The Anthropocene Reviewed

The Anthropocene Reviewed is the shared name for a podcast and nonfiction book by author and YouTube personality John Green. The podcast started in January 2018, with each episode featuring Green reviewing different facets of the Anthropocene, the epoch that includes significant human impact on the environment, on a five-star scale. This can include completely artificial products like Diet Dr. Pepper, natural species that have had their fates altered by human influence like the Canada goose, or phenomena that only influence humanity such as Halley's Comet. Episodes typically contain Green reviewing two topics, accompanied by stories on how they have impacted his life. The podcast was released monthly until September 2020, when Green announced he was putting the podcast on hiatus as he adapted it into a book. The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet, was published by Dutton Penguin on May 18, 2021, featuring revised essays from the podcast and several new essays.
Podcast.
The podcast's first episode was released on January 29, 2018. In a November 2018 interview, Green reflected that "The Anthropocene Reviewed" was "...an opportunity for me to get back to my roots. With the podcast, I want to pay careful and sustained attention to the world around me, and that’s something I often feel like I don’t do, especially when I’m on the internet." It is produced by WNYC Studios and Complexly.
In June 2019, Roman Mars interviewed Green about his show in an episode of "99% Invisible". The Lascaux Paintings essay from episode 6 was adapted into an animated visualization by the German YouTube channel Kurzgesagt in May 2020.
On the episode titled ""The Anthropocene Reviewed", Reviewed", Green announced he would be taking an indefinite hiatus from the podcast after the episode set to be released on September 24, 2020, in part to work on a new book with the same title. On April 29, 2021, the podcast returned for a four-episode season coinciding with the release of the book, set to end in July 2021.
Book.
In August 2020, Green announced that the podcast was being adapted into a book of the same title. "The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet" was published by Dutton Penguin on May 18, 2021, his first nonfiction book and sixth solo publication. Like his previous book, Green committed to signing every copy of the first printing for the United States and Canada. Green finished signing all 250,000 tip-in sheets on March 30, 2021, and wrote a review of the experience on the final signed page. This review was later revised and expanded for the episode of the podcast released on May 18, 2021.
The book features revised versions of many of the essays from the podcast, as well as new original essays, ordered chronologically through Green's life to give the book the approximate structure of a memoir.
To promote the book, Green hosted a virtual book tour, with guests Clint Smith, Latif Nasser, Sarah Urist Green, Hank Green, and Ashley C. Ford making appearances at the various shows.
The book received positive reviews. Elizabeth Greenwood from "The San Francisco Chronicle" wrote ""The Anthropocene Reviewed" is the perfect book to read over lunch or to keep on your nightstand, whenever you need a reminder of what it is to feel small and human, in the best possible way." Scott Neumyer of Shondaland wrote that, ""The Anthropocene Reviewed" is the type of book that makes you pause briefly every few sentences not only to revel in the beauty of the words on the page, but also to reflect on just how relatable and poignant they are. Green may have made his name by writing fiction (and for good reason), but this first foray into nonfiction is his most mature, compelling, and beautifully written book yet."
Reviews.
Podcast episodes.
Ratings are presented in the order that topics are listed in the title, regardless of order presented within the episode.