Discovering Darwin
55 episodes - English - Latest episode: 4 months ago - ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsA website dedicated to the podcast Discovering Darwin.
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Episodes
Season 1 Episode 7: Difficulties with the Theory
September 26, 2015 19:48 mp3In this episode we decided to break from the standard form of the podcast and discuss two chapters at once instead of the traditional single chapter per episode. Episode 7 covers Chapter VI - Difficulties with the Theory and Chapter VII - Miscellaneous Objections to the Theory of Natural Selection. We note that Chapter VII is really more of a vanity press project where Darwin dedicates a whole chapter to personally rebuke the concerns and critiques of Mr. St. George Mivart, a fellow biologi...
Episode 6: Chapter V Laws of Variation
August 14, 2015 19:45In this episode of Discovering Darwin we discussed the fifth chapter of Origin of Species titled Laws of Variation. Ironically there are no laws actually discussed in the chapter but Darwin does outline a variety of phenomenon and patterns of inheritance and variation that puzzled and intrigued him. When we consider the great variation in forms that we see in nature it is often difficult to tease apart the cause of that difference in form. For example, variation in form may be genetically d...
Episode 5: Chapter IV - Natural Selection; or Survival of the Fittest.
July 21, 2015 15:41As we thought, this became the longest episode we have recorded yet but then again, we had a lot to cover. Chapter IV is the part of Origin of Species where Darwin outlines how he believes natural selection, over long periods of time, can generate new species. It is a rich and complex chapter and our wide-ranging conversation explored a large number of the issues Darwin brings forth in the chapter. We discussed at great length the variety of ideas that Darwin encapsulates within the only f...
Season 1 Episode 3: Chapter II - Variation Under Nature
April 29, 2015 13:16In this episode of the podcast we explore Chapter II- Variation Under Nature from the 6th edition of Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species. One of the big themes Darwin explores in this chapter is the arbitrariness in defining a species and how to differentiate species from a variety or subspecies. Sarah brought up the example of ring species, in particular we talked about the herring gull species complex that circumnavigates the northern hemisphere. The ring species model (also called ras...
Season 1 Episode 2: Chapter I - Variation Under Domestication
April 25, 2015 22:06This is episode 2 of the series and we read and discuss Chapter One from Origin of Species entitled Variation Under Domestication. We talked about the great diversity of pigeon breeds that Darwin was impressed with and used as a model to explain how selective breeding can create new varieties and forms. Scroll down on this website to see a nice slide show of Pigeon Breeds. James made the claim that giraffe's necks are actually short compared to other herbivores in Africa and this p...