In an evocative and lyrical interview, filmmaker Shaunak Sen draws attention, quite vividly, to the idea of entanglement. Through the eyes of two Muslim brothers living in an apocalyptic Delhi, tending to injured black kites falling down from the polluted skies, Sen’s documentary All That Breathes brings to life how people, animals, materials, and waste are intricately bound and in a constant state of churning – with ‘human infrastructure in the minor key.’

Ideas like ‘entanglement’ hardly ever find their way from the academic world into popular framings of the climate debate – which is heavily focussed on carbon metrics. To bridge this gap, this issue of Anthroposphere dives deep into the entangled and precarious nature of ecological transformations through the lens of cinema, fiction, journalism and poetry.

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For instance, Mario Petrucci discusses the need to tap into the collaborative power of art in challenging ‘bad memes’ and ‘framed questions’ that impede climate action and resist change. Freya Hanley assesses the potential of fiction in expanding our imagination of the climate problem and the realities of living in the Anthropocene. Javier Román-Nieves questions the underlying assumptions of the controversial Hollywood blockbuster Don’t Look Up! in which ‘science’ is presented as the only way of knowing a complex world.

While interrogating popular narratives, Anthroposphere also highlights perspectives that
are often sidelined in mainstream environmental debate. Anpo Jensen emphasises
the links between colonial and ecological imperialism through the unheard stories of Lakota people. Kiri Ley  explains how the exposure and vulnerabilities of Disabled persons can teach valuable lessons on how to live collectively. Rebecca Nelson and Jordan Unger  tell us the stories of agricultural workers who struggle with and against the ecological transformations around them.

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Issue VIII invites us to explore new ways of telling the most important story of our time – beyond numbers and carbon. Perhaps within these pages, we start to overcome the growing fatigue around these conversations and find the impetus for action – all we need is a spark.