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Take an epic global journey in search of the secrets of our distant past. Since 2005 Spencer Wells, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence and director of the Genographic Project, has led a team of scientists in collecting hundreds of thousands of DNA samples from participants around the world. Wells is creating a detailed, genetically-based map of human migration, using clues in our own cells to show how modern humans came to populate the planet after leaving the cradle of Africa some 60,000 years ago.

In Wells’ fascinating report on the Project’s findings, illustrated with images and video of his travels around the globe, you’ll retrace humanity’s first tentative steps out of our African homeland…to the peopling of Asia, Europe, and the Americas…to the complex ethnic and cultural tapestry that humans have woven around the planet. An entertaining and engaging presenter who can uncover the stories hidden beneath mountains of data,Wells will show how our latest scientific tools are providing new answers to some of our oldest questions: where did we come from, and how did we get to where we live today?

Meet the speaker at a book signing in the lobby after the event.

Photographs: David Evans