seconds till midnight
June 13, 2026
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106 of 364
June 13, 2026
seconds till midnight
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Dr John Campbell Episodes Around June 13, 2026
Episode 106 of 364 — walk the feed in the order it was published.
26:21This episodeseconds till midnight
Summary
Doomsday Clock
2026, Jan 27th 85 seconds to midnight
Closest to catastrophe since the Clock was created
World with high existential risks, intended to motivate action
Midnight is civilization-ending disaster, existential risks.
Panel of experts sets it once a year
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Science and Security Board
https://thebulletin.org/about-us/science-and-security-board/
https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/timeline/
Origins
1947, scientists concerned about nuclear weapons after World War II
Many had worked on Manhattan.
Set at 7 minutes to midnight, to express urgency of nuclear danger.
Late October 1962
Purpose
To warn the public and policymakers, threat of human-made global catastrophe.
Forward and back 27 times
Best time, 1991, end of the Cold War.
2025, risk from technologies and international discord
2026, Jan 27th 85 seconds to midnight
Combination of Global Risks
Nuclear Weapons and Warfare
The original and still core risk
Expansion, modernization, and poor arms control, miscalculation, accident, sabotage, madness or conflict.
Interview with Alfred Werner, Liberal Judaism, no. 16 (April–May 1949), Einstein Archive 30-1104
https://wist.info/einstein-albert/25402/
“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”
Conventional War
Limitations of one resource, water, food, land
Civil war
Mass murder and genocide
Climate Change
Severe climate disruption
Rising temperatures, extreme weather, and slow policy responses, cascading impacts.
Climate manipulation, stratospheric spraying
Disruptive Technologies
Artificial intelligence, misinformation, information warfare, cyber instability, or autonomous weapons.
“colossal opportunities and threats that are difficult to predict now.”
“the one who becomes the leader in this sphere will be the ruler of the world.”
“it would be strongly undesirable if someone wins a monopolist position”
“when one party’s drones are destroyed by drones of another, it will have no other choice but to surrender.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin (2017)
Undersea cable destruction
Deepfakes
Biological Threats & Biosecurity