On this, our 301st Evolutionary Lens livestream, we discuss grief and mourning, and what makes us human. How many distinctly human traits will we prune away before we realize that we have gone too far, that there is too little remaining of humanity to be resurrected? From the Industrial Revolution(s) to that of AI, now we’ve got apps that threaten to keep your loved ones “alive” forever, with none of the valuable complexity that ancient grieving traditions offer. Then: bonobos show evidence of language use that is emergent—in which combinations of sounds mean more than the sum of their parts. And: all of the ostriches at Universal Ostrich Farm in British Columbia have been slaughtered, per a court order, despite there being no public or individual health justification for doing so.
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Mentioned in this episode:
Amelia Earhart: https://x.com/dnigabbard/status/1989450238923309500
2wai, the anti-grief app: https://x.com/bretweinstein/status/1989413085753577593
Berthet et al 2025. Extensive compositionality in the vocal system of bonobos. Science, 388(6742): 104-108: https://www.science.org/doi/epdf/10.1126/science.adv1170
AP on ostriches, 11-7-25: https://apnews.com/article/oshtrich-cull-bird-flu-canada-cbef6e65b570bbc91a790b4817e02777
WaPo on pet vaccinations: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/11/15/edith-pritchett-cartoon-anti-vaccine-pet-owners/
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