Louise Leakey is a third-generation paleoanthropologist and National Geographic Explorer who has spent much of her life searching for humanity's origins in Kenya. Growing up in East Africa, her family has contributed enormously to understanding our African origins through their work in both Kenya and Tanzania. Louise earned her PhD in Biology from the University College London and is an anthropology research professor at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and a research associate at the National Museum of Kenya. She directs the palaeoanthropological expeditions of the Koobi Fora Research Project, and her team’s discoveries have changed our understanding of the diversity in the hominin fossil record. Louise joins Melissa to explore why she studies the past—and what it tells us about our future. She shares stories of growing up in the field surrounded by scientists and researchers (she was actually the youngest person to discover a hominid fossil at the age of five). She also reveals some of her most exciting fossil finds, the importance of the Nairobi National Museum, stories from the field (including jackals stealing her shoes), why it's essential to safeguard scientific collections and her hopes for the human species.

Follow Louise Leakey

Instagram: instagram.com/louiseleakey

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/louiseleakey

Website: leakeyjourneys.org

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/leakey-journeys-and-expeditions/

Follow Indagare

Website: indagare.com

Instagram: instagram.com/indagaretravel

Youtube: youtube.com/@indagaretravel

Follow Melissa on Instagram: instagram.com/indagarefounder