Housmans are delighted to welcome Troy Vettese and Drew Pendergrass to the shop to celebrate the paperback launch of their seminal book Half-Earth Socialism.

Without revolutionary change, humanity confronts a dystopian future of global heating, epidemics, and mass extinction. Yet, the mainstream ‘solutions’ on offer are either too modest or too risky, such as toothless cap-and-trade programmes, dangerous geoengineering schemes, seaweed in cattle feed, luxury electric cars, and wildlife conservation bankrolled by billionaires. In their book Half-Earth Socialism, newly released in paperback, historian Troy Vettese and scientist Drew Pendergrass criticize such tepid solutions and offers instead a countervailing vision for the future. 

Half-Earth Socialism goes beyond critique to confront a series of difficult questions. What does a just and ecologically-stable society actually look like? How can we go past the colonial history of conservation and replace it with something democratic and grounded in indigenous sovereignty? If capitalism leads inevitably to environmental crises, how can we organize production and distribution without markets? If we engage in economic planning, what are the planetary boundaries that constrain our interchange with nature? Can we ensure planning remains democratic? In Half-Earth Socialism, Vettese and Pendergrass demonstrate that thinking through such questions allows us to imagine a new kind of society that is not only desirable, but also feasible and necessary. 

In this event, Vettese and Pendergrass will will be joined in conversation by food transparency advocate Robbie Lockie, co-founder of Plant Based News. Half-Earth Socialism argues that widespread veganism makes it far easier to save land for biodiversity, renewable energy, fossil-free agriculture, and carbon dioxide removal. In addition to the other points of the book, their conversation will touch on disinformation in animal agriculture, the role of veganism within broader environmental and left-wing movements, and the relationship between activism and media.

About our speakers:

Drew Pendergrass is a writer, activist, and climate scientist whose work imagines how humanity can democratically govern itself under a worsening environmental crisis. He is a Ph.D. candidate in Environmental Science and Engineering at Harvard University, where he also earned a Bachelor’s degree in Physics and Mathematics. His research uses satellite, aircraft, and surface observations of the environment to correct supercomputer models of the atmosphere. Drew is currently working on a system that uses satellites to estimate real-time global emissions of methane, an important greenhouse gas. He is the lead developer of CHEEREIO, a free, open-source software used by scientists to characterize the sources of a wide variety of pollutants. Drew is co-author of the book Half-Earth Socialism (Verso, 2022), along with historian Troy Vettese, with whom he has also co-written articles for Architectural Design and International Labor and Working-Class History. In addition to his scientific publications, Drew has authored various pieces of popular environmental writing for outlets including Harper’s, The Guardian, and Jacobin.

Troy Vettese is a Ciriacy-Wantrup post-doctoral fellow at the University of California, Berkeley. He obtained his Ph.D. from New York University and Masters’ degrees from NYU, St. Andrews, and Oxford, and has held research fellowships at the University of Copenhagen, the European University Institute, and Harvard University. Troy has taught a variety of courses on environmental studies in connection with Marxism, neoliberalism, and critical theory at the University of Milan, Lund University, and the University of Copenhagen. Together with Drew Pendergrass, Troy is the author of the manifesto, Half-Earth Socialism (Verso, 2022), which has been discussed in Jewish Currents, New Statesman, Le Monde, and the Ecologist, as well as being translated into Swedish, Italian, Thai, Korean, and Spanish. He is currently writing a monograph on neoliberal environmental thought and editing a volume on Marxist animal studies. Troy’s popular writing has appeared in n+1, the Guardian, Jacobin, Boston Review, and Bookforum.

Robbie Lockie, a digital media innovator and food transparency advocate, leads The Freedom Food Alliance, promoting informed consumer choices and exposing industry practices. Their recent report unveils disinformation tactics in animal agriculture. As co-founder of Plant Based News, Robbie raises awareness on veganism, reaching millions monthly. Inspired by personal health challenges, Robbie champions ethical, sustainable living for a better world.

As always, tickets are priced on a sliding scale. If you are unable to pay for a ticket please do not hesitate to contact us at shop@housmans.com, and a free ticket will be made available.

If you choose book + event entry, your copy of the book will be available to collect on the evening. If you would like to collect it earlier, or have it delivered, please contact us (postage is £2.95). Telephone 020 7837 4473 or email shop@housmans.com.

Doors Open at 7pm, Event Starts 7:30