We’re living in the Anthropocene, the time of large-scale human impact that many scientists believe constitutes a whole new epoch in geologic time. In this eye-opening new film, a chorus of scholars weighs in on whether our brief moment in the spotlight of the Earth’s history will go down as a true tragedy—defined by its extinctions and upheavals—or just a dark comedy. Armed with this new way of looking at our own place in the universe, this riveting investigation inspires us to imagine how we can work to remedy the ecological and climatic disasters we’ve wrought.

Biello’s book, The Unnatural World: The Race to Remake Civilization in Earth’s Newest Age will be available for signing and sale courtesy of the Village Bookstore.