We live in surround sound. From the din of traffic to a symphony of song birds, you can’t escape noise no matter where you live — whether it’s a rural, suburban, or urban environment. 

In Sounds Wild and Broken: Sonic Marvels, Evolution’s Creativity, and the Crisis of Sensory Extinction, author David George Haskell explores the diverse sounds of our planet, as well as humans’ impact on the world’s soundscape. 

The Takeaway recently spoke with David, who is also a professor of biology and environmental studies at the University of the South, about the first animal sounds, humans’ impact on the world’s soundscape, and the looming crisis of what he calls a “sensory extinction.”