Kaboom
Today week we take on a doomsday future! We haven\u2019t done one of those this season. So, what would happen if all the active volcanoes in the world erupted at the same time? The short answer is: bad things. The long answer is, well, you\u2019ll have to listen to the episode!\n\xa0\n\xa0First we talk to Jessica Ball, a volcanologist, who walks us through the different types of eruptions, what make something an active volcano, and just how bad ash is. Spoiler: it\u2019s really bad. It gums up engines, cuts up your lungs, and is so heavy that it can collapse buildings.\n\xa0\n\xa0But the destruction of a massive volcanic eruption doesn\u2019t stop there. Oh no. Then Ball tells us about the ways in which volcanoes can actually impact the climate. In fact, in 1815, a single volcanic eruption at Mount Tambora caused the entire Northern Hemisphere to experience \u201cA Year Without a Summer,\u201d resulting in famine, death, and Mary Shelly\u2019s Frankenstein. (You\u2019ll have to listen to the podcast to get that particular story.)\n\xa0\n\xa0So how does one live through this kind of apocalyptic event? To find out, I called up two people who, unlike me, would probably survive: Megan Hine and Pat Henry. Megan and Pat are both sort survival experts, but they go about it in really different ways.\xa0\n\xa0\n\xa0Megan is an adventurer and wilderness expedition leader. She takes people out into the middle of nowhere, and trains them no how to survive. People like Bear Grills, the man of the Discovery Channel show Man vs. Wild. Bear has called Megan \u201cthe most incredible bushcraft, climbing and mountain guide you\u2019ll ever meet.\u201d\n\xa0\n\xa0Pat is a little bit different. Pat is a prepper, someone who is actively preparing today for a disaster that might come tomorrow. Pat is the founder and editor of a website called The Prepper Journal, which has pretty much everything you need to know about prepping, should you be worried about, say, all the volcanoes in the world going off at once.\xa0\n\xa0\n\xa0Oh and Pat isn\u2019t his real name. He uses a pseudonym, so that nobody knows that he has two years worth of food stored up. So when something terrible does happen, he doesn\u2019t have to turn his unprepared friends and neighbors away.\n\xa0\n\xa0Both Megan and Pat said that the first way to survive is by being lucky. Don\u2019t live or be near a volcano. But after that, surviving 1,500 volcanic eruptions is like surviving any other terrible thing. You\u2019ll need food, water, shelter, medicine. You\u2019ll have to fight off other humans. And you\u2019ll probably be surprised by what you can do, when push comes to shove.\xa0\n\xa0\n\xa0And we end the episode with a note about who you want in your little gang of survivalists. You\u2019ll be surprised who\u2019s actually a good addition to that team. Stay tuned to the end for that.\n\xa0\n\xa0Also! Right now I'm running a little survey for listeners. Tell me a bit about yourself, please. Thanks!\n\xa0\n\xa0Flash Forward is produced by me, Rose Eveleth, and is part of the Boing Boing podcast family. The intro music is by Asura and the outtro music is by Broke for Free. The voices for this week\u2019s future scene were provided by Suzanne Fischer, Eddie Guimont, Guillermo Herrera, Wendy Hari, John Olier, Caroline Sinders and Kevin Wojtaszek whose name I think I might have finally pronounced correctly this time. The episode art is by Matt Lubchansky.\xa0\n\xa0\n\xa0If you want to suggest a future we should take on, send us a note on Twitter, Facebook or by email at info@flashforwardpod.com. We love hearing your ideas! And if you think you\u2019ve spotted one of the little references I\u2019ve hidden in the episode, email us there too. If you\u2019re right, I\u2019ll send you something cool.\xa0\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices