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289 – Annie Jacobsen & Be Afraid… Be Very Afraid

August 4, 2026 · 1 h 15 min

Show notes

This may be my scariest episode ever!

 

We’ve covered non-fiction before, but rarely is the truth more frightening than the stories we tell. This week it just might be… cos Annie Jacobsen is here with Biological War: A Scenario.

 

It unveils a narrative of speculative reality, in which an engineered pathogen escapes a lab, and runs rampant through our civilisation. Cities fall, millions die, the lights go out.

 

I dared myself to read it. I dare you to listen to Annie tell us about her research, and the stuff she found that scares the hell out of her.

 

Enjoy (sort of!)

 

Other books mentioned:

  • Nuclear War: A Scenario (2024), by Annie Jacobsen
  • “A Modest Proposal” (1729), by Jonathan Swift
  • World War Z (2006), by Max Brooks
  • The Deluge (2023), by Stephen Markley
  • A Brief History of the Earth: Four Billion Years in Eight Chapters (2021), by Andrew H. Knoll

 

Support Talking Scared on Patreon

 

Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch

 

Come talk books on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email direct to [email protected]

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