Guest: Carol Kaesuk Yoon, Ph.D.

Today on Focus, we'll explore the historical tension between evolutionary biology and taxonomy with biologist Carol Kaesuk Yoon. As taxonomy modernized and moved into the laboratory, it began to yield results that counteracted human instinct. In fact, argues Yoon, by giving taxonomists greater scientific authority, we've contributed to our own alienation from nature.

Guest: David Linden.

At first glance, the human brain would seem to be one of the most beautifully engineered things in nature. In fact, says neuroscientist and Johns Hopkins professor David Linden, the brain is a cobbled-together mess—but this flawed design has led to some features of human experience that help us define life itself. Today on Focus, the author of The Accidental Mind takes us on a grand tour of the brain.

Guest: Frans de Waal.

Humans and apes share numerous traits, from our curiosity to our tendency to form groups and communities. Today on Focus, we're joined by professor of psychology Frans de Waal to discuss humans' primate heritage and how we compare to different kinds of apes that still exist today.

Guest: Michael Ruse.

It may seem like a modern-day cultural struggle, but the debate between evolution and creation extends back centuries. Today on Focus, Michael Ruse joins us to discuss similarities between the two models of thought and the near-evangelical commitment that some evolutionists hold to their point of view.

Guest: Michael Ruse.

For many people, The Origin of Species marks the end of faith. But professor of philosophy Michael Ruse argues otherwise. He says that, in a way, the ideas of Charles Darwin can be seen as a solution to the loss of faith, rather than its cause. This morning on Focus we'll talk to Ruse about the persistence of Darwinian thinking and his belief that evolutionary ethics is still a thriving part of the lives of Americans, although religion does still play a major role.