Episode 100 - BONUS! Why All Your Favorite Movies Are About The Apocalypse

[JARich86 7]

From 'Mad Max' to 'San Andreas' to 'The Avengers,' the most popular movies of our times are about how we fear our world will end. We're obsessed with stories of drought, natural disaster, nuclear war, zombies, aliens and robots. We fear the day science fiction turns into science fact, and while some movie apocalypses are basically pure make-believe, others seem eminently possible.

 

So what are we doing about the threats of water and energy shortages? And are we destined to play out the doomsday scenarios we see in popular science fiction?

 

In this special bonus episode taped live at the UCB Sunset theatre in Los Angeles, Jack O'Brien, Alex Schmidt and Michael Swaim are joined by three amazing guests to answer these questions and elaborate on the current state of the end of the world. On the science-fiction front, they're joined by Akiva Goldsman, the Academy Award-winning screenwriter of 'A Beautiful Mind' and 'I Am Legend'. And on the real science side, they're joined by Eric Fitch, whose company Purpose Energy is turning wastewater from beer into renewable energy, and Jon Freedman, whose working to shape international and domestic water policies on behalf of GE Water & Power.

[KevinCarroll 0]

Is the UCB just a convenient place for you all to do these, or is there more of a connection like did a number of you come up through their ranks?