Evolution remains a controversial topic. 2025 is the 100th anniversary of the 'Scopes Monkey Trial' (the basis of the play and movie "Inherit The Wind"). That case was the most famous challenge to the teaching of evolution in public schools in the United States. Our country has advanced since 1925: we are in the 'age of genomics,' where the DNA of many species is rapidly being sequenced, revealing the secrets of how life evolves at the molecular level; gene-editing tools like CRISPR are being used to cure people of sickle cell anemia and other diseases with gene therapy. However, the United States remains woefully behind many other countries in the public's understanding of evolution. In this lecture, Phi Beta Kappa lecturer Dr. Prosanta Chakrabarty will use tools and anecdotes from his book Explaining Life Through Evolution that covers the evolution of the study of evolution from Aristotle to Darwin and his own research on the Tree of Life to explain why understanding evolution still matters. Dr. Chakrabarty is a science communicator and Curator of Fishes at the Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Sciences and Department of Biological Sciences.