Rephonic
Artwork for Are We Doomed?

Are We Doomed?

NPR Network
Artificial Intelligence
Nuclear War
Nuclear Weapons
Internet
Microplastics
Climate Change
Geoengineering
Vaccines
Gene Drives
Roman Empire
Louisville, United States
Lexington, United States
New York, United States
Miami, United States
Scams
Invasive Insects
Aging
Fermi Paradox
United States
Supervolcano

Is the world ending, or does it just feel like it? "Are We Doomed?" investigates the greatest risks facing society, the planet, and our species. What’s real? What’s hype? And how do we actually make it out alive? Nukes. Asteroids. Autocracy. Rogue AI. Climate-driven pandemics. Angry hippopotamuses. Teeth clenched, curiosity engaged, quips ready, this “slightly narrative” podcast explores everythin... more

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes28Founded7 months ago
Number of ListenersCategories
ScienceSociety & Culture

Listen to this Podcast

Artwork for Are We Doomed?

Latest Episodes

You have plastic in you. In your lungs, your gut, your blood, maybe your brain. That sounds bad.

But how bad?

Ben Bradford investigates whether microplastics are shaping up to be one of those hazards humanity realizes too late — like lead, asbestos... more

YouTube

It’s a particularly watery moment, with a hurricane on the Gulf Coast and El Niño-fueled waves flooding California homes. Not helping: The seas are rising, and they’re going to keep rising. How much can we build to stop that? And if we can’t, what wi... more

The universe should be crawling with life. With hundreds of billions of stars in our galaxy and hundreds of billions of galaxies, at least someone must have gotten a few billion years’ head start on us. So where is everybody?

This is the Fermi Parad... more

YouTube

Why are babies born young? How come a squirrel lives longer than a rat, but not as long as a naked mole rat (or Ben’s cousin’s tortoise)? Scientific breakthroughs over the past few decades suggest the ultimate doom awaiting us all — aging, and eventu... more

Key Facts

Accepts Guests
Accepts Sponsors
Contact Information
Podcast Host
Number of Listeners
Find out how many people listen to this podcast per episode and each month.

Similar Podcasts

People also subscribe to these shows.

Radiolab
RadiolabWNYC Studios
Science Vs
Science VsSpotify Studios
The Daily
The DailyThe New York Times

Recent Guests

Tracey Woodruff
Environmental health scientist and epidemiologist
Stanford
Episode: Is the Microplastic In You Really Bad?
Ian Mudway
Toxicologist who studies microplastics and their effects on human health
Imperial College London
Episode: Is the Microplastic In You Really Bad?
Jesse Keenan
Professor of urban planning at Tulane University and author of North: The Future of Post-Climate America
Tulane University
Episode: How High Can You Build a Seawall?
Jola Ajibade
Environmental sciences professor at Emory University
Emory University
Episode: How High Can You Build a Seawall?
Sara Seager
Astrophysicist at MIT researching exoplanets
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Episode: Can Other Planets Tell Us Our Fate?
Seth Baum
Executive Director
Global Catastrophic Risk Institute
Episode: Can Other Planets Tell Us Our Fate?
Mike Travisano
Evolutionary Biologist
University of Minnesota
Episode: Can Other Planets Tell Us Our Fate?
Adam Frank
Astrophysicist
University of Rochester / University affiliations referenced
Episode: Can Other Planets Tell Us Our Fate?
Susan Dominus
Reporter, The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine
Episode: Can Science Defeat Aging?

Host

Ben Bradford
Public radio journalist

Reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars from 641 ratings
  • J’dis

    👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Yeeoui
    Canadaa month ago
  • Surprisingly Educational

    This show is fantastic. The team is great about explaining many very scientific issues.

    Also, hilarious.

    “Someone runs a stop sign? ‘We’re going the way of the Romans’”

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Jake, not Jacob
    United Statesa month ago
  • Are we doomed

    🧐🥸😛😗😋🤪😎🥉best show ever

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Gravy man 2
    United Kingdoma month ago
  • Funnier than it needs to be

    I still laugh about jokes from old episodes. Educational and occasionally makes me snort laugh

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    josiedeo
    United Statesa month ago
  • You’ll want to listen

