Acoustical Umbilical Cord: Why crying makes us human

Many animals, humans included, are natural-born criers. It’s the most basic form of communication from right when we come into the world. But us humans are unique: we keep on crying until the day we die. What was born as a survival mechanism, develops a deeper fundamental need as we grow older. In this episode, we discover the hard-wiring in our brains that reach across species, and how our tears into adulthood make us distinctively human. Featuring Dr. Susan Lingle, Behavioral Ecologist at the University of Winnipeg, and Dr. Ad Vingerhoets, Research Psychologist at the University of Tilburg. 

Twenty Thousand Hertz is produced out of the studios of Defacto Sound and hosted by Dallas Taylor. 

Follow Dallas on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and LinkedIn.

Join our community on Reddit and follow us on Facebook.

Consider supporting the show at donate.20k.org 

Episode transcript, music, and credits can be found here: https://www.20k.org/episodes/acoustical-umbilical-cord

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices