The End of the World with Michael and Stu
The Apocalypse is Everywhere. The End of the World with Michael and Stu is a (hopefully) insightful and (hopefully) humorous exploration of the rise of apocalyptic news, apocalyptic thinking and apocalyptic culture. Each week, we’ll be looking at a work of art, a piece of media, or an historical event related to the (hopefully not) impending End of the World.
Podcasting since 2024 • 72 episodes
The End of the World with Michael and Stu
Latest Episodes
72: But Are "Friends" Electric?
This week we are continuing our suite of robot themed episodes by discussing the play that originated the word, R.U.R. by Karel Čapek which was first written in 1920. Derived from a Czech term meaning "serf" or "worker," these robots a...
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Season 1
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Episode 72
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56:30
71: We Are Programmed Just to Do Anything You Want Us To
This week we are talking about robots. Where did they come from? What are they? Are they really going to replace all human workers? We get into the history of these machines, while looking at the implications for them, should they be paired wit...
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Season 1
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Episode 71
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57:44
70: Bring Me A Dream
This week we are discussing E.T.A. Hoffman's short story, The Sandman, which presciently anticipates some potential psychological consequences of a too-deep dependence on artificial beings for companionship, while also pointing to...
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Season 1
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Episode 70
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1:01:08
69: In This Everlasting Twilight
This week we are talking about the growth of emotional dependency on AI as programs like ChatGPT become more ubiquitous and more sophisticated. We recognize that this has the potential to be, in a sense, a double apocalypse, as the rise of AI t...
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Season 1
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Episode 69
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52:58
68: Round and Round and Round We Spin
This week we are discussing Rian Johnson's 2012 film Looper, a time travel movie that (perhaps accurately) predicts a bleak future where class stratification and rampant criminality have flourished unchecked. Time travel has been ...
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Season 1
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Episode 68
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44:17
