Back in the old days, if your species was faced with an existential threat, you were stuck hoping for some advantageous mutation. Maybe an extra fin or a slightly more sophisticated eyeball. Outwitting fate was pretty much out of the question.
And as much as we might prefer to just go binge-watch something and forget about it, there are several plausible scenarios whereby humanity could face extinction in the too-close-for-comfort future.
Happily, thanks to our very large brains and thinkers like my guest today, theoretical physicist Dr. Michio Kaku), we have options. Dr. Kaku’s latest book is [The Future of Humanity: Terraforming Mars, Interstellar Travel, Immortality, and Our Destiny Beyond Earth.
](https://www.amazon.com/Future-Humanity-Terraforming-Interstellar-Immortality/dp/0385542763/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519231685&sr=8-1&keywords=The+future+of+humanity))
Surprise conversation-starter clips in this episode:
Brett Weinstein on the Social Brain) (we watched only a portion of the clip), [Daniel Bergner on Female Desire
](http://bigthink.com/videos/daniel-bergner-on-misconceptions-of-female-desire))
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