2012: End of Days, or Dawn of a New Age?

KPBS | By KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published July 29, 2008 at 8:17 AM PDT

This story was published more than 16 years ago.

When the Mayan calendar ends on December 21, 2012, what will happen? Many people would probably say "nothing special". Others might fear the day because they believe it will mark a global transform

2012: End of Days, or Dawn of a New Age?

Audio posted in the afternoon.

Tom Fudge: We're running out of time. The Mayan Calendar ends on December 21, 2012. You might not know that and even if you do, you might not take it very seriously. Every culture seems to have some prophecy that tells of the end of time. Christians have the apocalypse and the rapture, when the good among us become one with Christ. The coming of the new millenium in the year 2,000 produced its own set of anxieties about what might happen was we entered a new era.

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So what's up with 2012? We're going to spend a little time talking about Mayan mythology, why their calendar ends in 2012, and how the event is being interpreted by the larger global culture.

Guest

Marie Jones , is author of the new book 2013: The End of Days or a New Beginning: Envisioning the World After the Events of 2012 .