Ella Al-Shamahi
Nat Geo Explorer, Paleoanthropologist, Comedian & Neanderthal Expert
- Redondo Beach Monday, October 20, 2025 at 7:30 pm
- Pasadena Tuesday, October 21, 2025 at 7:30 pm
- Thousand Oaks Wednesday, October 22, 2025 at 7:30 pm
- Long Beach Thursday, October 23, 2025 at 7:30 pm
As a National Geographic Explorer, Ella Al-Shamahi is no stranger to taking risks. Not only does she put her health and well-being on the line to collect fossils from caves in hostile, disputed, and unstable regions of the world, but the accomplished paleoanthropologist and evolutionary biologist also takes risks on the stage as a stand-up comedian.
Al-Shamahi works to tell a more complete geographical story of Neanderthals and early humans. She almost exclusively works in places where, as she puts it, it is hard to get insurance. Her expeditions have included Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as places she cannot publicly admit to having visited.
Ella believes that this is a risk worth taking because huge parts of the planet’s scientific potential are being ignored due to instability. She argues that realistically, these places will become the frontline of science and exploration. She also believes that development is not just about aid, it is also about science and empowering locals. As a stand-up, Ella uses comedy as a coping strategy, but also to communicate science. She passionately believes that knowledge and science can empower locals and help with sustainable development.
She has imparted her trademark humor to viewers and listeners across the globe, having hosted and produced numerous television and radio programs, including the BBC’s 2018 two-part documentary Neanderthals: Meet Your Ancestors with Andy Serkis. She is part of the group behind the BBC’s Changing Planet, a seven-year diary documenting the impact of climate change on key habitats around the world.
Al-Shamahi performs “nerdy stand-up” internationally and has taken four stand-up shows to the Edinburgh Fringe. Her TED Talk about her expedition to the Yemeni island of Socotra has been viewed online more than two million times. In 2021, she released her debut book The Handshake: A Gripping History, which was named a Sunday Times “Book of the Year.”