Spencer Wells: Why Did Humans Migrate Out Of Africa?

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Part 5 of the TED Radio Hour episode How It All Began.

About Spencer Wells's TED Talk

Geneticist Spencer Wells tells the story of early humans, and our eventual migration from Africa.

About Spencer Wells

Humans have remarkably little genetic variation for a species of large apes. We're remarkably inbred despite this tremendous physical diversity on the surface.

Spencer Wells is a scientist, author, documentary filmmaker, population geneticist and director of the Genographic Project from National Geographic. His fascination with the past has led him to the farthest reaches of the Earth in search of populations whose DNA unlocks the secrets of human history.

Since the Genographic Project began, Wells has collected DNA samples from more than 700,000 people all over the world. He recently published his second book, Deep Ancestry: Inside the Genographic Project.