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Published: April 8, 2022, 2 p.m.

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Horror, fashion, and the end of the world \\u2026 In this episode, first aired in 2014, but maybe even more relevant today, things get weird as we explore the undercurrents\\xa0of thought that link nihilists, beard-stroking philosophers, Jay-Z, and True Detective.

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Today on Radiolab, a puzzle. Jad\\u2019s brother-in-law\\xa0wrote\\xa0a\\xa0book called \'In The Dust of This Planet\'.

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It\\u2019s an academic treatise\\xa0about the horror humanity feels as we realize that we are nothing\\xa0but a speck in the universe. For a few years nobody read it. But then \\u2026

\\n\\nIt seemed to show up on True Detective.\\n\\n

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\\n\\nThen in a fashion magazine.\\n\\n

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\\n\\nAnd then on Jay-Z\'s back. How?\\xa0\\n\\n

We talk nihilism with Eugene Thacker &\\xa0Simon Critchley, leather\\xa0jackets with June Ambrose, climate change with David Victor,\\xa0and hope with the father of Transcendental Black Metal - Hunter Hunt Hendrix of the band\\xa0Liturgy.

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Also, check out\\xa0WNYC Studio\'s\\xa0On the Media\\xa0episode Staring into the Abyss, in it Brooke Gladstone and Jad Abumrad continue their discussion of nihilism and its place in history.

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You can find Eugene Thacker\'s \'In The Dust Of the Planet\' at Zero Books

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Support Radiolab by becoming a member of\\xa0The Lab\\xa0today.\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0

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Radiolab is on YouTube!\\xa0Catch up with new episodes and hear classics from our archive. Plus, find other cool things we did in the past \\u2014 like miniseries, music videos, short films and animations, behind-the-scenes features, Radiolab live shows, and more. Take a look, explore and subscribe!

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