‘Benjamen Walker’s Theory of Everything’ Embarks on New Multi-part Series: ‘False Alarm!’
Starting today, April 3, Benjamen Walker’s Theory of Everything is embarking on a months-long journey to explore fact, fiction and the area in between through the multi-part series “False Alarm!”
In a world where fake news and alternative facts have declared war on the real — wreaking havoc and causing panic — what is a podcast like Benjamen’s that blends documentary and fiction to do?
Throughout the series, Benjamen will explore nuclear fallout shelters in Manhattan, venture to a strip club in New Jersey to meet a very newsworthy stripper, create his own cryptocurrency and try to answer this question: “Are people actually getting stupider?”
Even Benjamen has a tough time unearthing the real facts.
In the first episode of “False Alarm!” — “This Is Not a Drill!!” — the battle between the real and the fake begins with a text alert sent out to everyone in Hawaii on a balmy Saturday morning.
We also hear from the man who has written the text alert that will go out to all New Yorkers in the event of a real emergency. Artist Stan Douglas shows us how to reconstruct the future, and your host turns to fellow FiveThirtyEight’s Jody Avirgan for advice on how to own the “real-ish” podcast genre. Plus, the boy who cried wolf meets the Emperor with no clothes.
