Future Archives - Andrew Maynard

David Attenborough’s Call to Action in A Life on Our Planet is Compelling, but Flawed

If you haven’t yet seen David Attenborough’s new Netflix documentary A Life on Our Planet, you should. As a self-described “witness statement” on the state of our world from one of the most widely traveled and respected naturalists of our time, it’s sobering viewing. And its message deeply aligns with our mission in the College of Global Futures.

And yet for all its warnings of a planet in crisis, I found Attenborough’s perspective somewhat limited while watching the documentary, compelling as it is… [read more]

(a copy of my Amazon.com review of the book)

Hank Green’s A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor — a sequel to An Absolutely Remarkable Thing — is a unique and thought-provoking commentary on power, the internet, fame-culture, and tech-bro worship, all wrapped up in a complex, fast-paced story that uniquely captures the zeitgeist of today’s social media-obsessed world. I suspect that it will divide readers, leaving some absolutely loving it (especially those who already gravitate toward Green’s work and ideas), some frustrated, and some just plain confused. But none of this takes away from the importance of what Green has created here.

On its surface, A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor is a fast-paced story of alien tech and complicated people in a complex society that will appeal to readers who are immersed in todays social media culture. But the story is just the start. Green’s book is very much a medium through which he explores important questions around power, responsibility, and autonomy, and through which he both reveals the things that keep him up at night (I suspect – I’m speculating), and his thoughts on building a better future.