Drawing on groundbreaking research, award-winning science journalist Peter Brannen offers a deep understanding of the critical role carbon dioxide plays on Earth in his new book, The Story of CO2 Is the Story of Everything: How Carbon Dioxide Made Our World (Ecco/Harper Collins, 2025). As Brannen explains, carbon dioxide isn’t merely the by-product of burning fossil fuels—it is also fundamental to how the planet works, calling CO2 the most important substance on Earth. In The Story of CO2 Is the Story of Everything, Brannen shows how carbon dioxide has been responsible for the planet’s many deaths and rebirths, for shaping the evolution of life, and for the development of modern human society. He argues that it’s only by reckoning with this planetary-scale history that we can understand the stakes of the current moment on Earth—and how dangerous mankind’s experiment with the climate really is. Brannen earned a bachelor’s degree from BC in 2006 and his work has appeared in The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Wired, Aeon, The Boston Globe, Slate and The Guardian among other publications. He is also the author of The Ends of the World.