Empires of Sand: Vince Beiser

Image by Spencer Lowell

No solid substance has had as much impact on human life as sand. Though we often do not think about it, the varied uses of sand have created what we call “the modern world.”

From concrete to glass to computer chips, the impact of sand is immeasurable. But now, this resource is beginning to run out.

In this wide ranging conversation, host David Dault speaks with award winning reporter Vince Beiser, about his recent book The World in a Grain: The Story of Sand and How It Transformed Civilization. From Egypt's pyramids to the Hubble telescope, from the world's tallest skyscraper to the sidewalk below it, from Chartres' stained-glass windows to your iPhone, sand shelters us, empowers us, engages us, and inspires us. It's the ingredient that makes possible our cities, our science, our lives--and our future.

Vince Beiser is an award-winning journalist. The World in a Grain, his first book, was a finalist for the PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award and a California Book Award. His work has appeared in Wired, Harper’s, The Atlantic, Mother Jones, and the New York Times, among other publications. A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, he lives in Los Angeles.