Learn with Lectures
Explore evolution and gain exciting new insights into our shared human story.
This free video library features engaging talks by world-renowned scientists who will help you better understand yourself, your world, and the ongoing research that uncovers our past and informs our future.
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Speaker Series on Human Origins | Survival Series
Louis Leakey Symposium
Speaker Series on Human Origins
Since its beginning in 1968, the Speaker Series on Human Origins has been The Leakey Foundation’s cornerstone educational program.
This distinguished lecture series has featured such luminaries as Jane Goodall, Louis Leakey, Mary Leakey, Richard Leakey, Carl Sagan, Zeray Alemseged, Daniel Lieberman, Robert Sapolsky, Frans de Waal, Don Johanson, Isaiah Nengo, Nina Jablonski, John Mitani, Richard Wrangham, Robert Sapolski, and María Martinón-Torres.
Dig deeper into groundbreaking discoveries and fossil finds that expand our family tree. Learn about the variety in our skin and hair colors and understand how Neanderthal DNA still impacts us today. Discover why we’re such exceptional long-distance runners and why grandmothers may have been pivotal to our success as a species.
Explore below to learn more about what makes us human.
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Evolution and the Future
The Leakey Foundation’s mission is to advance research and increase public understanding of human origins, evolution, behavior, and survival. We believe that knowing our past is the key to our future.
The Survival Series features lectures focused on how evolutionary science can help humanity face our toughest challenges and uncover a more sustainable, survivable future.
Explore the playlist below to learn about issues like climate change, hunger, war, and extinction from scientists who examine these crucial issues and share their insights.
1973 Louis Leakey Memorial Symposium
After Louis Leakey’s passing in 1972, The Leakey Foundation honored him with a memorial symposium featuring some of the most famous scientists of the time. The 1973 Louis Leakey Memorial Symposium features Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, Mary Leakey, F. Clark Howell, and Raymond Dart.
The symposium was recorded on film and kept in our archives. We digitized the archival film and the recordings are being made available for the first time in a new series with introductions and annotations by contemporary scientists, adding historical context and highlighting advancements in the field.
This program is generously sponsored by Jo Rainie Rodgers with George Rodgers, and Kay Harrigan Woods in honor of Gordon Getty.
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Thank you to our sponsors
The Leakey Foundation’s educational programs are made possible by generous support from the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, Camilla and George Smith, the Joan and Arnold Travis Education Fund, and donors like you!
Just $5 each month can help bring the human evolutionary story to thousands of curious minds!
Our Partners
The Leakey Foundation is proud to partner with leading science museums and science organizations to offer public lectures on human origins.
