#1144 Nikhil Chaudhary: Cooperation, Social Learning, Breeding Systems, and Evolutionary Psychiatry

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Sep 1, 2025

Nikhil Chaudhary, a Lecturer in Human Evolutionary and Behavioral Ecology at the University of Cambridge, delves into fascinating topics on human behavior. He explores the evolution of cooperation and relational wealth, emphasizing how social networks boost individual well-being. Chaudhary discusses unique breeding systems, illustrating the crucial roles of caregivers in human societies. Lastly, he connects evolutionary insights to psychiatry, shedding light on how our past influences contemporary mental health, particularly postpartum depression.

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INSIGHT

Unique Scale Of Human Cooperation

Human cooperation is remarkable for scale and frequency between unrelated individuals compared with other animals.
This ubiquity and scale create an evolutionary puzzle about why costly cooperation persists.

INSIGHT

Relational Wealth Drives Fitness

Relational wealth means fitness benefits gained via social networks rather than material or embodied wealth.
Variation in access to cooperative partners can drive selection if it affects fitness and has heritable components.

ANECDOTE

Hunter-Gatherer Social Networks And Fitness

Chaudhary describes hunter-gatherer unpredictability of meat leading to larger social networks for food insurance.
He found larger networks correlated with higher BMI and higher female fertility in those societies.

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Dr. Nikhil Chaudhary is Lecturer in Human Evolutionary and Behavioral Ecology in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Cambridge. He is an evolutionary anthropologist interested in applying evolutionary theory to explain diversity in behavior and cognition across the entire spectrum of human societies. Currently, he is particularly focused on developing the field of evolutionary psychiatry. He is thinking about how evolutionary perspectives can advance our understanding of the etiology of mental illness.

In this episode, we talk about topics in evolutionary anthropology. We first delve into the evolution of human cooperation and relational wealth. We then talk about social learning processes and cumulative culture. We discuss cooperative and communal breeding systems. Finally, we talk about evolutionary psychiatry and evolutionary mismatch.

A HUGE THANK YOU TO MY PATRONS/SUPPORTERS: PER HELGE LARSEN, JERRY MULLER, BERNARDO SEIXAS, ADAM KESSEL, MATTHEW WHITINGBIRD, ARNAUD WOLFF, TIM HOLLOSY, HENRIK AHLENIUS, FILIP FORS CONNOLLY, ROBERT WINDHAGER, RUI INACIO, ZOOP, MARCO NEVES, COLIN HOLBROOK, PHIL KAVANAGH, SAMUEL ANDREEFF, FRANCIS FORDE, TIAGO NUNES, FERGAL CUSSEN, HAL HERZOG, NUNO MACHADO, JONATHAN LEIBRANT, JOÃO LINHARES, STANTON T, SAMUEL CORREA, ERIK HAINES, MARK SMITH, JOÃO EIRA, TOM HUMMEL, SARDUS FRANCE, DAVID SLOAN WILSON, YACILA DEZA-ARAUJO, ROMAIN ROCH, DIEGO LONDOÑO CORREA, YANICK PUNTER, CHARLOTTE BLEASE, NICOLE BARBARO, ADAM HUNT, PAWEL OSTASZEWSKI, NELLEKE BAK, GUY MADISON, GARY G HELLMANN, SAIMA AFZAL, ADRIAN JAEGGI, PAULO TOLENTINO, JOÃO BARBOSA, JULIAN PRICE, HEDIN BRØNNER, DOUGLAS FRY, FRANCA BORTOLOTTI, GABRIEL PONS CORTÈS, URSULA LITZCKE, SCOTT, ZACHARY FISH, TIM DUFFY, SUNNY SMITH, JON WISMAN, WILLIAM BUCKNER, PAUL-GEORGE ARNAUD, LUKE GLOWACKI, GEORGIOS THEOPHANOUS, CHRIS WILLIAMSON, PETER WOLOSZYN, DAVID WILLIAMS, DIOGO COSTA, ALEX CHAU, AMAURI MARTÍNEZ, CORALIE CHEVALLIER, BANGALORE ATHEISTS, LARRY D. LEE JR., OLD HERRINGBONE, MICHAEL BAILEY, DAN SPERBER, ROBERT GRESSIS, JEFF MCMAHAN, JAKE ZUEHL, BARNABAS RADICS, MARK CAMPBELL, TOMAS DAUBNER, LUKE NISSEN, KIMBERLY JOHNSON, JESSICA NOWICKI, LINDA BRANDIN, VALENTIN STEINMANN, ALEXANDER HUBBARD, BR, JONAS HERTNER, URSULA GOODENOUGH, DAVID PINSOF, SEAN NELSON, MIKE LAVIGNE, JOS KNECHT, LUCY, MANVIR SINGH, PETRA WEIMANN, CAROLA FEEST, MAURO JÚNIOR, 航豊川, TONY BARRETT, NIKOLAI VISHNEVSKY, STEVEN GANGESTAD, TED FARRIS, ROBINROSWELL, KEITH RICHARDSON, HUGO B., JAMES, JORDAN MANSFIELD, AND CHARLOTTE ALLEN!

A SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PRODUCERS, YZAR WEHBE, JIM FRANK, ŁUKASZ STAFINIAK, TOM VANEGDOM, BERNARD HUGUENEY, CURTIS DIXON, BENEDIKT MUELLER, THOMAS TRUMBLE, KATHRINE AND PATRICK TOBIN, JONCARLO MONTENEGRO, NICK GOLDEN, CHRISTINE GLASS, IGOR NIKIFOROVSKI, AND PER KRAULIS!

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