The Uninhabitable Earth is easily one of the most talked-about books of 2019, and its very first line puts the climate crisis into incredible perspective: “It is worse, much worse, than you think.”

The author, a deputy editor and climate columnist at New York magazine, does not mince words on the challenges facing our planet – from the possibility of food shortages and refugee emergencies to climate-driven nation-state destabilization. But he’s also an optimist; one well-aware that the right action today can stave off disaster tomorrow.

Wallace-Wells appeared on last year’s broadcast of 24 Hours of Reality: Protect Our Planet, Protect Ourselves, where he spoke with Rolling Stone journalist Jamil Smith about the health impacts of the climate crisis. Watch: