Main content

Brian Cox and Robin Ince are joined by comedian Alan Davies, Rebecca Wragg Sykes and Tori Herridge to learn about our much misunderstood, early human cousins, the Neanderthals

The Neanderthals

Brian Cox and Robin Ince are joined by hominids Alan Davies, Neanderthal expert and author Rebecca Wragg Sykes, and paleontologist and woolly mammoth expert Tori Herridge and learn just how misunderstood our ancestors have been. The image of the lumbering, ape like, simple, grunting Neanderthal has been turned on its head with the discovery that we are far more related to Neanderthals then we ever thought possible. Nearly all Europeans will have around 2% Neanderthal DNA, and the revelation of widespread interbreeding between Neanderthals and modern humans has turned the idea of our exceptionalism on its head. It seems that what defines us may have defined the Neanderthals as well, and we are not so different after all.

Producer: Alexandra Feachem

Available now

39 minutes

Last on

Sat 27 Mar 2021 19:15

Broadcasts

  • Mon 25 Jan 2021 16:30
  • Sat 27 Mar 2021 19:15

Watch: UFO Special

Watch: UFO Special

Brian Cox and Robin Ince ask if UFOs and aliens have visited Earth.

10 reasons why aliens probably exist

10 reasons why aliens probably exist

Does alien life exist? Probably yes. But will we be making contact anytime soon?

Why we laugh: 9 things you didn鈥檛 know

Why we laugh: 9 things you didn鈥檛 know

What makes us laugh, why we do it, and how a good guffaw can help us feel healthier.

Download this programme

Subscribe to this programme or download individual episodes.

Podcast