Our Primate Past

How do you rediscover a species thought to be extinct, and help protect an entire rainforest at the same time? In this episode, we explore the remarkable career of Professor Patricia Wright, one of the most influential figures in lemur research and conservation. Professor Wright is a primatologist, anthropologist, and conservationist best known for her groundbreaking work in Madagascar. She redisc...

Where did our genus Homo come from, and how confident are we about its earliest members? In this episode, we explore the fossil evidence for human origins with one of the researchers reshaping how we define our own genus. Dr Brian Villmoare is a paleoanthropologist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, whose research focuses on the origins of Homo , hominin craniofacial evolution, and the Africa...

How do slow lorises use venom, and what can these elusive primates tell us about evolution and conservation? In this episode of Our Primate Past , Anna Nekaris takes us inside the world of nocturnal primates, sharing her groundbreaking research and conservation work. Professor Anna Nekaris OBE is a leading primatologist and conservationist whose pioneering research focuses on lorises and other noc...

How do scientists decide what counts as a species in the fossil record? And how certain can we really be about our evolutionary family tree? In this episode of Our Primate Past , paleoanthropologist Bernard Wood explores the evidence behind some of the most debated questions in human evolution. Professor Bernard Wood is a globally renowned paleoanthropologist whose work has reshaped how researcher...

Dr Catalina I. Villamil is a biological anthropologist whose research explores how the primate spine evolves and what it can tell us about the origins of bipedalism in humans. From living monkeys to fossil hominins, her work bridges genetics, anatomy, and evolution to explain how our backbone came to be. Dr Villamil is Associate Director of the Laboratory of Primate Morphology at the Caribbean Pri...

How did primates first evolve, and how did they spread across the globe? In this episode, Dr Matthew Borths takes us on a journey through the fossil record of Africa, Madagascar, and North America, explaining what ancient primates can tell us about our own evolutionary history. Dr Borths, paleontologist and curator at the Duke Lemur Center Museum of Natural History, shares his career path and what...