Hello, thanks for downloading stories of our times. I'm Anveen Rana. Today we're taking a break from our

Corona coverage. For the next 25 minutes, we'll be taking you away from the news, away from your homes, away from the Zoom sessions with the office,

and away from the siren call of social media.

Together, we'll be going on a journey that began hundreds of thousands of years ago.

Last month, Tom Whipple, science editor here at the Times,

join me on a private tour of the Natural History Museum in London

as we try to discover the lost history of the origins of man.

What would you say if I told you that Hobbits are real?

I'd be surprised of J.R. Tolkien had kept secret his discovery of small fossils.

But you'd be surprised what you can find in the depths of a museum.

So this is an adult female, a tiny individual, a tiny head, a tiny brain in that skull, short legs, great big flat feet.

With Homo fluoresciences, real life hobbits, one of several new human ancestors to have been recently discovered. There's a revolution going

on in our understanding of what it means to be human.

It seemed incredible that it was on a remote island in Indonesia, how did it get there what was its

evolutionary history and was it really a distinct species you're listening to

stories of our times from the Times and the Sunday Times. I'm Manveen Rana. Today, the real origins of man. Imagine you in a nice comfy seat with your hands behind your head, taking in the views, instead of taking

on the road, maybe even taking a nap.

That's the bliss of getting where you need to go without worrying about driving.

Book your train journey via avantiwestcoast.co.

And we'll take you there.

Avantiwestcoast. Feel good travel. And we'll take you there. A Vanti West Coast.

Feel good travel.

...