iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ben Bradford @jbenbradford.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Why do AI doomers say it could kill us all? And by that I mean, how? If you haven't heard their logic, I think it's worth understanding. We did an easy-to-explain (slightly tongue in cheek) roundup that I think holds up quite well:

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We Design the AI That Kills Us All

Listen to We Design the AI That Kills Us All from Are We Doomed? wherever you get your podcasts!

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Ben Bradford @jbenbradford.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

This is a humiliating headline, if it's true (and I think it is). A huge outcry is rising across the industry and among those watching it, warning we're on course for catastrophe, and the main question is just how big. But, sure, we can't stop racing to it before another country?

POLITICO headline that reads: "AI labs contemplate slowing down. It may not be possible."

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Ben Bradford @jbenbradford.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Learn how to survive nuclear war, decide whether we should take out the mosquito and screwworm fly, and whether to be worried about supervolcanoes (no). It’s really news you can use

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Ben Bradford @jbenbradford.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Apple has named Are We Doomed? one of its best podcasts of the year so far. It's shows that are "surprising, hopeful, revealing, haunting, and hilarious" — which may sound counterintuitive if you haven't heard us! But we do things like

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Ben Bradford @jbenbradford.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

The (brief) 1960s fallout shelter boom that spawned, like, all of our popular image of nuclear war — talked about it with @popsci.com’s Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t... Very fun!

podcasts.apple.com

Fallout Shelter Fads, The Library of Cocaine, Mosquito Nepobaby

Podcast Episode · The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week · July 1 · 1h 6m

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Maria Hollenhorst @mariahollenhorst.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

The @jbenbradford.bsky.social podcast "Are We Doomed?" did a whole epsiode about sterilizing mosquitos! youtu.be/nBPecQw-11A?...

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Killing the World’s Deadliest Animal

YouTube video by Are We Doomed?

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Ben Bradford @jbenbradford.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

If you want to know what the deal is with the screwworm fly found in Texas, we JUST did a whole thing about it: (at 24:52)

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Killing the World’s Deadliest Animal

YouTube video by Are We Doomed?

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Ben Bradford @jbenbradford.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

The times can feel bleak! It’s worth remembering humanity has made it through other crises that once felt existential — and asking how. Loved talking to @paleofuture.bsky.social about The Population Bomb, 20th-century robo-takeover fears, and why nations still haven’t nuked each other into oblivion.

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Ben Bradford @jbenbradford.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Really loved diving deep with @matthewshaer.bsky.social about how to build a show, for his great podcast Origin Stories: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...

podcasts.apple.com

Ben Bradford on Are We Doomed?

Podcast Episode · Origin Stories · May 20 · 33m

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Current @current.org · 20/05/2026

Like his previous podcasts, which explored the impact of America’s political past on the present, @jbenbradford.bsky.social wants his new @npr.org show to “use the past to help us think [about] where we are going in the future.” current.org/2026/05/a-ne...

current.org

A new NPR podcast dares to ask ‘Are We Doomed?’

Creator Ben Bradford says the show can interrogate the “growing feeling across society that things are falling apart and are less good than they used to be.”

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Ben Bradford @jbenbradford.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

This is cool: In less than a month, "Are We Doomed?" has become the #8 science podcast! Nukes, supervolcanoes, rogue AI, little jerk mosquitoes — come have a surprising amount of fun fathoming the abyss! pod.link/1893359212

An screenshot of Apple Podcast's rankings showing the podcast Are We Doomed #8 of all Science Podcasts.

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Kass Bestor @auntkass.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Mosquito Jurassic Park?!?!? Yikes!!!

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Ben Bradford @jbenbradford.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

Today on Are We Doomed? — the mosquito. Should we kill it? You gotta hear Kevin and, most importantly, meet Jerry…

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How Do You Kill a Mosquito?

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Ben Bradford @jbenbradford.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

Are we doomed? Or ... do we just feel doomed? I made a new show about that. (Distributed by NPR Network)

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Ben Bradford @jbenbradford.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

It’s great, funny, amazing work. I do not know this man and this is unsolicited.

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Jay Rosen @jayrosen.bsky.social · 12/06/2025

Here's something I post from time to time. My answer to a reader who asked me: what could journalists do NOW to break with some of their more corrosive habits.

Here is a list I post from time to time. My answer to a reader who asked me: what could journalists do NOW to break with some of their more corrosive habits.

Defense of democracy seen as basic to the job.

Symmetrical accounts of asymmetrical realities seen as malpractice.

“Politics as strategic game” frame seen as low quality, downmarket, amateurish— and overmatched.

Bad actors with a history of misinforming the public seen as unsuitable sources and unwelcome guests.

Internalizing of the “liberal bias” critique seen as self-crippling, a historic mistake in need of correction.

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Ben Bradford @jbenbradford.bsky.social · 08/06/2025

A reminder that a huge portion of Americans are being spun a tale that LA is in flames, with riots akin to ‘92 and ‘64. Also that the gov and mayor are sanctioning it (as if that would make political sense)

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Ben Bradford @jbenbradford.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

Thrilled to announce: Landslide was awarded Gold for Best Narrative/Documentary Podcast by the New York Festival! It's a great time to jump into the series or our recent follow-up "Engines of Outrage" — wild, suspenseful stories and the context behind so much of what we're seeing in Washington.

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Ben Bradford @jbenbradford.bsky.social · 09/05/2025

This poll is it. The truth of what is happening right now continues not to reach a huge number of Americans. Why? The places they get information feed them a distorted version of reality, for profit and political gain. Until that gets overcome, we’re not getting out of this mess.

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Ben Bradford @jbenbradford.bsky.social · 10/04/2025

I’m late to this, but one of the internet’s most entertaining writers explained tariffs the way they should always be explained.

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Mike Madrid @mikemadrid.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

The media environment has changed. Read this thread to see why reality has become so hard to convey and what it means for the coming days.

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Ben Bradford @jbenbradford.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

A lot of the political discourse I see on here forgets something essential. The unilateral agency shutdowns, mass firings, ethics rule flouting, etc. are politically acceptable to so many Americans. There’s a reason. You might know it.

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Seth Cotlar @sethcotlar.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

This is incredibly good. A terrifying account of the epistemological and technological dimensions of our current crisis in which one political party has become a powerful, mind-bending engine of anti-democratic propaganda. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/l...

podcasts.apple.com

Engines of Outrage Pt. 2

Podcast Episode · Landslide · S1 E13 · 30m

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Ben Bradford @jbenbradford.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

The WHY is really important. The base of support is not looking at CBS or NYT, or hearing concerns about lawlessness or constitutionality. They are seeing a fundamentally different information stream.

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Ben Bradford @jbenbradford.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

Did you have a tough conversation after the election with a friend or loved one who voted for the opposite presidential candidate? Landslide is doing a new miniseries and I would love to talk to you about it. Email us at info[at]nuancetales[dot]com. (And, even if not — please share!)

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Ben Bradford @jbenbradford.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

I would only add that Ronald Reagan made political hay out of the canal starting in the 1976 primaries until Carter signed the treaty. It is possibly THE issue that most propelled Reagan. That transformed the canal from uncontroversial into a lightning rod and a subject of conspiracy theory.

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Jim Gruman @opus1993.bsky.social · 26/12/2024

The @jbenbradford.bsky.social "Landslide" podcast also covered the New Right's infatuation with the Panama Canal, starting from the 1970s

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Ben Bradford @jbenbradford.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

Jimmy Carter was a fascinating human being and really different as a politician than the smiling, nice guy image of his post-presidency. My favorite facts:

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