Science journalist and sci-fi novelist Annalee Newitz thinks and writes a lot about the future. But in their latest book, Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age, Annalee looks at the distant past in four ancient cities: Pompeii (of the Roman Empire), Angkor (of the Khmer empire in modern day Cambodia), Catalhoyuk (the first known city in the world in today’s Turkey), and Cahokia (an indigenous city near what’s now St. Louis, Missouri).

Through these four cities, Annalee explores the past to understand our future. And, in the face of the existential threat of climate change, we talk about what the stories of these cities can tell us about humanity’s possible future.

The next Outside/In book club pick is Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach. It comes out on September 14, 2021.

Don’t forget to tag us @OutsideInRadio on Twitter and Instagram, and use the hashtag #ReadingOutsideIn to share your thoughts and questions about Four Lost Cities or Fuzz!

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Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age

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Host: Justine Paradise