))
51: Tryin' to Run from the Destruction
Manage episode 461109517 series 3552603
Content provided by The End of the World with Michael and Stu and The End of the World with Michael. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by The End of the World with Michael and Stu and The End of the World with Michael or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://ppacc.player.fm/legal.
This week we are discussing the "Y2K computer bug," the great potential apocalypse of the turn of the millennium that...did not live up to the hype. But rather than being another "when prophecy fails" situation, the reason this apocalypse was averted was because of concerted and organized work across many different areas. Programmers worked for years in advance to remediate the code of software used in applications from air traffic control to power grids and beyond. The Y2K problem therefore stands as one of the (few) genuine threats to our society that was successfully identified and fixed before it was able to cause real harm.
We then spend a bit of time talking about Y2K , the recent nostalgic horror film from A24.
In he first part of the episode we consider the catastrophic fires that have ravaged Los Angeles during the opening weeks of 2025, with Michael offering some first hand experience from LA. We connect this back to some apocalyptic fiction we have covered in previous episodes, in particular Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower.
Links about the LA Fires and the attendant controversies:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/california-wildfires-los-angeles-fire-chief-budget-cuts/
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/12/who-is-kristin-crowley-la-fire-chief
Links to articles mentioned about the Y2K problem:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/31/insider/y2k-crisis.html?smid=tw-share
https://www.npr.org/2024/12/28/nx-s1-5116271/y2k-year-2000-preparations
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/dec/31/millennium-bug-face-fears-y2k-it-systems
Send us a text
https://www.instagram.com/theendoftheworldwms/
https://youtube.com/@TheEndoftheWorldwMS?si=xmj-2e0s58JdN8-B
https://linktr.ee/endoftheworldwithmichaelandstu
66 episodes
Share
