If you’re not stuck in the stone age and have a TV with access to the National Geographic Channel, you might want to check out some of their upcoming Darwin-Celebrating Programs. There’s a little something for everyone!
First off, you uber-geeks like me are going to go nuts over the Morphed series starting Sun, Feb 8th 8:00 PM ET/PT. The series uses state of the art CGI, forensics, and fossil evidence to recreate the ancient creatures that eventually turned into bears, birds and whales. Those links are some preview videos, FYI – check them out.
As if recreating the evolution into these animals isn’t cool enough on its own, Nat Geo is also hosting a live blogging event all about Evolution. The chat begins at 7:00 PM ET/PT on Sun, Feb 8th and will last up to 3 hours or so. Experts will be answering viewer-submitted questions about evolution and its significance in today’s science community, education, and its relationship to religion and theology. You can join in the conversation at the NGC Blog.
If you’re less of a animal nerd, you might also be interested in their other upcoming specials. They have one called “Darwin’s Secret Notebooks” where they attempt to retrace Darwin’s expedition beyond the galapagos using his own diary and field notes. THey follow Darwin from Argentina to the Andes and even the South Pacific and show how unique finds at each stop helped him formulate his theory of Evolution. Here’s a clip about how flightless birds affected Darwin’s ideas on life and creation.
They also have a special called “Explorer: Monster Fish of the Congo” which searches out a hidden predator in Africa’s Congo River Basin known as the Tiger Fish. Locals call the piranha relative cursed, but scientists think it holds the secrets to understanding the evolution of the plethora of creatures throughout the Congo.
These two specials are back to back on Tues, Feb 10th starting at 9:00 PM ET/PT.
And, because I’m so super-special, I just might be getting to preview some of these upcoming features a little early, so I’ll be sure to tell you all the gory details in advance if I get the chance. I can guarantee these are going to be fantastic to watch.
I hope you will forgive a bit of promotion of my own journal, but Nature has recently launched a YouTube channel, containing some of our video archive. All free to access online. Today, we have posted a video (free) of David Attenborough talking about his views on Charles Darwin, in advance of his (Attenborough’s) BBC One TV programme on 1 Feb (this Sunday, for those in the UK). Links to the Nature video channel are in my Nautilus post about the Attenborough interview.