A (Very) Short Interview with Henry Gee: 4 Billion Years in 30 Minutes (Ep 77)

How did life on Earth get from its humble beginnings to the dazzling array of forms we see now and in the fossil record?

On this episode, we talk with paleontologist Henry Gee about his latest book, A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth. The book offers a kaleidoscopic tour through the roughly 4 billion year history of life on Earth in just 288 pages. Gee is a longtime editor at Nature, and a master writer and storyteller. He shares his approach to good writing and discusses why professional science writing is often so dull. We also touch on his favorite chapters in the short history of life on Earth, including why some species evolved such large body sizes.

Cover art: Keating Shahmehri