#1020 Cara Ocobock: Can Women Hunt?

Nov 15, 2024

In a lively discussion, Cara Ocobock, an Associate Professor at Notre Dame, dives into human energetics and adaptation to extreme environments, such as those experienced by reindeer herders. She critiques BMI as a health measurement and highlights fascinating gender dynamics in hunting, revealing that women often outpace men metabolically. Challenging traditional narratives, Ocobock uncovers women's historical roles in hunting and survival, and discusses hormone influences on athletic performance, pushing for a reevaluation of gender roles in both science and society.

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Intro

00:00 • 2min

Adapting to Extreme Environments

02:11 • 24min

Rethinking Health Metrics: Beyond BMI

26:41 • 4min

Metabolic Mysteries: Gender and Energetics in Reindeer Herding

30:36 • 7min

Rethinking 'Man the Hunter': Gender Roles in Early Societies

37:07 • 19min

Hunting Skills and Hormonal Insights

55:53 • 8min

Challenging the Myths of Female Frailty in Hunting

01:03:57 • 2min

Reassessing Women's Roles in Prehistoric Hunting

01:05:48 • 24min

Reevaluating Women's Roles in Historical Subsistence Activities

01:30:10 • 2min

Gender Roles and Athletic Performance

01:31:43 • 10min

Hunting Dynamics and Gender Discourse

01:42:05 • 12min

Beyond Binary: Understanding Sex and Gender Complexity

01:53:40 • 18min

Embracing Dialogue: Women's Role in Hunting and Academia

02:11:54 • 3min

Closing Remarks and Listener Engagement

02:14:30 • 3min

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Dr. Cara Ocobock is Associate Professor and Director of the Human Energetics Laboratory at the University of Notre Dame. Her research program integrates human biology and anthropology, with a focus on the interaction between anatomy, physiology, evolution, and the environment. She explores the physiological and behavioral mechanisms necessary to cope with and adapt to extreme climate and physical activity. Dr. Ocobock’s research is at the intersection of metabolic physiology, evolution, culture, and behavior.

In this episode, we first talk about human energetics, how people adapt to extreme environments, the case of the reindeer herders from Finland, the role of the adipose tissue in metabolism, issues with BMI measurements, and sex differences in human energetics. We then explore the debate in anthropology about hunting, and whether women also participated in it, and we discuss “Man the Hunter”, evidence for women hunting, and the sexual division of labor. Finally, we talk about Drs. Ocobock and Roseman’s Scientific American article, “To Understand Sex, We Need to Ask the Right Questions”.

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, EDWARD HALL, 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, IGOR N, JEFF MCMAHAN, JAKE ZUEHL, BARNABAS RADICS, MARK CAMPBELL, TOMAS DAUBNER, LUKE NISSEN, KIMBERLY JOHNSON, JESSICA NOWICKI, LINDA BRANDIN, GEORGE CHORIATIS, VALENTIN STEINMANN, PER KRAULIS, ALEXANDER HUBBARD, BR, MASOUD ALIMOHAMMADI, JONAS HERTNER, URSULA GOODENOUGH, DAVID PINSOF, SEAN NELSON, MIKE LAVIGNE, JOS KNECHT, LUCY, MANVIR SINGH, PETRA WEIMANN, CAROLA FEEST, STARRY, MAURO JÚNIOR, 航豊川, TONY BARRETT, BENJAMIN GELBART, NIKOLAI VISHNEVSKY, STEVEN GANGESTAD, AND TED FARRIS!

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, AL NICK ORTIZ, NICK GOLDEN, AND CHRISTINE GLASS!

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