History Extra podcast

The race to identify all living creatures

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Episode notes

In the 18th century, two men – Carl Linnaeus and Georges-Louis de Buffon – both independently took on a mammoth task. They set out to identify, describe and categorise all life on Earth. Speaking to Matt Elton, Jason Roberts charts the two naturalists' hugely different views and approaches – and how they shaped our view of the natural world for centuries.

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The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.

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