Evolution podcasts

Robyn Williams and Belinda Smith explore biological cooperation and symbiosis, how bees protect their colonies against disease, and the pressures that climate change places on African lions. The programme also examines evolutionary competition between reptiles and mammals and the scientific accuracy of dinosaur displays. This edition brings together five science reports connecting interactions among organisms, environmental change and the communication of biological research.

Hosted by Robyn Williams, Belinda Smith

Nature’s science-prize roundup discusses the research recognised by the 2026 Nobel prizes: light-based control of neurons, detection of cosmic neutrinos and the emergence of handed organic molecules. A further segment examines what gut microbes can reveal about ancient human populations and journeys. Research highlights address young viewers of online sports videos and observations of black-hole jets. The episode connects neuroscience, particle physics and chemistry with evolutionary questions about the human microbiome.

Susanne Renner and Alan Cohen reflect on Bob Ricklefs’s contributions to ecology and evolutionary biology. The discussion considers biogeography, life-history research and the value of sustained, careful scientific work. Ricklefs is the subject of the tribute, rather than a participant in this recording.

David George Haskell discusses the evolution and ecological importance of flowering plants. The conversation follows the innovations that enabled their diversification and their relationships with animals and ecosystems.

Hosted by Clayton Glasgow

Ishmail Abdus-Saboor explores why touch can feel painful or pleasurable and how scientists study those experiences. The conversation connects sensory pathways to social behavior and evolution, including work with unusual animal models and the challenge of interpreting subjective experience through experiments.

Hosted by Janna Levin

The hosts discuss nitrogen fixation in a marine alga and the evidence for a nitrogen-fixing organelle. Related topics include plastic pollution, antimicrobial resistance and the rumen microbiome. The episode links microbial evolution and physiology with marine nutrient cycling.

Hosted by Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt

Diego Vázquez explores networks of plant-pollinator interactions and what determines which species interact. The conversation contrasts coevolutionary explanations with neutral models driven by abundance, examines the limits of prediction, and considers long-term bee monitoring and the challenges of maintaining ecological research in Argentina.

Hosted by Marty Martin, John Drake

Science journalist Rowan Hooper joins the Nature Podcast to explore symbiosis, cooperation, and the importance of organisms working together across the living world.

Nature staff discuss rhythmic laughter in apes, what it may reveal about the evolution of speech, and evidence that AI use can erode skills in medicine and computing.

Steve Brusatte discusses the dinosaurs that survived the end-Cretaceous asteroid impact: birds. The episode follows fossil evidence for feathered dinosaurs and the emergence of avian traits, then considers how surviving bird lineages diversified after the extinction. Publisher illustrations connect fossils, anatomy and evolutionary relationships.

Hosted by Oliver Strimpel

David Reznick discusses field research on Trinidadian guppies and the evidence it provides for rapid evolutionary changes in life histories. The episode explores feedback between ecological conditions and evolution, then considers the emergence of placentas in live-bearing fishes and what comparative research can reveal about that transition.

Hosted by Marty Martin, Cameron Ghalambor

Sara Pruss discusses archaeocyath sponges, the first multicellular reef builders, and their relationship to diversification during the Cambrian. The episode traces successive reef-building groups through the geological record and asks why reefs repeatedly emerge despite environmental disruption and extinction.

Mariana Kneppers, Mason Wakley and Neil Withers discuss two questions about genetic information. They examine AlphaGenome, a machine learning model designed to predict molecular effects of DNA variants across long sequences, and consider its potential use in genetics research. The episode then turns to the RNA world hypothesis: the proposal that RNA-based systems preceded DNA genomes and cells during the early history of life. The discussion links contemporary tools for studying the genome with chemical questions about life's beginnings.

Hosted by Mariana Kneppers

Carina Hoorn examines how the Amazon Basin’s geological evolution shaped its extraordinary biodiversity. The discussion connects Andean uplift, fresh sediment supply and marine incursions during the Early Miocene with the diversification of aquatic environments and ecological opportunities.

Katie Lotterhos discusses a survey of the effects of US policy changes on ecology, evolution, marine and environmental research. The conversation then turns to oysters as a system for studying local adaptation and the genomic vulnerability of populations facing environmental change.

Hosted by Marty Martin, Cameron Ghalambor

Nikolay Kukushkin connects research on cellular memory with a broader account of mind and meaning. Drawing on molecular biology, evolution and his book One Hand Clapping, he examines relationships across scales and the proposal that minds are continuous with the processes and environments from which they emerge.

Hosted by Paul Middlebrooks

Will Ratcliff investigates the transition from independent cells to multicellular organisms through long-term evolution experiments. His snowflake-yeast model lets researchers watch cooperative structures emerge, test ideas about biological complexity and assess the strengths and limitations of laboratory approaches to a major evolutionary transition.

Hosted by Janna Levin, Steven Strogatz

Trevor Price discusses the evolution of bird species through research in the Galápagos and Himalayas. The conversation examines reproductive isolation, hybridisation, tropical diversity and elevational limits on distributions, alongside phenotypic plasticity and the practical challenges of studying speciation in the wild.

Hosted by Marty Martin, Cameron Ghalambor

Tony Zador considers what artificial intelligence can learn from animal brains. The discussion emphasizes evolution and development as routes to data efficiency, the coordination of multiple behavioural objectives, the possible energy benefits of spikes, and the historical and current relationship between neuroscience research and AI engineering.

Hosted by Paul Middlebrooks

Franziska Michor explains how evolutionary dynamics, statistics and mathematical models can inform cancer treatment. The conversation examines ways to optimize treatment choices, combinations and timing while accounting for tumour complexity and the continual evolution of cancer cells.

Hosted by Steven Strogatz