There's no asteroid involved, but the plants and animals of the planet Earth are going extinct at an alarming rate.
Alarming enough that scientists refer to this period as the Sixth Great Mass Extinction.
The blame falls squarely on people in the new book The Annihilation of Nature: Human Extinction of Birds and Mammals, by Gerardo Ceballos, Anne Ehrlich, and Paul Ehrlich.
That last name should sound familiar: Paul Ehrlich coined the term "population explosion" and warned of its consequences decades ago.
The three authors describe the ongoing disappearance of species, and point to the many ways in which direct action and neglect play a part.
Paul Ehrlich joins us.
MENTIONED on air: The Millennium Alliance for Humanity and the Biosphere. The participants call themselves "MAHBsters."