This book is a firsthand account by Marcus Luttrell, the sole survivor of Operation Redwing, a secret military operation in Afghanistan. The story details the mission to capture or kill a notorious al Qaeda leader and the subsequent desperate battle that led to the largest loss of life in Navy SEAL history. Luttrell describes his brutal training, the relentless battle, and his survival against al Qaeda assassins. He also recounts how he was taken in and protected by a Pashtun tribe, highlighting themes of courage, honor, and patriotism. The book is a tribute to his teammates who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
In 'Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human,' Richard Wrangham presents a revolutionary theory that cooking was the key factor in human evolution. He argues that the shift from raw to cooked foods led to significant physiological changes, including a smaller digestive tract and larger brain. Cooking also influenced social structures, such as pair bonding, marriage, and the sexual division of labor. The book draws on evidence from various disciplines, including anthropology, biology, and nutritional science, to support Wrangham's hypothesis that cooking was essential for the emergence of Homo erectus and the development of modern humans.
Homo Britannicus by Chris Stringer provides an epic history of life in Britain, tracing human presence from the first footsteps to the present day. The book explores how early humans survived through various climates, from tropical environments with hippos and elephants to icy ages with mammoths. It also delves into the story of Neanderthals and the impact of climate change on human occupation.
In 'Survival of the Friendliest,' Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods present a compelling case that human evolution was driven not by brute strength, raw intelligence, or ruthlessness, but by a unique capacity for friendliness and cooperative communication. The authors advance the 'self-domestication theory,' which suggests that humans evolved to be more tolerant and cooperative, traits that also make us capable of great cruelty when our in-group is threatened. The book explores how these traits shaped human history and offers insights into how we can expand our definition of who belongs to foster a more compassionate and cooperative society.
Things are about to get personal... In episode 3 of The Origins of Humankind, we zoom into the birth and spread of humanity itself.
Our guide is the iconic Chris Stringer, one of the most influential paleoanthropologists alive. Together, we trace the origins of our genus and the emergence of Homo sapiens as the last surviving human species. While doing this, we meet many oddities, such as rhino hunting along the River Thames, but we also explore some of the biggest questions in human evolution:
- What is a human?
- Why did we evolve big brains?
- Why do we have such long childhoods?
- Is Homo sapiens truly unique — or just one human among many?
As always, we finish with my guest's reflections on humanity.
MORE LINKS
More material: OnHumans.Substack.com/Origins
Support the show: Patreon.com/OnHumans
Free lectures on human origins: CARTA
Stringer's books: Lone Survivors; Our Human Story
WHAT'S NEXT
#4-5: The Story of Sapiens, in Two Parts
The series finishes with two episodes on the story of Homo sapiens, using the magic of ancient DNA to tell a genuinely global history of our species.
Key question: How did migrations shape the human story? Why are we the only humans left? And how did humans spread worldwide, first as hunters and gatherers, then as farmers and shepherds?
Your guide: Johannes Krause was the first scholar to discover a new species of humans by DNA alone. Co-author of Hubris, and A Short History of Humanity, he is now the Director of the Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology.
When: March 16th & 23rd, 2025
KEYWORDS
Anthropology | Biology | Human evolution | Human origins | Homo Erectus | Australopithecines | Brain evolution | Paleoneurology | Hominins | Cave art | Homo sapiens | Climate changes | Pleistocene | Cognitive evolution | Cognitive archaeology | Stone tools | Palaeolithic | Neanderthals | Alloparenting | Expensive tissue -hypothesis | Radiator theory | Brain growth | Palaeoanthropology |
On Humans 
