Richard Prum says there's a lot that traditional evolutionary biology can't explain. He thinks a neglected hypothesis from Charles Darwin — and insights from contemporary queer theory — hold the answer. Plus: You won't believe what female ducks use for contraception.

SOURCE:
- Richard Prum, professor of ornithology, ecology and evolutionary biology at Yale University.

RESOURCES:
- "Stop Your Populist Grandstanding Over Wendy’s ‘Surge Pricing’," by Catherine Rampell (The Washington Post, 2024).
- "Dynamic Pricing Tech May Brighten Retail Bottom Lines and Put Consumers in the Dark," by Kristin Schwab and Sofia Terenzio (Marketplace, 2024).
- Performance All the Way Down: Genes, Development, and Sexual Difference, by Richard Prum (2023).
- The Evolution of Beauty: How Darwin's Forgotten Theory of Mate Choice Shapes the Animal World — and Us, by Richard Prum (2017).
- "Duck Sex and the Patriarchy," by Richard Prum (The New Yorker, 2017).
- "Dinosaur Feathers Came before Birds and Flight," by Richard Prum and Alan Brush (Scientific American, 2014).
- "How Chickens Lost Their Penises (And Ducks Kept Theirs)," by Ed Yong (National Geographic, 2013).
- "Media Attacks Duck Genitalia Research," by Emma Goldberg (Yale Daily News, 2013).
- "Mate Choice and Sexual Selection: What Have We Learned Since Darwin?" by Adam G. Jones and Nicholas L. Ratterman (PNAS, 2009).
- "Development and Evolutionary Origin of Feathers," by Richard O. Prum (Journal of Experimental Zoology, 2002).
- The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe without Design, by Richard Dawkins (1986).
- "Display Behavior, Foraging Ecology, and Systematics of the Golden-Winged Manakin (Masius chrysopterus)," by Richard Prum and Ann Johnson (The Wilson Bulletin, 1987).
- The Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins (1976).
- The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, by Charles Darwin (1871).

EXTRAS:
- "Is Gynecology the Best Innovation Ever?" by People I (Mostly) Admire (2024).
- "The Price of Doing Business with John List," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2022).

Episode 21: Strategic Thinking–The Skill Required for Advancement