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Dan Snow's History Hit

Dan Snow's History Hit

Is Society About to Collapse?

Sep 2, 2025 · 42m

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About this episode

The climate crisis, the rise of AI and the cost of living - do you feel like our society is on the brink of falling apart? Dan is joined by Dr Luke Kemp, Research Associate at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER) at the University of Cambridge, who has spent seven years analysing 400 societies over five millennia to discover what has led to the collapse of Ancient civilisations in places like Mesoamerica, China, Egypt and across Europe. He explains the impact inequality, leaders with traits of 'the dark triad' and environmental factors have on a historic society's survival. He identifies what changes we could make to stop it from happening to us, too. You can learn more in…