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In celebration of 40 years of writing and his own 75th birthday, Richard joins Lord John Krebs to reflect on his life, his books and the relevance of The Selfish Gene today.
Richard Dawkins published what would become his most iconic work – The Selfish Gene – 40 years ago. It met with controversy in some quarters as well as wide acclaim in 1976. His books have gone on to sell over 8 million copies worldwide and been translated into 25 languages. In April 2016, The Selfish Gene was listed as number 10 on The Guardian’s list of the 100 best nonfiction books. In the past forty years our understanding of genetics has evolved considerably, but Dawkins’ ground-breaking theory is still one of the most talked-about and debated concepts in evolutionary biology.
Richard Dawkins is an evolutionary biologist, well-known atheist and best-selling author of 13 books. He studied zoology at the University of Oxford, staying on to complete his Masters and PhD, before spending a few years in America. Returning to Oxford in 1970 as a lecturer, he is now Emeritus Professor. He has received a multitude of awards both for his writing and his scientific work, including being the first Charles Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford. He is regarded by many as both the world’s most influential science writer and most popular public intellectual.
Lord Krebs is a zoologist and son of the biochemist, Hans Krebs – best known for the discovery of the citric acid cycle otherwise known as the Krebs Cycle. He studied at the University of Oxford and (since 1988) has held a Royal Society Research Professorship in the Department of Zoology. In 1999 he was knighted for services to behavioural ecology and in 2007 became a non-party political life peer in the House of Lords. Krebs’s extraordinary own career has been both productive and influential. His speciality is ornithology. His publications include more than 130 refereed papers, 5 books, and 130 book chapters, reviews, or popular pieces. They have introduced new methods to the science of ornithology and, more recently, techniques from neurobiology and experimental psychology.
He has been chairman of the Food Standards Agency and lead numerous government reviews into science and health policy.