"We Are the Meteor"

On the Media | Apr 7, 2017

Stratigraphers study the earth's layers of rock in order to reveal the planet's history. And within the stratigraphic community, a big change is underway. After 11,700 years of the Holocene era, we appear to have entered something new, what geologists are calling the Anthropocene: an age characterized by the impact of humankind on the planet.

First, Brooke speaks with stratigrapher and Anthropocene Working Group Chair Jan Zalasiewicz about the narratives embedded in geological strata and the traces that today's humans might leave behind for future civilizations.

Then, she talks with author Benjamin Kunkel, who recently wrote about the Anthropocene for the London Review of Books, about how "Anthropocene" has become a cultural buzzword—and whether "Capitalocene" (that is: the Age of Capitalism) might be a more appropriate term to describe our epoch.

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