Dagomar Degroot

I bridge the sciences and humanities to write histories that guide responses to today’s urgent challenges. I’m an expert on climate change, space exploration, and existential risk.

My newest book is Ripples on the Cosmic Ocean (Belknap Press/Viking, 2025), which reveals how changes in cosmic environments influenced human history. I also wrote The Frigid Golden Age (Cambridge University Press, 2018), a book that, for the first time, explores how a society thrived in a period of preindustrial climate change.

I’m the lead editor of several volumes on the history of climate change, including the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Resilience in the History of Climate Change. I publish equally in major scientific and historical journals, such as Nature and the American Historical Review, and write for popular audiences in, for example, the Washington Post, Aeon, and The Conversation.

I also create popular online resources, most recently the award-winning podcast and video series, The Climate Chronicles. I’ve been interviewed by many news outlets, including the New York Times and CNN. I’ve shared the unique perspectives of the past with policymakers, corporate leaders, journalists, and the public in many cities, from Wuhan to Washington, DC.

I’m always happy to answer questions, to join new research efforts, and to consult on matters pertaining to my areas of expertise. For more about my work, please visit DagomarDegroot.com.