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The Gray Area with Sean Illing

The world after nuclear war

The Gray Area with Sean Illing

Vox Media Podcast Network

Society & Culture, News, Politics, News Commentary, Philosophy

4.610.8K Ratings

🗓️ 17 June 2024

⏱️ 62 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

A mile of pure fire. A flash that melts everything — titanium, steel, lead, people. A blast that mows down every structure in its path, 3 miles out in every direction. Journalist Annie Jacobsen spent years interviewing scientists, high-ranking military officials, politicians, and other experts to find out how a nuclear attack would be triggered, the devastation it would cause, the ruptures it would create in the social fabric, and how likely it is to happen today. She wrote about all of this in her new book Nuclear War: A Scenario. Jacobsen spends the hour clearly laying out the horrifying yet captivating specifics for Sean, and the prospects for avoiding catastrophe. Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area Guest: Annie Jacobsen. Her book is Nuclear War: A Scenario Enjoyed this episode? Rate The Gray Area ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Be the first to hear new episodes of The Gray Area by following us in your favorite podcast app. Links here: https://www.vox.com/the-gray-area Support The Gray Area by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

So you've arrived.

0:03.0

head to the brasserie, then the terrace, cocktail?

0:07.0

Don't mind if I do.

0:10.0

You raise your glass to another guest because you both know the holidays just beginning.

0:16.0

And you're only in Terminal 3.

0:19.0

Welcome to Virgin Atlantic's unique upper class clubhouse experience,

0:23.8

where you'll feel like you've arrived before you've taken off.

0:28.4

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0:37.0

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0:41.0

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0:44.8

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0:50.7

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0:54.7

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0:59.7

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1:04.3

Available to buy now wherever books are sold.

1:07.0

I find it disturbingly easy to imagine all the ways the world could end.

1:15.8

You, dear listener, probably know this already since we've done our fair share of dystopian shows.

1:23.0

On a long enough timeline we're all dead anyway.

1:25.0

Except that discovery was aliens destroying us.

1:29.0

AI will either destroy humanity or create utopia.

1:34.0

So in other words, everything is on fire.

1:36.0

Everything is on fire, yeah.

...

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