From the cultivation of the first crops to the founding of modern states, Lewis Dartnell reveals the Earth’s awesome impact on the shape of human civilizations.

When we talk about human history, we focus on great leaders, mass migration and decisive wars. But how has the Earth itself determined our destiny? How has our planet made us? As a species we are shaped by our environment. Geological forces drove our evolution in East Africa; mountainous terrain led to the development of democracy in Greece; and today voting behaviour in the United States follows the bed of an ancient sea.

The human story is the story of these forces, from plate tectonics and climate change, to atmospheric circulation and ocean currents. In the talk, astrobiologist and broadcaster Lewis Dartnell will tell us the ultimate origin story.

We’ll journey billions of years into our planet’s distant past, where history becomes science. There we’ll see the vast web of connections that underwrites the modern world – and explore how it can help us face the challenges of the future.

---

2hrs approx. incl interval

+ book signing supported by Walkers Bookshop