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Slow Burn

Decoder Ring: A Feel-Good Story About the End of the World

Slow Burn

Slate Podcasts

News, Society & Culture, History, Documentary, Politics

4.625.1K Ratings

🗓️ 10 November 2024

⏱️ 43 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The fear that the Earth could be destroyed by a killer asteroid is an anxiety that pops up all the time in fiction and is grounded in fact. But funnily enough—actually being pancaked by a giant space rock? Not something you need to spend a whole lot of time worrying about! And that’s because a bunch of NASA scientists and engineers are already worried about it for us. In this episode, science journalist Dr. Robin George Andrews tells us the story of NASA’s first-ever mission to defend the planet, which is the subject of his new book, How to Kill an Asteroid. This episode was written and produced by Sofie Kodner. It was edited by Willa Paskin and Evan Chung. Decoder Ring is produced by Willa Paskin, Evan Chung, Max Freedman and Katie Shepherd, with help from Sofie Kodner. Derek John is Executive Producer. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director. If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at [email protected] Want more Decoder Ring? Subscribe to Slate Plus to unlock exclusive bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of the Decoder Ring show page. Or, visit slate.com/decoderplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

Sitting quietly once you've made the house all shiny.

0:04.0

Down time can be just fine playing bangers from the 90s.

0:08.0

Tea break.

0:09.0

Lunt break.

0:10.0

Maybe listen to the outbreak.

0:12.0

Sometimes it's not time for some tombola, right?

0:15.0

It's enjoying lasagna time, chilling with a book time, or time to visit your nan time go on play some other time put your phone down

0:23.9

tombole open for fun terms apply 18 plus gambleaware.org

0:29.4

Adobe Express is the quick and easy create anything app it's a a game changer for my business, my go-to for creating content.

0:40.3

From social posts to images, videos, flyers, whatever I need to stand out.

0:46.3

With customizable templates and smart features, it saved me endless hours.

0:51.3

And the best bit, it's free. Search for Adobe Express to find out more and get

0:58.1

started today.

1:03.3

February 15, 2013 started like any other day for the 1.2 million people who live in the Russian city of Chellabinsk.

1:14.6

It was a crisp winter's day. Pretty cold out, nice blue sky.

1:19.3

Dr. Robin George Andrews is a trained scientist turned author and science writer.

1:23.7

Perfectly normal day. But then suddenly, an increasingly bright burning white light was like

1:29.0

arcing across the sky, leaving this like vaporous trail. It would have looked like a missile.

1:35.0

Chelyabinsk is the sleepy administrative capital of a region in southwestern Russia. Until this

1:40.5

moment, it was best known if it was known at all for being home to one of the worst nuclear accidents in history.

1:47.4

Now this light, streaking across its sky, was getting brighter and brighter.

1:52.4

And then a large, deafening explosion.

...

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