Evolution on British Television and Radio

​“With this historical account of the presentation of evolution on British television and radio, Alexander Hall adopts an astute angle to discuss the broader and more fundamental topic of the relationship between science and religion as it played out in 20th-century broadcast media. This is a well-researched study, revealing cultural trends and patterns which could easily go un-noticed, written well for specialists and non-specialists alike.”
- Jean-Baptiste Gouyon,  author of BBC Wildlife Documentaries in the Age of Attenborough (Palgrave, 2019)
This book charts the history of how biological evolution has been depicted on British television and radio, from the first radio broadcast on evolution in 1925 through to the 150th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s Origin of the Species in 2009. Going beyond science documentaries, the chapters deal with a broad range of broadcasting content to explore evolutionary themes in radio dramas, educational content, and science fiction shows like Doctor Who. The book makes the case that the dominant use in science broadcasting of the ‘evolutionary epic’, a narrative based on a progressive vision of scientific endeavour, is part of the wider development of a standardised way of speaking about science in society during the 20th century. In covering the diverse range of approaches to depicting evolution used in British productions, the book demonstrates how their success had a global influence on the genres and formats of science broadcasting used today.
Alexander Hall is a historian of science and Research Fellow in the Institute for STEMM in Society and Culture at the University of Birmingham, UK. His work examines the intersections between science and the media, exploring the narrative and visual forms of science communication to better understand sciences’ role in society.