Several times throughout human history, people have experienced extreme events that made them believe their world might be coming to end. In this episode, we discuss two of these terrifying times, the Late Antique Little Ice Age that began around 536 CE, and the Dust Bowl that plagued American and Canadian prairies from 1930-1936. We then journey further back in time to discuss the mass extinction events that have occurred several times across Earth’s history, and take a look forward at what might ultimately destroy the planet we call home. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Pandora, iHeartRadio, and more.
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Here are our sources:
536 CE “The Worst Year to be Alive”
- https://www.science.org/content/article/why-536-was-worst-year-be-alive
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379122005674
- https://sciencenorway.no/archaeology-climate-cultural-history/the-long-harsh-fimbul-winter-is-not-a-myth/1613223
- https://radiolab.org/podcast/worst-year-ever
- https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/five-apocalypses-humanity-has-survived
Dust Bowl:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_Bowl
- https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/dust-bowl
- https://benjaminleebison.com/pages/the-dust-bowl
- https://drought.unl.edu/dustbowl/
- https://www.weather.gov/media/oun/newsletter/spring2010.pdf
Mass Extinction:
- https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/dinosaurs-ancient-fossils/extinction/mass-extinction
- https://kottke.org/18/06/the-dinosaur-killing-asteroid-that-struck-earth-was-unbelievably-huge-and-fast
- https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/mass-extinctions
- https://www.livescience.com/mass-extinction-events-that-shaped-Earth.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunguska_event
- https://www.sciencefocus.com/space/if-humans-dont-finish-it-when-will-the-world-actually-end/