We live in a moment with almost daily reminders of how fragile life on Earth is whether it be from climate change, nuclear weapons or AI. In this episode, we bring you a story from the not-so-distant past when we learned what drove dinosaurs to extinction. And how it might have helped us avoid the same end. This episode was originally published in March 2025.
Thomas M. Siebel Chair in History of Science at the University of Illinois and author of
professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder.
novelist, critic, and biographer and author of the forthcoming book
co-writer and co-creator of the television series
science and environmental journalist.
Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.
Read more Swiss glaciers suffer another year of record ice loss