We are fascinated with exotic life forms; legends of monsters like the Kraken and Nessie litter our folklore. But why? Today on Focus, host Jim Meadows talks with David Toomey, author of the new book Weird Life.

Guest: Carol Kaesuk Yoon, Ph.D.

Today on Focus, we'll explore the historical tension between evolutionary biology and taxonomy with biologist Carol Kaesuk Yoon. As taxonomy modernized and moved into the laboratory, it began to yield results that counteracted human instinct. In fact, argues Yoon, by giving taxonomists greater scientific authority, we've contributed to our own alienation from nature.

Guest: Gerald Edelman.

Scientists and philosophers across the ages have speculated on the nature of consciousness. Even today, with our knowledge of brain function, we still wonder how the activity seen in the brain results in our subjective thoughts and emotions. One of America's leading neuroscientists, Gerald Edelman, has spent his career trying to understand the origins of consciousness. He joins us today on Focus 580 to explain what recent advances in biochemistry and evolutionary biology can tell us about the connections between mind and body.

Guest: Stephen Palumbi.

Evolution is generally thought of as a slow process, one that takes millions of years. In fact, evolution can occur very quickly, and our own has been dramatically influenced by our efforts to improve our quality of life. Today on Focus we'll talk with biologist Stephen Palumbi about his book The Evolution Explosion. He says that humans have accelerated the evolutionary game, especially with the species closest to us: the food we eat, the pests that share the food, and the diseases that plague us. All of this raising the question: can we survive our own power to reshape the Earth?

Guest: Peter Tyson.

Today on Focus we'll explore a true "lost world," home to hundreds of plant and animal species found nowhere else. Our guest, science writer Peter Tyson, will guide us through Madagascar, the fourth-largest island in the world, and one of the most fascinating—and endangered—environments on the planet.