What evolutionary purpose does beauty serve? And why does the idea of 'female mate choice' not hold true when it comes to primates and humans? From peacocks' tails to the kinds of sexual signals we can't even see, evolutionary biologist Professor Tim Clutton-Brock explores Darwin's theory of sexual selection.

The Descent of Man would forever change the way we thought about ourselves and where we come from - but how accurate was Darwin in his ideas about human evolution? Professor Robert Foley, Director of the Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies explores how 19th-century society viewed ideas of 'early man', and reveals how far our knowledge has progressed since Darwin sketched his 'evolutionary tree'.

Plant specimens may seem an unlikely starting point for Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection - but, as Professor John Parker investigates in this podcast, the Cambridge botanist John Stevens Henslow proved a crucial mentor for the young naturalist. Find out how Darwin shipped his collections from the Beagle voyage back to Cambridge, and how these almost 200 year-old specimens can today give us a snapshot of long-extinct botanical life.

Dr. John van Wyhe, Director of DarwinOnline, discusses Darwin's student days at Christ's College, Cambridge in the 1820s, and investigates the young naturalist's developing eye for visual observation - as well as debunking a few persistent Darwin myths. Also featured: how Darwin's rooms were restored and re-opened to the public.

Jane Munro, Co-Curator of the 'Endless Forms: Charles Darwin, Natural Science and the Visual Arts' at The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (16 June - 4 October 2009) introduces the new podcast series complementing this exhibition, which explores Darwin's influence on 19th-century art. (www.darwinendlessforms.org)

Why was the young Darwin's fascination with geology so important for his later work? And why was prehistory so popular in early nineteenth-century Britain? A podcast with Professor Jim Secord, Director of the Darwin Correspondence Project and Professor of History and Philosophy of Science, to complement the exhibition 'Endless Forms' at The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (16 June - 4 October 2009).