Podcast
Societal Collapse in a Warming World: A Risk Manager’s Lens
December 11, 2025
Hear from Dr. Luke Kemp of the Center for the Study of Existential Risk at the University of Cambridge, as we dive into the risk factors for societal collapse in both the past and future.
When risk professionals talk about systemic risk, we usually mean markets, institutions, and interconnected exposures. But zoom out far enough, and there’s a bigger question underneath it all: what makes an entire society resilient – or vulnerable – to collapse?
That’s why in this episode, we explore the history and future of societal collapse through a risk lens: looking at how complex systems fail, how multiple threats compound, and the early warning signs of collapse. We discuss:
· What societal collapse actually means in practice, and why it’s rarely a single event, but a buildup of stresses and cascading failures;
· How inequality amplifies fragility, weakening trust, institutions, and the capacity to respond when shocks hit;
· And what a real-world “collapse risk dashboard” might look like for societies.
To find out more about the Sustainability and Climate Risk (SCR®) Certificate, follow this link: https://www.garp.org/scr
For more information on climate risk, visit GARP’s Global Sustainability and Climate Risk Resource Center: https://www.garp.org/sustainability-climate
If you have any questions, thoughts, or feedback regarding this podcast series, we would love to hear from you at: climateriskpodcast@garp.com
Links from the discussion:
- Goliath’s Curse: The History and Future of Societal Collapse - https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/321192/goliaths-curse-by-kemp-luke/9780241741238
Speaker’s Bio
Dr. Luke Kemp, Research Affiliate, Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, University of Cambridge
Luke researches the end of the world. He is a Research Affiliate at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER) at the University of Cambridge. He has advised and led foresight studies for multiple international organisations, including the WHO and Convention on Biological Diversity. His work has been covered by media outlets such as the BBC, the New York Times, and the New Yorker. He is the author of the bestselling book Goliath’s Curse: The History and Future of Societal Collapse.
