Harvard Book Store Presents Kate Marvel
- Wed, Jun 25
Run Time: 90 min.
Harvard Book Store Presents:
Kate Marvel
presenting
Human Nature: Nine Ways to Feel About Our Changing Planet
in conversation with Miriam Wasser
Harvard Book Store, the Harvard University Division of Science, and the Harvard Library welcome Kate Marvel—climate scientist and one of the premier science communicators working today—for a discussion of her new book Human Nature: Nine Ways to Feel About Our Changing Planet. She will be joined in conversation by Miriam Wasser—senior reporter with WBUR’s climate and environment team.
Ticketing 
There are two ticket options for this event.
1. Book-Included Tickets: Includes admission for one and one hardcover copy of Human Nature pre-signed by Kate Marvel.
2. Admission-Only Tickets: Includes admission for one.
Note: Books bundled with tickets may only be picked up at the venue the night of the event, and cannot be picked up in-store beforehand. Ticket holders who purchased a book-included ticket and are unable to attend the event will be able to pick up their book at Harvard Book Store up to 30 days following the event. This offer expires after 30 days. Please note we cannot guarantee signed copies will be available to ticket holders who do not attend the event.
About Human Nature
A captivating exploration of climate change that uses nine different emotions to better understand the science, history, and future of our evolving planet.
Scientist Kate Marvel has seen the world end before, sometimes several times a day. In the computer models she uses to study climate change, it’s easy to simulate rising temperatures, catastrophic outcomes, and bleak futures. But climate change isn’t just happening in those models. It’s happening here, to the only good planet in the universe. It’s happening to us. And she has feelings about that.
Human Nature is a deeply felt inquiry into our rapidly changing Earth. In each chapter, Marvel uses a different emotion to explore the science and stories behind climate change. As expected, there is anger, fear, and grief—but also wonder, hope, and love. With her singular voice, Marvel takes us on a soaring journey, one filled with mythology, physics, witchcraft, bad movies, volcanoes, Roman emperors, sequoia groves, and the many small miracles of nature we usually take for granted.
Hopeful, heartbreaking, and surprisingly funny, Human Nature is a vital, wondrous exploration of how it feels to live in a changing world.
Bios
Kate Marvel is a climate scientist and one of the premier science communicators working today. A former cosmologist, Marvel received a PhD in theoretical physics from Cambridge University. She led the “Climate Trends” chapter in the U.S. Fifth National Climate Assessment, has given a TED Talk, appeared on Meet the Press and The Ezra Klein Show, and testified before the U.S. Congress. She has written for Scientific American, Nautilus magazine, and the On Being Project. She lives in Brooklyn with her family.
Miriam Wasser is a senior reporter with WBUR’s climate and environment team. Before coming to WBUR, she was a staff writer for the Phoenix New Times in Arizona. Her work has also appeared in Boston Magazine, The Atlantic, Narratively, DigBostonand The Big Roundtable. Miriam holds a master’s degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. She once wrote an 11,000-word story about the quirky — and sometimes dark — world of domestic rabbit breeding. Really.
Masking Policy
Masks are encouraged but not required for this event.
Harvard Science Book Talks
The Harvard Science Book Talks series is a collaboration between the Harvard University Division of Science, the Harvard Library, and Harvard Book Store. The series features talks by the authors of recently published books on a variety of science-related topics and is open to both the Harvard community and to the general public. Typically, lectures are followed by a book signing with the author and refreshments. Learn more and watch recordings of past talks here.