Toby Ord: What are the odds civilisation will survive the century?

<p>This week we talk to the philosopher Toby Ord about the end of civilisation as we know it.</p><p>Ok, it’s not all doom and gloom. As Toby says, he’s an optimistic person, but in his new book&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/the-precipice-9781526600219/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>The Precipice</em></a>&nbsp;(£25, Bloomsbury) he explains why we’re at a point in time where we, as a species, are teetering on the edge of extinction.</p><p>We discuss how much potential us&nbsp;<em>homo sapiens</em>&nbsp;have, what’s putting our continued survival at risk, how civilisation as we know it could come to an end, and what are the odds we’ll see out the century.</p><p>Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.</p><ul><li><strong>Subscribe</strong>&nbsp;to the&nbsp;<em>Science Focus Podcast</em>&nbsp;on these services:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.acast.com/science-focus-podcast" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Acast</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/science-focus-podcast/id1296673906?mt=2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">iTunes</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/immediate-media-2/science-focus-podcast" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Stitcher</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://rss.acast.com/science-focus-podcast" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">RSS</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://overcast.fm/itunes1296673906/science-focus-podcast" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Overcast</a></li></ul><p><strong>Listen to more episodes of the&nbsp;<em>Science Focus Podcast</em>:</strong></p><ul><li><a href="https://www.sciencefocus.com/space/the-future-of-humanity/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Michio Kaku: The future of humanity</a></li><li><a href="https://www.sciencefocus.com/planet-earth/can-we-really-predict-when-doomsday-will-happen-william-poundstone/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">William Poundstone: Can we really predict when doomsday will hap