What We Are Reading: ‘The Sixth Extinction’ by Elizabeth Kolbert

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Updated 19 October 2024
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What We Are Reading: ‘The Sixth Extinction’ by Elizabeth Kolbert

In “The Sixth Extinction,” Elizabeth Kolbert tells us why and how human beings have altered life on the planet in a way no species has before. 

Interweaving research in half a dozen disciplines and the history of extinction as a concept, Kolbert provides a comprehensive account of the disappearances occurring before our very eyes, compelling us to rethink the fundamental question of what it means to be human.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Overinvested’ by Nina Bandelj

Updated 17 February 2026
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Overinvested’ by Nina Bandelj

Parents are exhausted. When did raising children become such all-consuming, never-ending, incredibly expensive, and emotionally absorbing effort? In this eye-opening book, Nina Bandelj explains how we got to this point—how we turned children into financial and emotional investments and child-rearing into laborious work.

At the turn of the 20th century, children went from being economically useful, often working to support families, to being seen by their parents as vulnerable and emotionally priceless.