

Are We Doomed?
NPR Network
Is the world ending, or does it just feel like it?
"Are We Doomed?" investigates the greatest risks facing society, the planet, and our species. What’s real? What’s hype? And how do we actually make it out alive?
Nukes. Asteroids. Autocracy. Rogue AI. Climate-driven pandemics. Angry hippopotamuses. Teeth clenched, curiosity engaged, quips ready, this “slightly narrative” podcast explores everything from the existential and the unexpected to the overblown.
Award-winning public radio journalist Ben Bradford brings you wild true stories, high-production sound design, and world-class experts answering the questions they never prepared for (“Why is the Earth doing this to us?”). From NuanceTales and distributed by the NPR Network, this show delves into history, science, technology, and the natural world, to help you separate legitimate world-changing risks from doomsday fantasies.
Come for the supervolcano under Yellowstone National Park (real), stay to learn why the post-apocalyptic wasteland won’t look like the movies (sorry, you won’t be wandering with a shotgun and a dog), and leave with a better understanding of how our brilliant, bumbling species can chart a path through our current, terrifying adolescence.
- 16 episodes
- Updated Tuesday
Episodes16
Tuesday · 40 min
July 21 · 37 minWe Are Losing the Moon
July 14 · 36 minAsteroids! The Doom We're Best At
July 7 · 33 minOur Vision of the Post-Apocalypse Is Wrong
June 30 · 39 minIs Geoengineering A Good Idea?
June 23 · 35 minThe True AI Threat is People
June 16 · 31 minIs the World Ending or Are We Just Online?
June 9 · 37 minAre We Going the Way of the Roman Empire?
June 2 · 32 minWe Try and Kill the Internet
May 26 · 34 minPast Dooms That Didn't Arrive
May 19 · 37 minHow To Survive a Nuclear War
May 12 · 35 minHow Do You Kill a Mosquito?
May 5 · 40 minSupervolcano!
April 28 · 35 minLet’s Design the AI That Kills Us All
April 28 · 37 minHow To Start a Nuclear War
April 21 · 2 minIntroducing Are We Doomed?