logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2025
51m 26s

Season 4, Episode 6: Jon Wolfsthal; Fede...

Jeffrey Sachs
About this episode

Send us a text

Join Professor Jeffrey Sachs and global security expert Jon Wolfsthal to unravel the stark reality behind the Doomsday Clock - now set at a perilous 89 seconds to midnight. What does this ominous timepiece truly measure, and why has humanity never been closer to catastrophe? Wolfsthal offers a behind-the-scenes look at the decision-making process that determines the clock’s position and insights into how and if we can move the clock further away from midnight. 

Together, they dive deep into the rising threats of nuclear war, climate change, AI-driven warfare, and biological risks, exposing the fragile state of global security. The conversation traces the history of the clock—from moments of de-escalation, like the Cold War’s end, to the unraveling of arms control agreements and the resurgence of dangerous geopolitical tensions. But it’s not all doom and gloom—this episode also lays out real, actionable solutions to push back from the brink and build a safer future. Can world leaders act in time, or are we sleepwalking into disaster? Tune in for a crucial discussion on humanity’s future—before it’s too late.

Footnotes:


⭐️ Thank you for listening!

➡️ Sign up for the newsletter: https://bit.ly/subscribeBCJS

➡️ Website: bookclubwithjeffreysachs.org

🎉 Don't forget to subscribe and share your favorite episode with your friends!

📣 Leave a rating and tell us what you thought about this episode!

Up next
Jul 2025
Season 4, Episode 11: James Romm, Plato and the Tyrant
Send us a textJoin Professor Jeffrey Sachs and Professor James Romm, classicist and historian at Bard College, for a captivating discussion on one of the most dramatic and fascinating political experiments of the ancient world: Plato’s involvement with power politics in Syracuse ... Show More
45m 1s
May 2025
Season 4, Episode 9: Ray Kurzweil, The Singularity is Nearer: When We Merge with AI
Send us a textJoin Professor Jeffrey Sachs and futurist Ray Kurzweil for a compelling conversation on the accelerating pace of technological change and its profound implications for the future of humanity. In his new book, The Singularity Is Nearer, Kurzweil revisits and updates ... Show More
49m 11s
Apr 2025
Season 4, Episode 8: Prof. Lauren Benton, They Called it Peace: Worlds of Imperial Violence
Send us a textJoin Professor Jeffrey Sachs and American historian Lauren Benton for a discussion on the hidden histories of empires and the lasting impact of imperial violence. In her book, They Called It Peace: Worlds of Imperial Violence Benton uncovers how European powers buil ... Show More
46m 17s
Recommended Episodes
May 2025
What happens in a nuclear war?
Since the US bombing of Japan in World War II, the world entire has remained terrified of nuclear weapons. Even as scientists and scholars spent decades warning about the existential threat posed by technology that can literally end civilization, countries across the planet raced ... Show More
1h 14m
Nov 2023
40 Years Of Sounding The Alarm On Nuclear Winter
<p>This week holds anniversaries for two important milestones in nuclear warfare. On November 1, 1952, the United States detonated a massive hydrogen bomb in the Marshall Islands. The new weapon vaporized a whole island, leaving behind a mile-wide crater. That bomb was around 700 ... Show More
18m 19s
Oct 2024
Is the U.S. Leading Us to Nuclear War? Jeffrey Sachs on Power, Politics, and a Dangerous Future
In this episode of Slo Mo with Mo Gawdat, we wrap up our special miniseries, "It's Not What They Told You," with a powerful conversation featuring renowned economist and Columbia University professor Jeffrey Sachs. Known for his deep insights into global politics, economics, and ... Show More
1h 2m
May 2024
Nuclear Conflict: 7 Key Questions for Sustainable Futures | Frankly #63
<p dir="ltr">(Recorded May 28, 2024)</p> <p dir="ltr">Description</p> <p dir="ltr">In this week's Frankly, Nate offers an update on the current state of conflict between NATO and Russia and the increasing threat of escalation, followed by 7 high-level questions about how to think ... Show More
17m 50s
Oct 17
Nuclear Expert Predicts How Launching a Single Nuke Could Wipe Out All of Humanity
It’s a measure of their insanity that leaders around the world are seriously considering nuclear war. Ivana Hughes of Columbia on what that would mean. (00:00) How Powerful Are Nuclear Weapons? (09:46) What Would Happen if a Nuke Detonated Over Times Square? (24:56) Ozone Layer D ... Show More
1h 53m
Feb 2025
23. Why Trump Wants Greenland: The Lost Nuclear Bomb (Ep 2)
Can nuclear missiles really just disappear? Why is Greenland so important to the security of the United States? And will Donald Trump go all the way with his plan to buy this Arctic island? A plane carrying nuclear weapons crashes in the Arctic and the effects ricochet through h ... Show More
38m 53s
Oct 20
The new nuclear renaissance - real or rhetoric? | Special pre-ADIPEC preview episode
<p>Nuclear power is back at the centre of the global energy conversation again. Is a real renaissance in the industry under way? Or are we just in another moment of excitement before familiar challenges emerge and the hype cycle turns down again?</p><p>In the second of three spec ... Show More
38m 7s
Apr 2025
590: When Earth's Shield Fails the Dead Will Rise | The Plasma Apocalypse (STRIPPED)
<div>Our planet's magnetic shield is deteriorating rapidly, creating a dangerous vulnerability to solar storms of unprecedented power. Throughout history, events like the 1921 New York Railroad incident and the 1859 Carrington Event wreaked havoc on early technology.<br> <br> Cul ... Show More
22m 39s