Essays
Long-form writing on how and why peoples invented their last days.
Kali Yuga and the Argument About When It Began
A long-form essay on kali yuga and the argument about when it began.
Mappō: The Japanese End of the Dharma
A long-form essay on mappō: the japanese end of the dharma.
Qiyamah: The Architecture of the Day of Resurrection
A long-form essay on qiyamah: the architecture of the day of resurrection.
Ragnarök and the Remnant
The Norse end of the world is the most completely described apocalypse we have, yet its renewal is left open: the gods fall in battle, the world burns and drowns, and two hidden humans walk out of the wood to begin it again. This essay asks what kind of survival that is, and why the poets refused to close it.
The Cattle-Killing: A Real Apocalypse in South Africa
A long-form essay on the cattle-killing: a real apocalypse in south africa.
The Flood Tablet and the Invention of the End of the World
A long-form essay on the flood tablet and the invention of the end of the world.
The Grammatical Shift: Zoroaster and the Invention of the Future
A long-form essay on the grammatical shift: zoroaster and the invention of the future.
The Great Purification: Hopi Prophecy and the American Millenarian Mirror
A long-form essay on the Hopi prophecy of the great purification: how a story that begins with an emergence from the underworld also ends with a world remade by fire, and how that double shape met the American apocalyptic mirror.
The Year Nothing Happened: 2012, the Long Count, and the Manufacture of Apocalypse
A long-form essay on the year nothing happened: 2012, the long count, and the manufacture of apocalypse.
Who Made the End: Societies, Scribes, and the Invention of the World's Last Day
A long-form essay on who made the end: societies, scribes, and the invention of the world's last day.