In this week's show we continue our exploration of fear in America, turning to how natural and man-made disasters have fueled interest in "prepping" and disaster preparedness more generally. From there we'll pivot to the issue of political violence and look at American fears around terrorism and mass shootings. As the researchers behind the Chapman University Survey of American Fears suggest, the deeper political divides which we saw earlier in terms of what Americans fear becomes readily apparent in these issues, with wide divides around issues like gun control and public attitudes towards Muslims. As we'll explore in more detail, the rise of Trump can be explained in part by growing Islamophobia and xenophobia more generally, trends which the media has helped to fuel and reproduce. We'll look at these issues and more in this week's episode.

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: Doomsday Preppers w/ Survivor Jane

Clip 2: Murfreesboro mosque controversy

Clip 3: Guns & Politics in America

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