From Vice, a special issue on catastrophes. How geography explains history: Many reasons have been given for the West’s dominance over the last 500 years, but, Ian Morris argues, its rise to global hegemony was largely due to geographical good fortune. A review of Making the Social World: The Structure of Human Civilization by John R. Searle. An interview with J.C. Hallman, author of In Utopia (and more). David Roberts on the environmentalist’s paradox: We do better while the earth does worse (and more), but how bad are the next few years going to suck? More than a generation of Americans have been urged to save the Earth; after surveying the current climate and every H.G. Wells-inspired geoengineering project, Anthony Doerr says it’s time to pray for Homo sapiens. Michael Dirda reviews The Classical Tradition, ed. Anthony Grafton et al. David Brin, a scientist and best-selling novelist, explores the concepts and facts behind end-of-the-world tales and discusses how modern civilization can start limiting the risk. An interview with Mark Reid, senior radio astronomer at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, on Doomsday scenarios, considered. From Oxford American, a look at Ten Great Novels of the Apocalypse. Nina Paley and Mike Treder debate the merits of the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement. Douglas Coupland on a radical pessimist's guide to the next 10 years.
