The world is currently in the grip of several intensifying crises: climate change, biodiversity loss, geopolitical instability, and so on. Given the scale of the disruptions that are already being felt around the planet, it is hardly surprising that many people have come to be convinced that an apocalypse is inevitable and requires active planning and preparation. This trend cannot be lightly dismissed, for it is being spearheaded by the founders of companies like Facebook and Google, that is to say, figures who are uniquely well-placed to stay abreast of all the latest information and research. It is well-known now that several billionaire tech entrepreneurs like Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, and Peter Thiel are preparing for an impending apocalypse by building enormously expensive and heavily fortified retreats on remote islands or in sparsely populated stretches of the United States and Canada. Not to be left behind, a bevy of America’s most popular stars, such as Taylor Swift and Tom Cruise, have also acquired cutting-edge apocalypse shelters. Nor are the ultra-rich the only Americans who are investing in doomsday retreats: so great is the demand that a new and rapidly growing industry has emerged to cater to it. This talk seeks to understand the thinking behind these trends and what it signifies for the future of humanity.
This event is part of the New School for Social Research Festival of Ideas. Learn more HERE.
Presented by the New School of Social Research at The New School.
Amitav Ghosh is an award-winning novelist, writer, and thinker whose work defies easy categorization. In 2018, he became the first English-language writer to receive the Jnanpith Award, India's most prestigious literary honor, and, in 2024, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize. He is also a recipient of the Padma Shri prize and the Dan David Prize. His work, spanning historical fiction and non-fiction, engages issues of colonialism, climate change, displacement, and historical topics such as the Opium Trade.
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Amitav Ghosh is an award-winning novelist, writer, and thinker whose work defies easy categorization. In 2018, he became the first English-language writer to receive the Jnanpith Award, India's most prestigious literary honor and, in 2024, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize. He is also a recipient of the Padma Shri prize and the Dan David Prize. His work, spanning historical fiction and non-fiction, and engages issues of colonialism, climate change, displacement, and historical topics such as the Opium Trade.
