Babbage: Cat Bohannon on how females have shaped human evolution

Have you ever wondered why you are the way that you are? The story of human evolution is well-understood…if you’re a man. But women have been infamously understudied by scientists. That is finally changing.

Cat Bohannon, a researcher and author, has been documenting evolution from the point of view of female bodies. She argues that lactation, placental pregnancy and midwifery are among the many overlooked factors that help explain why humans have become such a successful species.

Cat Bohannon is the author of “Eve: How The Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution” and a researcher in narrative and cognition.

Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor.

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