Darwin's Supporting Evidence

Audio

03/20/2009

Mar. 20, 2009

Darwin's Supporting Evidence

Click

to enlarge images

Watch the Video - Snakes On A Plain »

Everyone has heard of Darwin -- he gets most of the credit for the theory of evolution. And while he deserves to be recognized for his contributions, of course, he couldn't have gotten there on his own.

In this segment, we'll talk with biologist Sean Carroll about the flora, fauna, fossils, and scientists that, over the years, have helped to prove Darwin was right. In his new book, "Remarkable Creatures," he writes about the scientists and adventurers, both formally trained and self-taught, who inspired Darwin and helped provide support for his ideas. From Alexander Van Humboldt, to Alfred Russell Wallace, and Roy Chapman Andrews, they're names that you may not have heard, but whose contributions to science were enormous.

We'll also talk with naturalist Bruce Means about his recent discovery of a new family of frogs has Guyana, and about his work on this continent looking at the snakes and frogs of the Florida Panhandle. How many fantastic species are yet to be discovered in remote jungles -- and in the weeds behind your garden? We're broadcasting this week from the campus of Florida State University in Tallahassee, as part of the Origins '09 Symposium.

Produced by Annette Heist, Senior Producer

Guests

Sean B. Carroll
Author of "Remarkable Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origin of Species" (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009), "The Making of the Fittest" (2006, W.W. Norton) and of "Endless Forms Most Beautiful: The New Science of Evo Devo" (2005, W.W. Norton).

Profe
Bruce Means
Author, Stalking the Plumed Serpent and Other Adventures in Herpetology (Pineapple Press, 2008)

President and Executive Director,
Coastal Plains Institute and Land Conservancy

Adjunct Professor,
Department of Biological Science

Florida State University

Tallahassee, Florida

Mar. 20, 2009