Human beings can split the atom, engineer artificial intelligence and peer billions of years into the history of the cosmos. But has our wisdom kept pace with our capabilities?

In Eleven Seconds Before Midnight: Humanity, the Cosmos, and the Species We Must Become, Dr. Farshad Shishehchian argues that humanity needs to look beyond the divisions of nationality, culture and ideology and learn to cooperate as a species. The book places our brief existence against the vast scale of a 13.8-billion-year-old universe, while exploring threats ranging from AI and climate change to pandemics and nuclear weapons.

What can the cosmos teach us about being human? Why, despite extraordinary scientific progress, do tribal divisions remain so powerful? And can curiosity, open-mindedness and global cooperation help close the gap between what humanity can do and what it is wise enough to do?

Michelle Martin speaks with Dr. Farshad Shishehchian, CEO of Blue Aqua International and author of Eleven Seconds Before Midnight: Humanity, the Cosmos, and the Species We Must Become.