Charles Darwin

3 books referenced

Books by Charles Darwin

On the Origin of Species

Referenced in 7 episodes

483. The Mysterious Case of the Ape Man

August 11, 2024

Context:

Referenced when discussing Darwin's theory of evolution and noting that he was too nervous to include his theory about human evolution in this earlier work

365. Le Marquis de Sade: Sex and Violence

September 03, 2023

Context:

Referenced in discussion of how Sade prefigured Darwinist ideas about survival of the fittest

283: Ecuador: Darwin's Adventure to the Galapagos

December 15, 2022

Context:

Referenced as Darwin's major work where the Galapagos finches feature as evidence for his theory of evolution by natural selection

216. Pigeons

August 01, 2022

Context:

Gordon mentions that Darwin 'spends quite a bit of time in origin and species talking about pigeons' in relation to selective breeding and drawing analogies between artificial and natural selection.

129. Cricket

December 09, 2021

Context:

Mentioned in discussion of the 1868 Aboriginal cricket tour of England, noting Darwin's work 'had just come out' about 10 years earlier, affecting how the visiting team was perceived

127. Neanderthals

December 02, 2021

Context:

Referenced in discussion about the timing of the Neanderthal discovery and naming. Tom notes that the Neanderthal name was announced around the same period as Darwin's famous work, and Chris Stringer adds that Darwin was shown the Gibraltar Neanderthal skull a couple of years after writing Origin of Species. Essential context for understanding how the Neanderthal discovery intersected with the revolution in evolutionary thinking.

Ep. 301: It Ain’t Just Chickens That Are Dinosaurs

November 29, 2021

Context:

Referenced during a discussion about how species are defined and classified. Jack Horner mentions this book when explaining how scientific thinking changed regarding the classification of organisms and the concept that species evolve over time rather than being completely distinct from one another. The speaker incorrectly dates it to 1959 (actually published in 1859).

The Descent of Man

Referenced in 3 episodes

483. The Mysterious Case of the Ape Man

August 11, 2024

Context:

Mentioned as Darwin's 1871 book that advanced the theory that humans, like all animals, are a product of evolution - the theory he had been too nervous to include in Origin of Species

426. History's Greatest Monkeys

March 07, 2024

Context:

Tom quotes from this book at the opening, explaining it's the book in which Darwin 'famously points out that man too is an ape'

127. Neanderthals

December 02, 2021

Context:

Tom Holland references Darwin going on to talk about human evolution in 'the sense of man' (likely meaning The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex), noting that in The Origin of Species Darwin 'famously does not talk about human evolution' but then goes on in this later work to address it. Mentioned briefly in the context of how the Neanderthal discovery fed into debates about human evolution and scientific racism.

The Voyage of the Beagle

Referenced in 2 episodes

283: Ecuador: Darwin's Adventure to the Galapagos

December 15, 2022

Context:

Darwin's published journal from his voyage, first published in 1839 as 'Journal Remarks' and reissued as 'Voyage of the Beagle,' discussed in context of his observations about finch beaks

12 Days: Port wine and Darwin sets sail

December 27, 2021

Context:

Tom mentions that Darwin wrote up his voyage as a book, calling it 'a great book.' Fitzroy also wrote an account of the voyage.