Would the world actually be better without us? For most of human history, the question was inconceivable. 

But now, anxious over climate change and elated at technological breakthroughs, a growing chorus of thinkers is heralding the end of humanity’s reign on Earth. 

On this episode, poet and critic Adam Kirsch, author of The Revolt Against Humanity: Imagining a Future Without Us, analyzes these ideas with Commonweal senior editor Matthew Boudway. 

For further reading: 

• Eugene McCarraher critiques the ‘technocratic paradigm’
• An interview with ex-environmentalist Paul Kingsnorth 
• Santiago Ramos on the perils of the metaverse