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Referenced as the first source to give us the name of Qatar. Pliny describes various peoples along the Gulf including 'the Cathare' and discusses pearls, towns built from salt blocks, and tribes of fish eaters. Described as 'another of my favourite classical writers.'

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Referenced as the source for a story about an embassy from Lisbon (Olisipo) reporting to Emperor Tiberius about a triton seen playing on a shell in a cave. Tom says 'we get this from a friend of the show, Pliny the Elder.'

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Tom references Pliny the Elder as one of his favorite classical writers and specifically mentions 'in his natural history' where Pliny discusses animals including pigeons, their lifespan, and various claims about their behavior.

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Referenced as the source for the famous story about Cleopatra dissolving a pearl in vinegar and drinking it

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Tom explicitly states 'I've been reading through all his natural history' for a new book he's working on, discussing Pliny's compendium of facts about natural phenomena including animals.

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Tom mentions he is currently 'reading Pliny the Elder, who is a fantastic encyclopedia, absolutely panoramic' and describes Pliny's account of oil's uses including cement, keeping away snakes, curing toothache, leprosy, epilepsy, gout, and coughs.

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Referenced when discussing what ancient Romans knew about Vesuvius. Sophie mentions 'Pliny the Elder, who is Mr. Natural History, he didn't really even think that Vesuvius was a volcano anyway' - referring to his encyclopedic work on the natural world.