Ella Al-Shamahi

Below are Ella's official speaking topics:

• Exploring dangerous places: adventure with purpose (also why science has a geography problem) - Exploring unstable, hostile and disputed territories may sound like a catchy tag line, like the basis of some great stories in a pub but might it actually also be the frontline of C21st exploration? Ella Al-Shamahi argues that if you want to make discoveries – perhaps the best places to look aren’t those with lots of scientists and researchers but the places that have been largely ignored thanks to instability. In a candid, often amusing talk she discusses everything from landmines to pirates to safety and security protocols, she asks why many research institutions deem entering an unstable region to be a no go but risky research involving cave diving or deep-sea exploration is met with nuance. But mostly, she argues that it is a tragedy for science if we ignore huge parts of the planet’s scientific potential, and it is also a tragedy for the people living in these forgotten or misunderstood places. Listen to her detail her expeditions and TV shows in some of the most fascinating corners of our planet and her take on these as a woman, as a British-Yemeni, as a TV presenter and as a National Geographic Explorer.
   
• Human origins and Neanderthals/ Human Evolution - Are you a Neanderthal Once upon a time there were many species of human sharing the planet, it was like a different world, some of the species you might recognise – the so called hobbits (Homo floresensis) and Neanderthals and others you might not – like Denisovans and Naledi. Like Lord of The Rings they sometimes interbred. And so it turns out this is the only time in human history that only one species of human walks the Earth. What happened? Why are we the only ones left? 
  
  We don’t have definitive answers to these questions but we do have a new tool- ancient DNA. It has created a revolution in archaeology. Ancient DNA is the gift that keeps on giving. Thanks to ancient DNA we now know all kinds of things, like that our ancestors interbred with Neanderthals, that most of us have about 2% Neanderthal DNA and that Tibetans have a gene that helps them live high up in the mountains because their ancestors interbred with an ancient human species. Using the latest breakthroughs as the backdrop I discuss who we are and who the others like the Neanderthals were. What makes us different… and what makes us the same… and what if anything is evolution doing about our future.
   

• Communication, shifting paradigm and living in a post-truth era (also communication of science or how to save humanity) - Some say you can’t get people to change their minds, don’t bother with people who don’t believe in climate change or evolution. But Ella Al-Shamahi went to university at the age of 18 a creationist intend on finding the flaws in the theory of evolution and now she is an evolutionary biologist, on screens across the UK and US talking about evolution. Ella believes in paradigm shifts, because she lived one.

  In this talk Ella talks about the power of communication but also the power of empathy and the power of tribalism. In the necessity of understanding why people hold the views they do and why we need to insist on bringing everyone (from ethnicity to political affiliation) to the table to fight the big existential challenges like climate change.

  Ella looks at a few of her projects from TV shows, to Ted talk, to expeditions, to her first book and picks out a few case studies, times when she and the teams she works with attempted to shift the paradigm that many in the general public still hold dear. She will be highlighting the aims, the successes as well as the limitations, weaknesses and pitfalls. Topics will include rebranding Neanderthals, Viking women warriors, the indigenous history of the Amazon, the handshake and writing off the science potential of politically unstable places.
   

• How to be a 21st century explorer (adventure stories or dodging landmines in the name of science Ambitions and making them work/ How to embrace the life you want - There is no feeling on earth like jumping out of a jeep and looking at the mountains you are about to explore for the first time, you wonder if you might be about to make a discovery, and that thought actually takes your breath away. Yet for most of my life I thought explorers only existed in previous centuries… and only existed as men. This is an aspirational talk about the frontline of science exploration, filled with anecdotes, life lessons and challenges. It covers some science on one end, (why are we the only species of human left on Earth?) but is designed to get people thinking about less traditional paths, how to draw up an ambitious plan for your own life and importantly how to think out of the box. Who better than a National Geographic explorer, palaeoanthropologist, TV presenter AND stand-up comic to do that?

  All laced with stories of dodging landmines, snakes, pirates and of course toilets in hostile and remote territories.