Big Picture Science

Who's on First?


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Being first counts in science. Land that coveted spot and you’ll make history, whether it’s with the first steam engine or the discovery of our earliest human ancestor.

But what does “first” mean when technological invention so heavily builds on what’s come before... and evolution represents continuous change?

Find out how “publish or perish” made Darwin famous… why we’ll never find the first human fossil… and how powerful new telescopes are allowing us to see the earliest galaxies.

Plus, the chicken and egg battle it out in line.

Guests:

  • Garth Illingworth - Astrophysicist at the University of California, Santa Cruz
  • Sean B. Carroll - Molecular biologist and geneticist at the University of Wisconsin Madison and author of Remarkable Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origins of Species
  • Leslea Hlusko - Paleontologist at the University of California- Berkeley. Read more about Ardi
  • Descripción en español
  • Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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    Big Picture ScienceBy Big Picture Science

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