Ep42 Missing Link

Ep 42: The Missing Link

The Hunt for the Missing Link

Sasquatch. Bigfoot. The Abominable Snowman. Yeti. The Yowie, the Yeren, the Almas

Ape-men, cave men, wild men.

The Missing Link.



The idea of the missing link came about in the mid-19th century, with the rise of Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. In 1859 Darwin published his book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, and it was radical, revolutionary, and highly contentious.

The problem, though, was that the mechanism by which it all worked wasn’t really understood yet, and there was a need for some hard evidence that would clinch his theory. If evolution really did work as Darwin described it; if, most controversially of all, humans, chimpanzees, gorillas and other apes all had a common ancestor, it should all be there in the fossil record.

There was a missing link in the theory.

This week I’m joined by Prof Virginia Richter to talk about the origins of our species.

Guest

Prof Virginia Richter is Professor and Chair of Modern English Literature, and the Director of the Department of English at Universität Bern, Switzerland.

She has published widely in the area of literature and science, including her book Literature After Darwin: Human Beasts in Western Fiction 1859-1939. More recently she has published on the beach in Anglophone literature and culture. You can read her full bio here

VIrginia Richter - Missing Link Episode

Works Mentioned & Referenced

Charles Darwin: On The Origin of Species

Archaeopteryx (the bird-like dinosaur)

Ernest Haeckel

Eugene Dubois

Alfred Russel Wallace: The Malay Archipelago

H.G. Wells

The numerous ape-man / caveman tales of Edgar Rice Burroughs (*cough* buy my book)

Arthur Conan Doyle: “The Adventure of the Creeping Man

Piltdown Man

Robert Louis Stevenson: Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde

There is lots of useful info on the British Natural History Museum site, such as here

Franz Kafka: A Report to an Academy

Colin McAdam: A Beautiful Truth

Music

All music by Blue Dot Sessions


If you enjoy the episode and want to find out how to support the show then click here for more information.

Support the show on Patreon (missing link)
Join the WTTE community!


Edgar Rice Burroughs was the master of the apeman story. Check out the full episode on him here

Jekyll & Hyde is a story of anthropological anxiety. Listen to that episode here

Or for some more Arthur Conan Doyle, try this episode

Got a favourite ape? Leave a comment below or check out the Words To That Effect Facebook Page or on Instagram too!


HeadStuff (WTTE Ep42 missing link)

Words To That Effect is a member of the Headstuff Podcast Network. Check out a whole host of great Irish podcasts here


Missing Link Transcripts

Full transcripts will be available soon

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.