Emeritus Professor Robin Dunbar of the University of Oxford speaks about his early life in Australia and East Africa and his accidental pathway into Science via an interest in Philosophy.

Professor Dunbar is world renowned for his scientific discovery of a correlation between brain size and group size in primates and a related limit to the number of meaningful relationships a human can maintain, which has become known as “Dunbar’s Number”. 

The purpose of this radio chat with Professor Dunbar is to explore some of the common themes of the Wide Open Air Exchange such as early influences and early interests, vocational pathways and vocational choices.

Professor Dunbar will be our guest again in September 2022 for a seminar style discussion of his recent books about friends and religion, answering your questions.

Find the seminar reading list and more information linked here.

Listen to an extended version of this biographical chat with Robin Dunbar at the Wide Open Air Exchange podcast page.

Professor Dunbar has roots in Australia, and he has kindly shared this photo with him in Kalgoorlie as a child.

Dunbar Jnr dollying and Peters Jnr panning; Nuffield Gold Mine, Broadwater Goldfield, Kalgoorlie [owners: Dunbar Snr and Peters Snr], 1949.

Feature photo credit: Andre Camara

Images supplied by Robin Dunbar for use by the Wide Open Air Exchange.