, foot-stompin’ sing-a-longs, Jewish patter songs, romantic ballads, this show has it all! Add hats, tiaras, noisemakers, leis and streamers and you have a not-to-be-missed New Year’s Eve celebration. “A company that knows what its audience expects from an evening of theatre!” LA TIMES.
Usher in 2025 and the Playhouse's 65th anniversary of continuous theatrical and educational services to the community. With internationally acclaimed Actors’ Repertory Theatre members Sarah Hajmomenian, Madeleine Lemay and Charlotte Robinson joining Chris DeCarlo and Evelyn Rudie and a host of featured players rounding out the cast, it’s the BEST New Year’s celebration in town!

The 10:30 show lets you celebrate the changeover to the New Year in the theatre with members of the cast. The 7:00 show offers everything the later show does and is a great way to celebrate with the entire family, letting the kids have a real New Year's Eve treat, and get home at a reasonable hour, or kick off an evening of after-theatre dining and celebrating. Champagne, sparkling juice and dessert buffet served 6:30 to 7:00 and 10:00 to 10:30. Tickets go VERY FAST so book today!

“The Playhouse is truly a gem in this city and visiting it should be at the top of everyone’s to do list!” DAILY BRUIN.

Santa Monica Playhouse programs are supported in part by the We Are Santa Monica Fund, the City of Santa Monica and the Santa Monica Arts Commission, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture and Playhouse PALS.

There are no surprises among the top seeds in the NCAA men's basketball tournament. But the larger field, as always, contains some unexpected dancers. Renee Montagne talks to sports commentator John Feinstein about the NCAA Tournament's present, and past.

The NCAA basketball tournaments can be onslaught of unfamiliar names and terms enough to make any casual viewer nervous. We're here to help. (Except for NET. We can't explain NET.)

The 68-team fields for the men's and women's NCAA basketball tournaments will be unveiled Sunday night, and the games begin next week.