Ends of the Earth

Journeys to the Polar Regions in Search of Life, the Cosmos, and Our Future

By: Neil Shubin

Length: 14 hrs

Publisher's summary

The bestselling author of Your Inner Fish takes listeners on an epic adventure to the North and South Poles to reveal the secrets locked in the ice about life, the cosmos, and our planet’s future.

Renowned scientist Neil Shubin has made extraordinary discoveries by leading scientific expeditions to the sweeping ice landscapes of the Arctic and Antarctic. He’s survived polar storms, traveled in temperatures that can freeze flesh in seconds, and worked hundreds of miles from the nearest humans, all to deepen our understanding of our world.

Written with infectious enthusiasm and irresistible curiosity, Ends of the Earth blends travel writing, science, and history in a book brimming with surprising and wonderful discoveries. Shubin retraces his steps on a “dinosaur dance floor,” showing us where these beasts had populated the once tropical lands at the poles. He takes listeners meteor hunting, as meteorites preserved in the ice can be older than our planet and can tell us about our galaxy’s formation. Listeners also encounter insects and fish that develop their own anti-freeze, and aquatic life in ancient lakes hidden miles under the ice that haven’t seen the surface in centuries. It turns out that explorers and scientists have found these extreme environments as prime ground for making scientific breakthroughs across a vast range of knowledge.

Shubin shares unforgettable moments from centuries of expeditions to reveal just how far scientists will go to understand polar regions. In the end, what happens at the poles does not stay in the poles—the ends of the earth offer profound stories that will forever change our view of life and the entire planet.

©2025 Neil Shubin (P)2025 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"In the hands of an expert storyteller and brilliant biologist, the topics of ice and the polar regions becomes a fast-moving, fascinating book that combines travelogue and natural science discovery. From encountering the arctic wooly bear caterpillars and hearty tardigrades to polar fish that manufacture their own ‘anti-freeze,’ I found Ends of the Earth to be a delightful and compelling read."—Dr. Daniel J. Levitin, New York Times bestselling author of I Heard There Was a Secret Chord and Successful Aging

"For me, as a theoretical physicist who works at his desk with coffee always nearby, Neil Shubin's brand of science is exhilarating, scary, and a bit alien. But adventuring to forbidding climes teaches us amazing things about our Earth and life on it. We're fortunate to have such a gifted writer on the scene to bring back these stories."—Sean Carroll, New York Times bestselling author of Quanta and Fields

"What a remarkable planet we live on—wildest at its cold and lovely poles. This compelling volume should summon us to defend that cold, the vital task for our time on earth."—Bill McKibben, New York Times bestselling author of The End of Nature