Darwin asked big questions. His theory of evolution transformed our understanding of life on Earth. But Naomi Alderman discovers that he did it by looking at small things and tiny changes that other people had overlooked. From earliest childhood, he’d been a collector – pocketing shells, coins, minerals, bits of pottery and rooftiles – and his travels on HMS Beagle allowed him to amass a vast collection of specimens and observations that he and others would puzzle over for decades.

Special thanks to Dr John van Wyhe, historian of science at the National University of Singapore and the Director of The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online.

Produced by BBC Studios Audio in partnership with The Open University.

Presenter: Naomi Alderman

Executive editor: James Cook

Assistant producer: Sarah Goodman

Researcher: Harry Burton

Production coordinator: Amelia Paul

Script consultant: Sara Joyner

ID выпуска: 1000684698794

GUID: urn:bbc:podcast:m002751w

Дата выпуска: 20.01.2025, 16:45:00