117 | Sean B. Carroll on Randomness and the Course of Evolution
October 5, 2020
1 hr 20 min
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Episode 117 · October 5, 2020
117 | Sean B. Carroll on Randomness and the Course of Evolution
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Sean Carroll Episodes Around October 5, 2020
Episode 121 of 432 — walk the feed in the order it was published.
1:20:46This episode117 | Sean B. Carroll on Randomness and the Course of Evolution
Summary
<p>Evolution is a messy business, involving as it does selection pressures, mutations, genetic drift, and the effects of random external interventions. So in the end, how much of it is predictable, and how much is in the hands of chance? Today we're thrilled to have as a guest my evil (but more respectable, by most measures) twin, the biologist Sean B. Carroll. Sean is both a leader of the modern <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolutionary_developmental_biology" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">evo-devo revolution</a>, and a wonderful and diverse writer. We talk about the importance of randomness and unpredictability in life, from the evolution of species to the daily routine of every individual.</p> <p><em>Support Mindscape on </em><a href="https://www.patreon.com/seanmcarroll" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Patreon</em></a><em>.</em></p> <p>Sean B. Carroll received a Ph.D. in immunology from Tufts University. He is currently the Andrew and Mary Balo and Nicholas and Susan Simon Endowed Chair of Biology at the University of Maryland, Vice-President for Science Education at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Executive Director of HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, and Professor Emeritus of Genetics and Molecular Biology at the University of Wisconsin. His new book, <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691201757/a-series-of-fortunate-events" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>A Series of Fortunate Events: Chance and the Making of the Planet, Life, and You</em></a>, explores the role of chance in the development of life.</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://seanbcarroll.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Web site</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.hhmi.org/scientists/sean-b-carroll" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">HHMI web page</a></li> <li><a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=sean+b+carroll&btnG=&oq=sean+b+" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Google Scholar publications</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.tangledbankstudios.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tangled Bank Studios</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVOHgztZ3XI" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Talk on The Serengeti Rules</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sean-B.-Carroll/e/B001IOBK0G" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Amazon author page</a></li> <li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_B._Carroll" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a></li> <li><a href="https://twitter.com/SeanBiolCarroll" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li> </ul> <p><br /></p>
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