The End of the World with Dr Hauke Riesch

The Science & Belief in Society Podcast is back - but for how
much longer? In this opening episode of Season 3, James and Will
welcome Dr Hauke Riesch, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Brunel
University, London, to talk about the end of the world...


Narratives of the apocalypse - stories of how the world will end,
and humanity's fate before, during and after these variously
prophesied cataclysms, have been a central feature of many global
religions.  From the threat of nuclear war via global
pandemics to the onset of climate breakdown, these narratives are
now increasingly prevalent in scientific discourses. We discuss
Hauke's work in this area, which has traced the continuities and
breakages in how these narratives are deployed in both religious
and scientific contexts, the different forms they take and their
existential and social function. We also discuss the lighter side
of the end times, contrasting apocalyptic narratives with other
communication strategies for engagement, including comedy.