Apocalypse and Transformation: How Catastrophe Reshapes Societies with Lizzie Wade

In this episode of Nature Hits the Books, science journalist Lizzie Wade discusses Apocalypse, a book that examines how catastrophic events repeatedly transform societies. Wade argues that apocalypses are rapid, collective losses that force radical social shifts and compel communities to imagine new futures. Drawing on case studies from Doggerland’s submerged landscapes to Peru’s El Niño era, and from the Black Death in medieval Europe to Aztec-Mexico City’s colonial upheavals, she shows that communities—often resilient, inventive, and collaborative—drive the beginnings that emerge after endings. The conversation also explores how modern archaeology, including genetics and isotopes, helps recover voices of ordinary people and challenges simplistic post-apocalyptic narratives. Wade connects past transformations to current challenges, including COVID-19 and climate change, emphasizing human adaptability and the ongoing agency we have in shaping the future.

Introduction: Lizzie Wade and the Apocalypse

In this discussion, science journalist Lizzie Wade presents Apocalypse, a book that reframes the idea of apocalypse as a rapid collective loss that fundamentally alters how societies live and identify themselves. Wade emphasizes that the most important part of these moments is the transformation they prompt, which can lead to radical changes—some for better, some for worse—depending on how communities respond. She seeks to move beyond bleak post-apocalyptic tropes and to highlight the humanity, creativity, and emotional life of people facing catastrophe.

“rapid collective loss that fundamentally transforms the society's way of life and sense of identities,” Wade explains, setting the frame for a wide survey of historical turning points and their legacies.

She began the project in 2018 and completed much of the work during the pandemic, finding common ground in human experiences across time and place. The goal is not to predict the future but to illuminate how people in the past understood and navigated upheaval, and what those memories can teach us about the present.

Common Threads: Climate, Community, and Change

A core thread across the events Wade studies is climate change and its capacity to destabilize environments, economies, and social structures. Yet Wade argues that the most enduring theme is the social fabric—how communities come together to survive, adapt, and even build new institutions in the wake of catastrophe. Apocalypses can cause populations to contract or to expand as people migrate, rethink identities, and form new collective projects.

She notes that the narratives we tell about post-apocalyptic worlds often oversimplify the social dynamics. In truth, communities—whether a hunter-gatherer group in a changing landscape or a medieval village facing famine—demonstrate remarkable ingenuity, cooperation, and creativity in response to crisis.

Case Studies: From Doggerland to Peru’s El Niño

Doggerland, a submerged swath of the North Sea from the last Ice Age, is a focal example of how landscapes change and people adapt. Wade discusses how rising seas reconfigured habitats and routes of movement, yet people persisted and left material traces that reveal a dynamic, resourceful society rather than a doomed one. In Peru, El Niño around 5800 years ago caused dramatic, rapid environmental shifts in an arid region, transforming coastlines into wetlands rich with birds and fish. Archaeology shows monumental building and social coordination in response to environmental upheaval, suggesting that collective action can create new cultural forms in the face of catastrophe.

“these apocalypses are not only endings of something, they're also beginnings,” Wade notes, underscoring the paradox at the heart of her book: endings are inseparable from new beginnings when humans mobilize to rebuild.

Historical Turning Points: The Black Death, Egypt, and Aztec Mexico City

The Black Death in England reshaped labor relations, wealth distribution, and political power, revealing the vulnerability of already unequal societies and the resilience of essential labor forces. Wade examines how authorities attempted to restore wages and control, a pattern echoed in later pandemics when elites resist shifts in power created by public health crises. In Egypt, the pyramid economy demonstrates how large-scale labor mobilization linked to monumental projects can sustain populations through hardship, while the Aztec city of Tenochitlan shows a pre-Columbian example of how urban life on a lake adapted to changing conditions under external pressures, foreshadowing modern vulnerability to environmental and political shocks in the region.

These chapters frame apocalyptic moments as catalysts for social reorganization, where power dynamics, religious practices, and daily life intersect in complex ways. Wade also highlights how new archaeological methods—genetics, isotopes, and other technologies—are broadening our understanding of who experienced these events and how ordinary people lived through them.

The Modern Echoes: COVID-19, Climate Change, and Archaeology’s New Voice

Looking to the present, Wade connects past transformations to contemporary crises such as COVID-19 and ongoing climate change. She suggests that archaeology and material culture can help society process these events by recovering the voices and experiences of those who often disappear from historical narratives. The modern era demands that we recognize our collective agency in shaping the future, despite daunting challenges. Wade’s message is one of cautious optimism: humans can adapt, reorganize, and reimagine themselves even under severe pressure, and this resilience can become the seed of future transformations.

"we can always change and it might be too late to prevent certain kinds of apocalypses or certain outcomes, especially in climate change, we know a certain extent of that is already baked in." - Lizzie Wade

"it's never too late to rethink how we're living in the world." - Lizzie Wade