Todd Sampson on doomsday preppers, aliens and why people reach for the extreme

Todd Sampson began his TV career on Gruen , the long-running ABC series about advertising, before transforming himself into a human guinea pig to scrutinise the limits of the human brain and body. His upcoming show, called Why?, explores the reasons behind why people turn to extreme beliefs and behaviours such as doomsday prepping, base-jumping or alien worship. In this chat, hosted by The Sydney Morning Herald science reporter Angus Dalton, Sampson talks about his upbringing, how he went from 'ad man' to TV, and the moment marrying a doomsday prepper really came in handy.

You can listen to Todd Sampson on doomsday preppers, aliens and why people reach for the extreme online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Todd Sampson on doomsday preppers, aliens and why people reach for the extreme is an episode from Good Weekend Talks by Good Weekend.

This episode is 40:28 long.

This episode was published on Feb 20, 2026.

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