Challenging Climate

12. Mark Maslin on Human Evolution and the Anthropocene

June 14, 2022 Jesse Reynolds and Pete Irvine Episode 12
Challenging Climate
12. Mark Maslin on Human Evolution and the Anthropocene
Show Notes Chapter Markers

Mark Maslin is a professor of Earth System Science at University College London and a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit scholar. Mark is a leading scientist in past global and regional climatic change and its links to human evolution, and has written dozens of popular science articles and popular books, including The Human Planet: How We Created the Anthropocene (with Simon Lewis) – just out in paperback. 


In this episode, we spoke with Mark about the link between human evolution and climate change, and the debate surrounding the Anthropocene epoch. In discussing human evolution, we touch on topics such as the development of bipedalism and human intelligence. Mark explains the extent of human impact on the Earth, hence creating the Anthropocene. We also cover the political debate on defining the Anthropocene and the evolution of international and national politics surrounding climate change. 

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Introduction and background
Human evolution
Dominating mechanisms of human evolution
What is the Anthropocene?
Challenges in defining the Anthropocene
The public and political debate of climate change
Climate anxiety, and the perception of climate doom