A stained glass window in an historic York cathedral inspired Shannon Gayk to devote her studies to Middle English literature. She found that the people who lived nearly a millennium ago in what became modern-day England were concerned with ecological disaster and climate change just as the people of 2025 are. Her new book, “Apocalyptic Ecologies: From Creation to Doom in Middle English Literature,” was published by the University of Chicago Press last month. An Indiana University professor of English, Gayk (rhymes with bike) introduces drama, humor, and irony in her classrooms demonstrations.

Host Michael Glab chats with Bloomington’s most fascinating people.