Science Fictions
Tom Chivers and Stuart Ritchie
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Episode 59: The apocalypse
In this “fun”, festive episode of The Studies Show, Tom and Stuart discuss two ways—one man-made, one natural—that our species might be wiped off the planet. The first is “mirror life”, a science-fiction-sounding threat that hardly anyone had heard of until last week, when a group of concerned scientists wrote an open letter arguing that this is a technology that should never be developed. The second is the eruption of a supervolcano, which has a scarily high likelihood of happening in the next century… and for which scientists say we’re “woefully underprepared”. Have a cheery Christmas! Here’s your chance to do some clear, measurable good this Christmas. We’re pleased to say that we’re being sponsored by GiveWell, the non-profit organisation who use evidence to work out which charities are the most impactful and effective. The really good news is that they’ll match any donation up to $100 for first-time donors who tell them at the checkout that they heard about GiveWell on a podcast, and then choose THE STUDIES SHOW. Go to GiveWell.org and click “donate” to get started. Show notes * Mirror life: * The 300-page full Stanford report * Science perspective piece on the risks of mirror life * Asimov Press explainer article * Supervolcanoes: * I HATE ICELAND! * Nature piece from 2022 about our “woeful” level of preparation for a massive volcanic eruption * 1816, the “year without a summer” * Evidence against the idea that Mt. Tambora nearly drove humans to extinction * 2024 paper that’s sceptical of global cooling beyond 1.5 degrees C * 2023 paper with a much more pessimistic scenario * Two useful discussions (first, second) of the effects of supervolcanoes on the Effective Altruism forum * 2018 article on what interventions might prevent or mitigate supervolcanic eruptions Credits The Studies Show is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thestudiesshowpod.com/subscribe
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