
A Living Planet - Helen Czerski
From Gresham College Lectures by Gresham College
May 29, 2026 · 59 min
About this episode
Helen Czerski discusses the distribution of life on Earth and its importance to ecosystems and civilization.
Earth is a living planet. But how much life is there, and what is it doing? We will discuss the distribution of biomass on Earth, and compare the effects of microbes, wild animals, domesticated animals. The aim of this lecture is to provide concrete examples of how life is woven in with the rest of the planetary engine, expanding the importance of biodiversity from sentiment alone to a matter of survival for both whole ecosystems and our own civilisation. This lecture was recorded by Helen ...
People in this episode
Guest: Helen Czerski
Topics covered
- biodiversity
- biomass distribution
- microbes
- wild animals
- domesticated animals
- ecosystems
- survival
Keywords
- Earth
- living planet
- biodiversity
- biomass
- microbes
- wildlife
- ecosystem survival
More episodes of Gresham College Lectures
- The Pill and the Planet - Ian Mudway · June 12, 2026 · 59 min
- How Hard is too Hard? An Introduction to Complexity - Colva Roney-Dougal · June 9, 2026 · 44 min
- Making Memory Visible Through Photograph - Julia Winckler · June 5, 2026 · 1h 2m
- Dionysus: Lord of Misrule - Ronald Hutton · June 2, 2026 · 47 min
- Music, Death and Afterlife - Mieko Kanno · May 29, 2026 · 41 min
- Give Peace a Chance: Legal Implications of the Israel-Palestine Conflict - Clive Stafford Smith · May 22, 2026 · 41 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Gresham College Lectures podcast page.