Jared Diamond is an author, geographer, historian, and ornithologist. Jared joins the Armchair Expert to discuss what his thoughts are on the future state of the world, what motivated him to write books about human societies, and what factors contribute to the rise and fall of civilizations. Jared and Dax talk about why European societies were driven to compete with each other, why some people are obsessed with the "end of days" concept, and what it means to be considered a polymath. Jared explains how he got interested in birdwatching, how the spread of disease affected colonization throughout history, and how many languages he learned over the course of his travels. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.