Episode Details

With the churn of daily news growing more apocalyptic by the headline, and with earth scientists competing ferociously for the title of “gloomiest doomer,” it’s time for some fun (or at least making fun) with a new fantasy-football-style draft. This time, Jason, Rob, and Asher are making their way through their top 3 signs of civilizational collapse, in 3 categories: Earth systems, pop culture, and politics. But they refuse to remain mired in the muck. Each draft pick has to be accompanied by a countervailing force, a real-world example of people facing reality and building resilience together. Originally recorded on 5/22/26.

Sources & Links

• The 'Doomsday' Glacier's Giant Ice Shelf by Alison George, New Scientist, May 18, 2026
• Thwaites glacier in Antarctica
• Antarctica’s ‘doomsday glacier’ by Hope Nguyen, Yahoo! News, May 20, 2026
• Plastic-Eating Microbe by Hafsa Aslam, UC Davis, Apr 7, 2025
• Gardening google search trend
• Advances in AI will boost productivity, by Mark A. Wynne and Lillian Derr, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, June 24, 205
• Dallas Fed Chart 3 Possible AI Futures by Rudo Chakrabarti, Yahoo! Finance, May 9, 2026
• Local governments oases of compromise by Alexandra Marquez, NBC News, Oct 23, 2024
• North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre collapse by Laurie Laybourn, IPPR.org, Oct 9, 2024
• Global Tipping Points: Atlantic Circulation
• The most pro-business Supreme Court ever by Felix Salmon, Axios, Aug 4, 2022
• Voting Rights Decision, New York Times, May 28, 2026
• Planetary Boundaries framework
• Land System Change