Ben Bradford
@jbenbradford.bsky.social
Audio journalist covering where we've been and where we're going. Creator/host of Are We Doomed?, Landslide (NPR Network) and Of The People (Audible).
Why do AI doomers say it could kill us all? And by that I mean, how? If you haven't heard their logic, I think it's worth understanding. We did an easy-to-explain (slightly tongue in cheek) roundup that I think holds up quite well:
We Design the AI That Kills Us All
Listen to We Design the AI That Kills Us All from Are We Doomed? wherever you get your podcasts!
pod.link
This is a humiliating headline, if it's true (and I think it is). A huge outcry is rising across the industry and among those watching it, warning we're on course for catastrophe, and the main question is just how big. But, sure, we can't stop racing to it before another country?
Learn how to survive nuclear war, decide whether we should take out the mosquito and screwworm fly, and whether to be worried about supervolcanoes (no). It’s really news you can use
Maria Hollenhorst@mariahollenhorst.bsky.social · 3mo agoSo proud of Ben!! Everybody go listen to his pod! It is good.
Apple has named Are We Doomed? one of its best podcasts of the year so far. It's shows that are "surprising, hopeful, revealing, haunting, and hilarious" — which may sound counterintuitive if you haven't heard us! But we do things like
The (brief) 1960s fallout shelter boom that spawned, like, all of our popular image of nuclear war — talked about it with @popsci.com’s Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t... Very fun!
Fallout Shelter Fads, The Library of Cocaine, Mosquito Nepobaby
Podcast Episode · The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week · July 1 · 1h 6m
podcasts.apple.com
The @jbenbradford.bsky.social podcast "Are We Doomed?" did a whole epsiode about sterilizing mosquitos! youtu.be/nBPecQw-11A?...
Killing the World’s Deadliest Animal
YouTube video by Are We Doomed?
youtu.be
San Francisco Chronicle@sfchronicle.com · 4mo agoGoogle is seeking permission from federal regulators to release up to 32 million sterile mosquitoes in California — a pest control technique meant to quell the spread of an invasive mosquito species that’s been expanding to many parts of the state, including the Bay Area.
If you want to know what the deal is with the screwworm fly found in Texas, we JUST did a whole thing about it: (at 24:52)
Killing the World’s Deadliest Animal
YouTube video by Are We Doomed?
youtu.be
David Dayen@ddayen.bsky.social · 4mo agooh shit
Today on Are We Doomed? we’re asking the important question — can we kill the internet?
We Try and Kill the Internet
Podcast Episode · Are We Doomed? · June 2 · 33m
podcasts.apple.com
The times can feel bleak! It’s worth remembering humanity has made it through other crises that once felt existential — and asking how. Loved talking to @paleofuture.bsky.social about The Population Bomb, 20th-century robo-takeover fears, and why nations still haven’t nuked each other into oblivion.
Really loved diving deep with @matthewshaer.bsky.social about how to build a show, for his great podcast Origin Stories: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...
Ben Bradford on Are We Doomed?
Podcast Episode · Origin Stories · May 20 · 33m
podcasts.apple.com
Like his previous podcasts, which explored the impact of America’s political past on the present, @jbenbradford.bsky.social wants his new @npr.org show to “use the past to help us think [about] where we are going in the future.” current.org/2026/05/a-ne...
A new NPR podcast dares to ask ‘Are We Doomed?’
Creator Ben Bradford says the show can interrogate the “growing feeling across society that things are falling apart and are less good than they used to be.”
current.org
This is cool: In less than a month, "Are We Doomed?" has become the #8 science podcast! Nukes, supervolcanoes, rogue AI, little jerk mosquitoes — come have a surprising amount of fun fathoming the abyss! pod.link/1893359212
Today on Are We Doomed? — the mosquito. Should we kill it? You gotta hear Kevin and, most importantly, meet Jerry…
How Do You Kill a Mosquito?
open.spotify.com
About to go on at my old station at Capital Public Radio talking DOOM! player.capradio.org/streams?_ga=...
