FlexiLingo
Jessica Riskin, "The Power of Life: The Invention of Biology and the Revolutionary Science of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck" (Penguin, 2026)
In the early nineteenth century, the French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck proposed the first evolutionary theory of life and, with it, a new science: biology. Yet for centuries, evolutionary theorists have endeavored to discredit Lamarck and his theory of self-transforming organisms, rejecting the idea that animals play an active role in shaping their own evolution. In his lifetime, he was mocked by his adversaries and personally insulted by Napoleon. In this virtuosic melding of biography, history, politics, and science, Jessica Riskin sets out to correct the record. Riskin tells the story of Lamarck’s life and work as an intense st...
Opens the player: the full transcript, every word clickable, with translation and flashcards.
Is this episode right for you?
B2 · Upper-intermediate
Comfortable if you already follow TV news
- 84% of the words are B1 or easier.
- 151 words a minute: a natural pace.
- 293 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.
Try it: tap any word
Real sentences from the start of this episode. Every word is marked with its level.
.
Hello and welcome to another episode on the New Books Network.
Tap a word to see its meaning in your language.
Do you know these words?
8 harder words from this episode. Tap one to see what it means, then mark it.
Mark a few words and we'll tell you how this episode fits your level.
Is this episode right for you?
B2 · Upper-intermediate
Comfortable if you already follow TV news
- 84% of the words are B1 or easier.
- 151 words a minute: a natural pace.
- 293 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.
Transcript
The opening of the episode. The whole transcript is in the player.
harder words (B2+)
Welcome to the New Books Network. Hello and welcome to another episode on the New Books Network. I'm one of your hosts, Anna Ulteanu, and today I'm very pleased to be speaking with Jessica Riskin, the Francis and Charles Field Professor of History at Stanford University,
about her new book, The Power of Life, the Invention of Biology, and the Revolutionary Science of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, published by Riverhead Books in 2026. The Power of Life is a riveting biography of Lamarck, the French naturalist whose radical scholarship was ridiculed both during and long after his lifetime, deemed preposterous and
unscientific. This almost polemical quality of Lamarck's work means that Rissken's book also doubles as a thoroughly researched intellectual history, situating fierce debates about plants and animals, science and poetry, and evolution and agency not only in their academic contexts, but in their political ones too.
That was the opening. The rest of the episode (69 min) is in the player: every word clickable, with translation, saved words and flashcards.
Continue in the playerAutomatically generated from the audio. May contain errors. Audio belongs to its publisher and is played from their feed. Rights holders can request removal — copyright & takedown policy