Showing results for "Evolution" in World

Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion and a life-long committed Darwinist, abridges and reads this special audio version of Charles Darwin's famous book. A literally world-changing book, Darwin put forward the anti-religious and scientific idea that humans in fact evolved over millions of generations from animals, starting with fish, all the way up through the ranks to apes, then to our current form.

Join the Beebe family as they anxiously await the arrival of Misty, a Chincoteague pony mare on the brink of foaling. Their excitement turns to dread when a fierce storm system descends upon Chincoteague, bringing floods, hurricane winds, ice, and snow. This captivating tale, though fictional, is grounded in historical events and characters, capturing the chaos of the Ash Wednesday Storm that struck the Eastern Seaboard on March 6, 1962. A sequel to Marguerite Henrys beloved Misty of Chincoteague, it beautifully intertwines the lives of humans and equines in a story of resilience and hope.

Resistance to malaria. Blue eyes. Lactose tolerance. What do all of these traits have in common? Every one of them has emerged in the last 10,000 years.

While plenty of entertaining books have been written about the history of alcohol and other intoxicants, none have offered a comprehensive, convincing answer to the basic question of why humans want to get high in the first place. Drunk elegantly cuts through the tangle of urban legends and anecdotal impressions that surround our notions of intoxication to provide the first rigorous, scientifically grounded explanation for our love of alcohol.

Why did humans abandon hunting and gathering for sedentary communities dependent on livestock and cereal grains and governed by precursors of today's states? Most people believe that plant and animal domestication allowed humans, finally, to settle down and form agricultural villages, towns, and states, which made possible civilization, law, public order, and a presumably secure way of living. But archaeological and historical evidence challenges this narrative.

The Origin of Species sold out on the first day of its publication in 1859. It is the major book of the 19th century and one of the most readable and accessible of the great revolutionary works of the scientific imagination. Though, in fact, little read, most people know what it says—at least they think they do. The Origin of Species was the first mature and persuasive work to explain how species change through the process of natural selection. Upon its publication, the book began to transform attitudes about society and religion.

The second book in the Easy Money trilogy discusses how the global financial system evolved in the aftermath of the First World War and how that finally led to the dot-com crash in the United States, in the early 2000s. It gives an overview of how in the aftermath of the First World War, Europe was in major trouble. The book also analyzes how the United Kingdom of Great Britain, which was once the premier nation of the world, lost out to its former colony, the United States of America.

“A terrific book, witty and lucid, and brimming with provocative conjectures.” (Wall Street Journal) from the author of the acclaimed New York Times bestseller Genome Brilliantly written, The Red Queen compels us to rethink everything from the persistence of sexism to the endurance of...

A Foundational Conservation Story Revived. Ancient writers observed that forests always recede as civilizations develop and grow. The great Roman poet Ovid wrote that before civilization began, “even the pine tree stood on its own very hills” but when civilization took over, “the mountain...

The Big Ratchet is the story of the ratchets: the technologies and innovations, big and small, that propelled our species from hunters and gatherers on the savannahs of Africa to shoppers in the aisles of the supermarket. Our species long lived on the edge of starvation. Now we produce enough food for all 7 billion of us to eat nearly 3,000 calories every day. This is such an astonishing thing in the history of life as to verge on the miraculous. The Big Ratchet is the story of how it happened.

The Voyage of the Beagle - or, to give it its full title, Journal of researches into the Natural History and Geology of the Countries visited during the Voyage round the World of H.M.S. Beagle under command of Captain FitzRoy, R.N. - is much more than merely an account of Darwin's scientific observations in his 1831 - 36 travels across the globe: it is fine travel writing in its own right.

Storytelling, a tradition that built human civilization, may soon destroy it Humans are storytelling animals. Stories are what make our societies possible. Countless books celebrate their virtues. But Jonathan Gottschall, an expert on the science of stories, argues that there is a dark side to...

In the early 1800s, a century before there was any concept of the gene, physicians in insane asylums began to record causes of madness in their admission books. Almost from the beginning, they pointed to heredity as the most important of these causes. As doctors and state officials steadily lost faith in the capacity of asylum care to stem the terrible increase of insanity, they began emphasizing the need to curb the reproduction of the insane. They became obsessed with identifying weak or tainted families and anticipating the outcomes of their marriages.

A celebration of the brave, drunken pioneers who built our civilization one seemingly bad decision at a time, A Brief History of Vice explores a side of the past that mainstream history books prefer to hide. History has never been more fun—or more intoxicating. Guns, germs, and steel might...

Best-selling author Brian Fagan brings early humans out of the deep freeze with his trademark mix of erudition, cutting-edge science, and vivid storytelling. Cro-Magnon reveals human society in its infancy, facing enormous environmental challenges - including a rival species of humans, the Neanderthals. For ten millennia, Cro-Magnons lived side by side with Neanderthals, an encounter that Fagan fills with drama.

"History is not the past. It is the present." —James BaldwinWelcome to The History Evolution, where the goal is to evolutionize our minds! This podcast explores the revolutionary power of history to show us where we are, how we got here, and most importantly, where we might choose to go next. My name is Stephen Boyanton. I'm a historian, writer, and translator, and this podcast is my attempt to carry forward the torch James Baldwin lit. Join me as I talk with scholars, activists, and others about ideas and research that can transform our understanding of history and guide us as we work to ...

Dive into the insightful manuscript of Sir William Oslers lectures on the Evolution of Modern Medicine, delivered at Yale University in 1913. As the father of modern clinical medicine, Osler masterfully guides us through the fascinating history of medicine, tracing its journey from ancient practices to contemporary advancements, including the significant rise of preventive medicine. Written for a general audience, this classic work is both captivating and enlightening, making it a must-read for anyone interested in the realms of healthcare, medicine, and history. - Summary by Cao Yuqing

Delve into the fascinating history of Ukrainian national aspirations, expertly chronicled by one of Ukraines foremost historians. This insightful work, published during the early months of World War I, offers a compelling overview of the struggles and ambitions that have shaped Ukraines identity. - Summary by Kazbek

As a proud proponent of the prescriptive authority movement and the field of psychopharmacology, Alliant University has connections with many of its prominent pioneers. Hosted by Alliant professor and Postdoctoral MS in Clinical Psychopharmacology program director Dr. George Kapalka, this podcast features interviews with these influential figures and serves as the definitive oral history of RxP’s past, present, and future.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH SOCIETY FOR THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE PRIZE 2025 SHORTLISTED FOR THE NEUMANN PRIZE 2025 WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO COUNT? WHY ARE HUMANS THE ONLY SPECIES ON EARTH THAT CAN DO IT? WHERE DID COUNTING COME FROM? HOW HAS IT SHAPED SOCIETIES ALONG THE WAY? AND WHY DOES IT MATTER?...