CapRadio Player - player.capradio.org
Listen to CapRadio, including live streaming of the News and Music stations, Jazz and Classical, and on-demand latest news.
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Are we doomed? Or ... do we just feel doomed? I made a new show about that. (Distributed by NPR Network)
It’s great, funny, amazing work. I do not know this man and this is unsolicited.
Rodger Sherman@rodger.bsky.social · 8mo agoanother rave review for paid subscriptions to Sports! paid benefits include: —nothing —you literally get the same newsletter as the people who don't pay —you're just helping me maybe make a living doing the newsletter instead of doing stuff besides the newsletter sports.beehiiv.com/subscribe
Here's something I post from time to time. My answer to a reader who asked me: what could journalists do NOW to break with some of their more corrosive habits.
A reminder that a huge portion of Americans are being spun a tale that LA is in flames, with riots akin to ‘92 and ‘64. Also that the gov and mayor are sanctioning it (as if that would make political sense)
Thrilled to announce: Landslide was awarded Gold for Best Narrative/Documentary Podcast by the New York Festival! It's a great time to jump into the series or our recent follow-up "Engines of Outrage" — wild, suspenseful stories and the context behind so much of what we're seeing in Washington.
This poll is it. The truth of what is happening right now continues not to reach a huge number of Americans. Why? The places they get information feed them a distorted version of reality, for profit and political gain. Until that gets overcome, we’re not getting out of this mess.
Philip Bump@pbump.com · last yr.The administration is trying to gin up accusations against Abrego Garcia to give political cover to ignoring SCOTUS. Republicans are already convinced. Free to read: s2.washingtonpost.com/camp-rw/?tra...
I’m late to this, but one of the internet’s most entertaining writers explained tariffs the way they should always be explained.
Brian Phillips@brianphillips.lol · 2y agoI wrote about the tariffs.
The media environment has changed. Read this thread to see why reality has become so hard to convey and what it means for the coming days.
Ben Bradford@jbenbradford.bsky.social · 2y agoA lot of the political discourse I see on here forgets something essential. The unilateral agency shutdowns, mass firings, ethics rule flouting, etc. are politically acceptable to so many Americans. There’s a reason. You might know it.
A lot of the political discourse I see on here forgets something essential. The unilateral agency shutdowns, mass firings, ethics rule flouting, etc. are politically acceptable to so many Americans. There’s a reason. You might know it.
This is incredibly good. A terrifying account of the epistemological and technological dimensions of our current crisis in which one political party has become a powerful, mind-bending engine of anti-democratic propaganda. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/l...
Engines of Outrage Pt. 2
Podcast Episode · Landslide · S1 E13 · 30m
podcasts.apple.com
The WHY is really important. The base of support is not looking at CBS or NYT, or hearing concerns about lawlessness or constitutionality. They are seeing a fundamentally different information stream.
Eric Lipton NYT@ericlipton.nytimes.com · 2y agoThis post will generate angry responses, insults. etc. But important info here. Outside the coasts/Beltway, it appears that SOME of what Trump is doing is generating support, is popular with his base. Politically complicates situation for Dems too. www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-a...
Did you have a tough conversation after the election with a friend or loved one who voted for the opposite presidential candidate? Landslide is doing a new miniseries and I would love to talk to you about it. Email us at info[at]nuancetales[dot]com. (And, even if not — please share!)
I would only add that Ronald Reagan made political hay out of the canal starting in the 1976 primaries until Carter signed the treaty. It is possibly THE issue that most propelled Reagan. That transformed the canal from uncontroversial into a lightning rod and a subject of conspiracy theory.
NPR@npr.org · 2y agoHanding control of the Panama Canal from the U.S. over to the Central American country was one of President Jimmy Carter's most controversial, and most overshadowed, foreign policy achievements.
The @jbenbradford.bsky.social "Landslide" podcast also covered the New Right's infatuation with the Panama Canal, starting from the 1970s
