What Comes After Humans? Chapter Two: The Next Dominant Species

Stuff They Don't Want You To Know

iHeartPodcasts

Society & Culture

4.3 • 10.7K Ratings

🗓️ 10 October 2025

⏱️ 65 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Let's imagine the worst scenario for civilization: humans, for one reason or another, go extinct. What will rise from the ashes of the Anthropocene to take their place? In the second part of this two-part series, Ben, Matt and Dylan explore the possible candidates, from various high-order mammals and avians, to life beneath the seas, to plants, fungi, artificial intelligence and more. (We're extremely excited about this one, and can't wait to hear your picks for the next rulers of Earth.)

They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/

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Transcript

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0:00.0	From UFOs to psychic powers and government conspiracies, history is riddled with unexplained events.
0:07.1	You can turn back now or learn the stuff they don't want you to know.
0:12.2	A production of IHeart Radio. Hello, welcome back to the show.
0:28.0	My name is Matt.
0:29.0	Our colleague Noel is still on an adventure, but we'll be back soon.
0:33.2	They call me Ben.
0:34.8	We're joined, as always, with our super producer, Dylan, the Tennessee pal Fagan.
0:39.0	Most importantly, you are you.
0:41.3	You are here.
0:42.4	That makes this the stuff they don't want you to know.
0:46.3	Here are the facts.
0:47.1	This is the second part of a two-part series that gets into some deep conspiratorial, strange water.
0:56.2	Here's where it gets crazy.
0:58.2	We're joining the show in Media Rest.
1:01.6	So please listen to part one before you roll past this ad break.
1:06.6	This is an IHeart podcast.
1:13.8	The Murder, This is an I-Heart podcast. The murder of an 18-year-old girl in Graves County, Kentucky, went unsolved for years,
1:20.9	until a local housewife, a journalist, and a handful of girls came forward with a story.
1:27.8	America, y'all better work the hell up.
1:29.8	Bad things happens to good people in small towns.
1:39.4	Listen to Graves County on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
1:45.8	And to binge the entire season ad-free, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts.
	...

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