Episode 8. British Explorers, Part 1: Ian Owens

The Natural History Museum in London houses the greatest collection of natural history specimens in the world, collected for centuries by British explorers and scientists.  From Captain Cook’s discovery of Australia and Charles Darwin’s voyage on the Beagle to the doomed Terra Nova Expedition to Antarctica led by Robert Scott, a steady stream of invaluable specimens has traversed the globe in order to be archived and studied.  Taking us through this history is my guest, Ian Owens, the Director of Science at the museum.  Ian is also a Professor at Imperial College London, and he specializes on research in the areas of biodiversity, ecology, genetics and evolution of birds.