Did you catch the Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, doing an advertisment for a JJJ radio show, where she jokingly talked about the impending end of the world?
This episode of the Token Skeptic takes a closer look at whether Australians are more skeptical or just as drawn into the claims as any other country when it comes to 2012 apocalypse prophecies – and investigates what makes a sensible approach to take, particularly with believers of younger years.
Dr Joseph Gelfer works as an Adjunct Research Associate at the School of Political and Social Inquiry at Monash University and holds a doctorate in religious studies from the Victoria University of Wellington.
A number of people believe that the end of the world is due in December 2012 – or, at the very least, the end of the world as we know it. Dr Gelfer recently produced a range of scholarly analyses in his book 2012: Decoding the Countercultural Apocalypse, which includes perspectives from various disciplines such as religious studies, anthropology, Mayan studies, cultural studies and the social sciences.
Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K. Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com.
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