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Why is the world the way it is? How did we get here? Does everything happen for a reason or are some things left to chance? Philosophers and theologians have pondered these questions for millennia, but scientist Sean B. Carroll joins us with startling scientific discoveries to assert that we live in a world driven by chance.

In this livestreamed presentation, Carroll draws from his book A Series of Fortunate Events: Chance and the Making of the Planet, Life, and You to submit that humans, like every other species, are here by accident. But what a glorious convergence of accidents! He examines how shocking it is just how many things—any of which might never have occurred—had to happen in certain ways for any of us to exist. From an extremely improbably asteroid impact, to the wild gyrations of the Ice Age, to invisible accidents in our parents’ bodies, we are all here through an astonishing series of fortunate events. Carroll invites us to ponder how chance continues to reign every day—and consider a new appreciation for the surprising source of all the beauty and diversity in the living world.

Sean B. Carroll is an award-winning scientist, writer, educator, and film producer. He is Vice President for Science Education at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Balo-Simon Chair of Biology at the University of Maryland. His books include The Serengeti Rules, Brave Genius, and Remarkable Creatures, which was a finalist for the National Book Award.