The Hugh and Hazel Darling Chair in Law at Pepperdine University, Pulitzer Prize winning Edward J. Larson is one of the world's foremost scholars on evolution and Darwin.  He joined us on AMSEcast to discuss his books Evolution:  The Remarkable History of A Scientific Theory; Evolution’s Workshop:  God and Science on the Galapagos Islands; and Summer for the Gods:  The Scopes Trial and America’s Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion.

In this episode Mr. Lowe and Mr. Olson focus their discussion on Olson’s book, Mapping Human History, Genes, Race, and Our Common Origins. Their conversation ranges broadly over the intersection of genetics and the story of human history. Olson’s work shows how historians can benefit from marshalling the tools of genetics, and how in turn geneticists can at times better analyze their findings with a sound knowledge of history. We begin to understand how the complexity of human history and human biology can literally be mapped to common origins.

Tore Olsson_SoH

Dr. Earnest Freeberg

Dr. Daniel Vivian

A professor in Behavioral Ecology at University College London, Seirian Sumner focuses her research on social insects, and is especially passionate about the world of wasps.  She talks with us about her book, Endless Forms: The Secret World of Wasps.

The construction and legacy of the Manhattan Project is discussed