Why Not Just Rename the “Hitler Beetle”?

About this episode

The episode discusses the controversial practice of naming species after despicable individuals, focusing on the case of the 'Hitler Beetle'.

Taxonomy has a sadly ugly history of naming species after despicable people—even Adolf Hitler. Given the controversy these names generate, there have been many calls to drop them. But taxonomists have so far resisted most of these efforts, for reasons both good and bad... Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

People in this episode

Host: Sam Kean

Topics covered

• taxonomy
• species naming
• controversy
• history
• ethics

Keywords

• taxonomy
• Hitler Beetle
• species names
• controversy
• ethics

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