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One hundred and fifty years ago on November 24th this year, Charles Darwin published his seminal book On The Origin of Species. While Darwin’s concepts of evolution through Natural Selection have become political targets of religious zealots everywhere, his scientific work formed the basis of much of what is known today about genetics, one of humanity’s greatest achievements. For about a century, scientists worked to understand the building blocks of life and heredity. Often seen as one of the most most controversial fields of scientific inquiry, this history has now been written by science writer James Schwartz in his book, “In Pursuit of the Gene: From Darwin to DNA.” Through the lives of a handful of crucial figures, Schwartz tells the often messy story of how gene science came to be understood.

GUEST: James Schwartz, author of In Pursuit of the Gene: From Darwin to DNA