The inner fish book

The three-part series, which premieres April 9, brings to life Shubin’s best-selling and highly readable 2008 book, Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body. Chicago’s dramatic scenery is a star of the show, as are the UChicago classrooms and laboratories in which Shubin explains anatomical links between seemingly disparate relatives, including the brains of humans and sharks.

“Now, you might not think your body has much in common with a fish,” he suggests, “but I see a family resemblance…You are related to them, and the clues to that connection are etched in ancient stone.” The slick animations serve a scientific purpose: Shubin is reaching out to a national audience with the message that human body parts, talents, ailments, and biological puzzles have origins in the genes and body plans of our animal relatives. Neil Shubin’s new PBS miniseries “Your Inner Fish” places the UChicago scholar on a Chicago “L” train, marveling at fellow riders as they sprout fish heads, reptile tongues, and ape tails.