In Episode 2 I take a look at prepper culture and how worries about the End of the World are driving people to build bunkers and other secure facilities to help them survive a coming disaster. We'll also look at the Vivos Xpoint facility in South Dakota, one of the largest private bunker complexes in the US. While it may come as a surprise to some, bunkers are actually quite old, with examples like Kaymakli in central Anatolia dating to the period of Hittite rule over 3000 years ago! I'll also start to lay the groundwork for a deeper dive into how prepping culture and bunkers have come to create what author and urban explorer Bradley Garrett calls the "architecture of dread," a topic we will return to in future episodes.

I'm producing these episodes in parallel with a course of the same name which I am teaching at California State University, Chico where I am currently teaching.  Each week I will look at a different topic related to the end of the world, from doomsday preppers and our deepest fears to the role of religion, media, and politics in thinking about the end of the world.

There are several short video segments included which you can watch by following the links below:

Clip 1: Kaymakli Turkey, Underground City

Clip 2: Robert Vicino, Vivos xPoint

Clip 3: Preppers and Covid-19

For additional show notes and materials references in this episode be sure to visit my End of the World page:

https://www.chriscrews.com/end-of-the-world-podcast/

Thanks for listening.

Dr. Crews