'Alfred Russel Wallace' with Hana Ayoob

In this episode Hana Ayoob explores the importance of Wallace's companion, Ali, and the role that indigenous knowledges, acknowledgements, and understanding our relationships with other mammals play in biological sciences. Taking the Organtun displayed in the Hintze Hall of the Natural History Museum, we explore why Wallace's guide Ali is included in the display, and what this can tell us about biological knowledge circulation in the past, as well as the present.

The Orangutan that Wallace brought back from Borneo, now displayed with Wallace’s and Ali’s images in the Natural History Museum (copyright: Natural History Museum

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Hana Ayoob

Hana Ayoob (she/her) is a creative producer, science communicator and illustrator. She is passionate about bringing people together to explore the world around them. Hana studied zoology at university, and she remains interested in how zoological research is conducted and interpreted.