Discussing the book "An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales" (published by Knopf) with the author, neurologist Dr. Oliver Sacks.

Evolution and the future of the human race are among topics in Carl Sagan's and Ann Druyan's book, "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors: A Search for Who We Are." Included is an excerpt of the astronomer Harlow Shapley speaking at the beginning. Carl Sagan also reads an excerpt from the book at the end.

Discussing the book "Margaret Mead and Samoa the making and unmaking of an anthropological myth" with the author Derek Freeman.

Studs talks with Donald Johanson about his book "Lucy: The Beginnings of Humankind," in which the famed paleoanthropologist describes his discovery of the female hominin fossil in Ethiopia. The conversation includes talk of Charles Darwin, Eugène Dubois' Java Man discovery, what makes a hominid, holes in the fossil record, fossil dating, his disagreements with Louis and Richard Leakey, site discovery, and his belief that the Hadar Formation in the Afar Triangle of Ethiopia holds the keys to the evolutionary puzzle. Includes snippets of the Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds."

Professors Adolph Baker, Jurgen Hinze, Richard Lewenton and Father William Wallace discuss science and why the younger generation is not choosing to enter the science field. The four professors debate on how to change the world an whether science is the answer to that problem. Discussions about the future of mankind also occur.

Discussing the book "The legacy of Malthus" with the author Allen Chase.

A sprawling conversation with R. Buckminster Fuller including his great aunt Margaret Fuller, future communication, the nature of work, human nature, and physics.

Margaret Mead discusses different cultures, anthropology, and society. Margaret Mead discusses topics such as immigrants, American society, poverty, and population explosion.