Annie Jacobsen

Temperature plummets, right? And there are all kinds of papers that have been written about this using modern calculate, you know, systems. And the numbers vary, but the bottom line is agriculture fails.

Temperature plummets, right? And there are all kinds of papers that have been written about this using modern calculate, you know, systems. And the numbers vary, but the bottom line is agriculture fails.

Temperature plummets, right? And there are all kinds of papers that have been written about this using modern calculate, you know, systems. And the numbers vary, but the bottom line is agriculture fails.

And we haven't even spoken of radiation poisoning because, you know, the radiation poisoning kills many people in the aftermath of the nuclear exchange. But after the nuclear freeze ends, after nuclear winter, you know, after the sun starts to come back, let's say eight, nine, ten years, Now you have no ozone layer or you have a severely depleted ozone layer.

And we haven't even spoken of radiation poisoning because, you know, the radiation poisoning kills many people in the aftermath of the nuclear exchange. But after the nuclear freeze ends, after nuclear winter, you know, after the sun starts to come back, let's say eight, nine, ten years, Now you have no ozone layer or you have a severely depleted ozone layer.

And we haven't even spoken of radiation poisoning because, you know, the radiation poisoning kills many people in the aftermath of the nuclear exchange. But after the nuclear freeze ends, after nuclear winter, you know, after the sun starts to come back, let's say eight, nine, ten years, Now you have no ozone layer or you have a severely depleted ozone layer.

And so the sun's rays are now poisonous. So you have people living underground and you have this great thawing. And with that great thawing comes pathogens and plague. And you have this, you know, system where the small bodied animals, the insects and whatnot, begin reproducing really fast. And the larger body animals like you and me begin to go extinct. Right.

And so the sun's rays are now poisonous. So you have people living underground and you have this great thawing. And with that great thawing comes pathogens and plague. And you have this, you know, system where the small bodied animals, the insects and whatnot, begin reproducing really fast. And the larger body animals like you and me begin to go extinct. Right.

And so the sun's rays are now poisonous. So you have people living underground and you have this great thawing. And with that great thawing comes pathogens and plague. And you have this, you know, system where the small bodied animals, the insects and whatnot, begin reproducing really fast. And the larger body animals like you and me begin to go extinct. Right.

Professor Toon said it to me this way. You know, he said 66 million years ago, an asteroid hit Earth, killed all the dinosaurs and wiped out 70% of the species. And nuclear war would likely do the same. And so here we are talking about this because there is a difference. There's nothing you can do about an asteroid, but there is something you can do about a nuclear war.

Professor Toon said it to me this way. You know, he said 66 million years ago, an asteroid hit Earth, killed all the dinosaurs and wiped out 70% of the species. And nuclear war would likely do the same. And so here we are talking about this because there is a difference. There's nothing you can do about an asteroid, but there is something you can do about a nuclear war.

Professor Toon said it to me this way. You know, he said 66 million years ago, an asteroid hit Earth, killed all the dinosaurs and wiped out 70% of the species. And nuclear war would likely do the same. And so here we are talking about this because there is a difference. There's nothing you can do about an asteroid, but there is something you can do about a nuclear war.

Carl Sagan talked about that in this amazing book that he wrote with two scientist colleagues called The Cold and the Dark. And there's a bunch of essays about exactly this, right? Like what would happen and how long would it take? It's really interesting. It's dated, you know, it's from the 80s, but man, is it shocking.

Carl Sagan talked about that in this amazing book that he wrote with two scientist colleagues called The Cold and the Dark. And there's a bunch of essays about exactly this, right? Like what would happen and how long would it take? It's really interesting. It's dated, you know, it's from the 80s, but man, is it shocking.

Carl Sagan talked about that in this amazing book that he wrote with two scientist colleagues called The Cold and the Dark. And there's a bunch of essays about exactly this, right? Like what would happen and how long would it take? It's really interesting. It's dated, you know, it's from the 80s, but man, is it shocking.

And you think about that where, okay, so men return to sort of the worst, most base versions of themselves. Civilization is gone, right? Meaning, you know, civil society. There's no rule of law. It's just fend for yourself. There's, you know, people fighting over what little resources there are. Man returns to a hunter-gatherer state.

And you think about that where, okay, so men return to sort of the worst, most base versions of themselves. Civilization is gone, right? Meaning, you know, civil society. There's no rule of law. It's just fend for yourself. There's, you know, people fighting over what little resources there are. Man returns to a hunter-gatherer state.

And you think about that where, okay, so men return to sort of the worst, most base versions of themselves. Civilization is gone, right? Meaning, you know, civil society. There's no rule of law. It's just fend for yourself. There's, you know, people fighting over what little resources there are. Man returns to a hunter-gatherer state.

And to really think about this idea, I looked at the oldest known archaeological site in the world in Turkey, which is called Gobekli Tepe. And it's really fascinating to me because I interviewed one of the two archaeologists who first found this site in the early 90s. And the lead archaeologist was a guy named Klaus Schmidt, and Michael Morsch was the young graduate student who was with him.

And to really think about this idea, I looked at the oldest known archaeological site in the world in Turkey, which is called Gobekli Tepe. And it's really fascinating to me because I interviewed one of the two archaeologists who first found this site in the early 90s. And the lead archaeologist was a guy named Klaus Schmidt, and Michael Morsch was the young graduate student who was with him.