The Doomsday Clock is closer too midnight than it's ever been, which is not awesome. But what does this metaphorical clock even indicate?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Chapter 1: Who are the hosts of this Short Stuff episode?
Hey, and welcome to The Short Step. I'm Josh. There's Chuck. And we're sitting in for Jerry, who usually sits in for Dave. So, yeah, let's go.
Let's go. This is, well, it's a follow-up to our Doomsday Clock episode, but it turns out we didn't do a Doomsday Clock episode. I know we've talked about this, so it might have been in one of when we were doing videos years ago. I think it was probably in one of those. But I know for a fact the only reason I would have known about this is because of this job and you.
That makes me feel good that I wasn't completely unaware that we had done an episode on doomsday clocks.
Chapter 2: What is the Doomsday Clock and how did it originate?
Yeah, it popped up in some place. But what's the doomsday clock, Josh?
So the doomsday clock is a metaphorical clock that is operated or overseen by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, which was a group of scientists who had worked on the Manhattan Project. They got together and they said, we need to create a group that is going to basically keep an eye on this nuclear proliferation that's starting up.
And one of the things they did in 1947 was create the doomsday clock. And it essentially is this... I guess it's a graphic representation of how close humanity is to self-inflicted disaster, like a nuclear war.
Perfectly said. Elegantly said. Thank you. Yeah. So, like you said, been around since 1947. They set the time every year. It's sort of a thing where they say like, all right, the time for this year is going to be this. Would they move it forward if something really went down within a year?
I think they do it every year.
So like in January, they said it. And if like four months later, like the S goes down, they wouldn't be like they'd be like, no, got to wait till next year.
Well, I think two things would happen. Either it would be something that they would take into account the next year. Yes. Or the world would end and they wouldn't have anything to do anyway.
Okay. But again, we're talking about it this year because there was – and, you know, we'll talk about a little bit how it's fluctuated over the years. But the reason we bring it up is because this year, January 28th, 2025, is when they moved the second hand on the clock forward to 89 seconds to midnight.
Yeah.
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Chapter 3: How close is the Doomsday Clock to midnight in 2025?
Which means it's the closest that the clock has ever been to midnight since they started, right?
Yeah, since they started, or when they started, in 1947, when the U.S. and Russia were starting the Cold War, creating nukes, testing nukes out in the open, underground, in space, it was seven minutes to midnight. We're now less than two minutes away from midnight because stuff is just so close to hitting the fan. And we should say that they've actually moved the clock backward a
Yeah.
It's like bust out the rum, everybody.
Exactly.
We're all 17 minutes.
Yeah.
The closest pre this time and 2025 was in 1953. It was two minutes before midnight. So we are 89 seconds till midnight. And the closest previous was two minutes. So that's, you know, it's pretty drastic. And again, you know, I guess we can go ahead and mention one of the criticisms of this is that it's it's something that just gins up.
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Chapter 4: What does the Doomsday Clock symbolize about global risks?
Some of the critics will say it's something that just gins up paranoia in people and like pushes the panic button. And what is it even doing? But what it's doing, I think it's a valuable thing because it just raises awareness every year with people. It's just another thing to kind of say, hey, like we're not headed in the right direction as humanity goes.
Yeah. So the first editor of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists was Eugene Rabinowich. And Eugene Rabinowich said that the purpose of the doomsday clock is to, quote, frighten men into rationality.
Yeah.
Chapter 5: Why do critics question the effectiveness of the Doomsday Clock?
And to basically say like, hey. You know, this stuff's out of control, people. You need to be paying attention to these things because they don't just say we're 89 seconds from midnight, see you next year. They explain what the reasoning is for moving or even not moving or moving back the second hand.
And this year, being 89 seconds the closest we've ever been, they had a whole crop of issues that go well beyond the nuclear risk that was originally, the clock was originally designed to track. And I say we take a break and we come back and talk about why we're so close to midnight right now, according to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.
Chapter 6: What is the purpose of the Doomsday Clock according to its creators?
Hey, my name's Jay Shetty, and I'm the host of On Purpose. I just had a great conversation with Michelle Obama.
To whom much is given, much is expected. The guilt comes from, am I doing enough? Me, Michelle Obama, to say that to a therapist. So let's unpack that. Former First Lady Michelle Obama. And someone who knows her best, her big brother Craig. We'll be hosting a podcast called IMO.
Chapter 7: What factors contributed to the Doomsday Clock moving closer to midnight in 2025?
What have been your personal journeys with therapy? We need to be coached throughout our lives.
My mom wanted us to be independent children. And she would always tell me, stop worrying about your sister.
Chapter 8: Which other podcasts and guests are mentioned in this episode?
Having been the first lady of the entire country and representing the country and the world, I couldn't afford to have that kind of disdain.
What would you say has been the most hardest recent test of fear? Listen to On Purpose with Jay Shetty on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Hey, I'm Dr. Maya Shankar. I host a podcast called A Slight Change of Plans. I started this show because unexpected change comes for all of us, and there's no set playbook for how to deal with it.
I have all of this psychological baggage that I'm carrying with me, and the last thing I want to do is to pass that on to my daughter. So I have to figure this out. This puzzle of my trauma, I have to figure it out, and I have to figure it out now. Now.
Join me this season when I talk to Amanda Knox about her choice to reconnect with the prosecutor who helped put her behind bars.
This is not about him. This is about me and what I am capable of giving. And I know that I am capable of being kind to this man. And by God, I am going to do it and no one can stop me.
Listen to A Slight Change of Plans on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
All right, everyone, we're back. We're 80 seconds to midnight, not 10 minutes to midnight like Charles Brunson was in that great movie.
What was it called? 10 Minutes to Midnight?
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