Many of you have heard of the doomsday clock, a decades-old analog clock meant to

symbolize how close we are to nuclear catastrophe. However far we are from

midnight we're told is how close we are to disaster. More recently

it's also meant to incorporate the risks of catastrophic climate change. It was started by many

of the scientists responsible for the creation of the nuclear weapon and it is and always

has been run by the bulletin of the atomic

scientists.

The bulletin just sent the clock to 100 seconds to midnight, the closest it's ever been.

On Twitter I remarked that I didn't think this exercise added much in the way of value and so a debate began

Sometimes not always but sometimes spats on Twitter lead to good podcasts I got a great group together to debate the doomsday clock to a post miles Miles Pomper of the James Martin Center for Non-Proliferation Studies and Benjamin H. Friedman of defense priorities. And two in favor, John Wolfslaw and Sharon Squissome, both of whom are on the Bolton of the Atomic

Scientists Science and Security Board, the people who set the clock.

And while I served as moderator, I didn't do a very good job of being neutral.

Enjoy the show. Before I kick it off to all of you I will say

that just for background the clock has been changed 25 times I believe over the years

since 1947 I went on Wikipedia in Canada so that's what that says at least

and now it is currently at the closest it has ever been in its history a hundred seconds to

midnight or a hundred seconds to global catastrophe so why don't I let John, since John really helped me put this together and was the first

to agree to do this show, John, why don't you kick it off?

Well sure, first of all, thanks for having us.

Thanks for providing the cocktails.

This is not a new debate for people that have been involved in this field,

and it's particularly not a new debate for people involved with the bulletin.

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