Main content

How Could Humanity Become Extinct?

Nuclear weapons and mega asteroids: what would the aftermath look like? CrowdScience explores past extinction events and future dystopias.

Nuclear weapons and mega asteroids: what would the aftermath look like? CrowdScience explores past extinction events and future dystopias.

In a past episode, CrowdScience headed to Denmark to find out whether humans could go the way of the dinosaurs – mass extinction triggered by a large asteroid impact 66 million years ago. Although no killer rocks are on route to Earth any time soon, we do not have to look far for other dystopias.

β€œDo we have enough nuclear weapons to destroy the world?”, listener Ronald from Uganda asks CrowdScience. It turns out there is a web app which can help answer this question. Together with its maker nuclear historian Alex Wellerstein, presenter Anand Jagatia tests hypothetical nuclear disaster scenarios and uncovers the nature of nuclear destruction in interviewees with climate scientist Alan Robock.

Do you have a question we can turn into a programme? Email us at crowdscience@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Anand Jagatia
Producer: Louisa Field

(Image: Explosion of a nuclear bomb Credit: Getty Images)

Available now

29 minutes

Last on

Mon 11 Sep 2017 13:32GMT

Broadcasts

  • Fri 8 Sep 2017 19:32GMT
  • Sat 9 Sep 2017 22:32GMT
  • Sat 9 Sep 2017 23:32GMT
  • Mon 11 Sep 2017 02:32GMT
  • Mon 11 Sep 2017 04:32GMT
  • Mon 11 Sep 2017 06:32GMT
  • Mon 11 Sep 2017 13:32GMT

Podcast