meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
In Our Time

Human Evolution

In Our Time

BBC

History

4.69.9K Ratings

🗓️ 16 February 2006

⏱️ 29 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the story of human evolution, which stretches back over six million years. It is not the story of one species but of several diverse species, some of whom walked the Earth at the same time. From the earliest hominids to the early Homo sapiens, there was nothing inevitable about the course of human evolution. But what conditions created the opportunity for diverse human species to thrive? What environmental factors led to the survival of one human species, but contributed to the extinction of so many others? What can the fossil record and the science of genetics tell us about our ancestors? How does the brain make modern man so unique in the natural world? With Steve Jones, Professor of Genetics in the Galton Laboratory at University College London; Fred Spoor, Professor of Evolutionary Anatomy at University College London; Margaret Clegg, Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Biological Anthropology at University College London.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know.

0:04.7

My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds.

0:08.5

As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices.

0:18.0

What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars,

0:24.6

poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples.

0:29.7

If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds.

0:36.0

Thanks for downloading the In Our Time Podcast.

0:39.0

For more details about In Our Time and for our terms of use, please go to BBC.co. UK forward slash radio for. I hope you enjoy

0:46.5

the program. Hello the story of human evolution stretches back over about six million

0:51.6

years. It's not the story of one species but of

0:54.4

several diverse species some of whom walk the earth at the same time. From the

0:58.5

earliest hominids to the early Homo sapiens there seems to be nothing inevitable about the course of human

1:04.4

evolution but what conditions created the opportunity for diverse human

1:08.3

species to thrive what environmental factors led to the survival of just

1:12.2

one human species but contributed to the extinction of so many others.

1:16.0

What can the fossil record and the science of eunetics tell us about our ancestors and how does the brain make modern man so unique in the natural world?

1:25.0

With me to discuss human evolution is Steve Jones, Professor of Genetics in the

1:29.5

Golden Laboratory at UCL, University College London.

1:33.0

Fred Spoor, Professor of Evolutionary Anatomy at UCL,

1:36.0

and Margaret Clegg, Honor a Research Fellow in the Department of Biological Anthropology

1:40.0

at UCL.

1:42.0

Steve Jones, can we go as what we might call the beginning when the when we see the hominids come in?

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.