    I love this podcast

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    It's_all_me
    United Statesa month ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Some listeners want more attention to political and economic dimensions of crises and more explicit treatment of opposing views.
Sound design and effects help some listeners stay engaged, while others find them excessive or distracting.
Bradford is often credited with strong pacing, an engaging delivery, and an effective narrative voice.
The mix of unsettling risks and measured, sometimes hopeful context is a recurring strength.
Listeners praise the balance of clear scientific explanations, thorough research, and humor.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Apple Podcasts
#88
United States/Science
Apple Podcasts
#115
Canada/Science
Apple Podcasts
#250
United Kingdom/Science
Apple Podcasts
#216
Australia/Science
Apple Podcasts
#43
Ukraine/Science
Apple Podcasts
#109
Philippines/Science

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Is the Microplastic In You Really Bad?
Q: At the amount people actually breathe, can we show that microplastics are harming us?
Mudway says the available evidence is insufficient to demonstrate harm at ordinary airborne exposure levels, partly because many studies use doses and particles that do not reflect real-world conditions.
Is the Microplastic In You Really Bad?
Q: How much is really in us? Are they poisoning us? And if so, could we get rid of them?
Microplastics enter through food, water and air, but measuring how much is in the body is difficult. Woodruff considers the evidence suggestive of harm, while Mudway says the evidence does not establish harm at typical exposure levels.
How High Can You Build a Seawall?
Q: If we cannot engineer our way out of sea level rise for entire cities, what do we do, and how do you get people out of the water's path?
Ajibade advocates for proactive, community-led adaptation, including voluntary relocation shaped by residents' preferences and needs, alongside buyouts and protective infrastructure where viable.
How High Can You Build a Seawall?
Q: How high can you build a seawall?
Keenan says the limiting factor is not simply wall height: New Orleans sits on sandy ground that sinks under heavy construction, making it impossible to keep raising levees indefinitely.
The Everything Vaccine
Q: Are we ever going to solve disease with one universal vaccine?
The guests and host agree that it's unlikely to ever fully eradicate disease with a single universal vaccine due to biology and evolution, but there is potential for broad, cross-protective immunity that could dramatically reduce impact and change how we respond to future pandemics.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
Gender Skew
Location
Interests
Professions
Age Range
Household Income
Social Media Reach

Frequently Asked Questions About Are We Doomed?

What is Are We Doomed? about and what kind of topics does it cover?

Ben Bradford guides narrative investigations into risks that could reshape society, the planet, or human survival, from nuclear weapons and artificial intelligence to pandemics, climate adaptation, space weather, and invasive species. Episodes combine historical reporting, vivid sound design, accessible scientific explanation, and interviews with researchers, journalists, policy experts, and practitioners. The approach weighs evidence against speculation, often setting competing interpretations side by side and asking what can be done to reduce or prepare for a risk.

The range extends from familiar global threats to surprising subjects such as the Moon, aging, scams, and troublesome insects. Bradford's public-radio journalism and conversat... more

Where can I find podcast stats for Are We Doomed??

Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for Are We Doomed?. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to Are We Doomed? and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.

How many listeners does Are We Doomed? get?

Rephonic provides a full set of podcast information for four million podcasts, including the number of listeners. View further listenership figures for Are We Doomed?, including podcast download numbers and subscriber numbers, so you can make better decisions about which podcasts to sponsor or be a guest on. You will need to upgrade your account to access this premium data.

What are the audience demographics for Are We Doomed??

Rephonic provides comprehensive predictive audience data for Are We Doomed?, including gender skew, age, country, political leaning, income, professions, education level, and interests. You can access these listener demographics by upgrading your account.

How many subscribers and views does Are We Doomed? have?

To see how many followers or subscribers Are We Doomed? has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.

Which podcasts are similar to Are We Doomed??

These podcasts share a similar audience with Are We Doomed?:

1. Unexplainable
2. Radiolab
3. Throughline
4. Science Vs
5. The Daily

How many episodes of Are We Doomed? are there?

Are We Doomed? launched 7 months ago and published 28 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact Are We Doomed??

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

Where can I see ratings and reviews for Are We Doomed??

Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for Are We Doomed? from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.

View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.

How do I access podcast episode transcripts for Are We Doomed??

Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of Are We Doomed?. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.

What guests have appeared on Are We Doomed??

Recent guests on Are We Doomed? include:

1. Tracey Woodruff
2. Ian Mudway
3. Jesse Keenan
4. Jola Ajibade
5. Sara Seager
6. Seth Baum
7. Mike Travisano
8. Adam Frank

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

Find and pitch the right podcasts

We help savvy brands, marketers and PR professionals to find the right podcasts for any topic or niche. Get the data and contacts you need to pitch podcasts at scale and turn listeners into customers.
Try it free for 7 days