SoS 240: Agustín Fuentes on his new book, Sex is a Spectrum: The Biological Limits of the Binary

Bio Chris and Cristina interview Agustín Fuentes about his new book, Sex Is a Spectrum: The Biological Limits of the Binary (now available). Prof. Fuentes is an anthropologist whose research focuses on the biosocial, delving into the entanglement of biological systems with the social and cultural lives of humans, our ancestors, and a few of the other animals with whom humanity shares close relations. From chasing monkeys in jungles and cities, to exploring the lives of our evolutionary ancestors, to examining human health, behavior, and diversity across the globe, Professor Fuentes is interested in both the big questions and the small details of what makes humans and our close relations tick. Earning his BA/BS in Anthropology and Zoology and his MA and PhD in Anthropology from UC Berkeley, he has conducted research across four continents, multiple species, and two million years of human history. His current projects include exploring cooperation, creativity, and belief in human evolution, multispecies anthropologies, evolutionary theory and processes, and engaging race and racism. Fuentes is an active public scientist, a well-known blogger, lecturer, tweeter, and an explorer for National Geographic. Fuentes was recently awarded the Inaugural Communication & Outreach Award from the American Association of Biological Anthropologists, the President’s Award from the American Anthropological Association, and elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Fuentes previously appeared in episodes 48 & 85 in which he shared his origin story & read an excerpt from a previous book. ------------------------------ Find the Books discussed in this episode: Fuentes, A. (2025) Sex is a Spectrum: The Biological Limits of the Binary Princeton University Press Fuentes, A. (2022) Race, Monogamy, and other lies they told you: busting myths about human nature 2nd edition. University of California Press Fuentes, A, (2019) Why We Believe: Evolution and the Human Way of Being Yale University Press/Templeton Press Fuentes, A. (2017) The Creative Spark: how imagination made humans exceptional Dutton/Penguin 2017 Romanian Translation (Publica), 2017 Chinese Translation (CITIC Publishing House), 2018 Spanish Translation (Ariel/Planeta), 2018 Korean Translation (Chungrim Publishing Co.) ------------------------------ Contact Dr. Fuentes: Website: https://afuentes.com; E-mail: afuentes2@Princeton.edu; Blue Sky ‪@anthrofuentes.bsky.social‬; Twitter/X: @Anthrofuentes ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly Cristina Gildee, Co-host, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow Website: cristinagildee.org, E-mail: cgildee@uw.edu