National Geographic explorer Tierney Thys divides her time between research on the giant ocean sunfish and making science education films. In this podcast, join Ms. Thys in a discussion about how science and art can be used to promote the ocean conservation movement.

Human languages first appeared between 30,000 and 100,000 years ago, but the question of how languages spread and evolve is still under investigation. In this podcast from a recent SciCafe, join Museum curators Peter Whiteley and Ward Wheeler as they discuss how techniques used in genetic analysis are being applied to anthropology, language shifts, and key patterns in social evolution.

What do we really know about the diversity of life on Earth? Biologists have named 1.8 million species out of an estimated 10 million, according to Museum Provost of Science Michael J. Novacek. In this podcast from a recent SciCafe, Dr. Novacek discusses how researchers are using cyber-technology to explore the evolution and organization of life as never before.

The SciCafe, “The Whole-Life Catalog,” took place at the Museum on October 3, 2012.

Podcast: Download | RSS | iTunes ( 1 hour, 1 mins, 74 MB)

Skin is the body’s largest organ, and one with a complex cultural and evolutionary past. In this SciCafe from the spring, biological anthropologist Nina Jablonski discusses how human skin evolved, particularly as an adaptation to ultraviolet radiation.

The SciCafe took place at the Museum on May 2, 2012.

Podcast: Download | RSS | iTunes (1 hour, 13 mins, 88 MB)

A growing body of research from the fields of physical anthropology, genetics, and genomics indicates that there’s no scientific justification for the concept of race. In this podcast from last fall, Museum curators Ian Tattersall and Rob DeSalle, who recently co-authored a book on the subject entitled Race? Debunking a Scientific Myth, explain why features that we consider markers of race are actually of recent biological origin or superficial. Their book recently made the longlist for this year’s prestigious Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books, whose judges called it an “important subject ripe for discussion in a scientifically reputable way.”

This SciCafe took place at the Museum on October 5, 2011.

Podcast: Download | RSS | iTunes (1 hour, 4 mins, 77 MB)