Sausage of Science
Human Biology Association
The Human Biology Association is a vibrant nonprofit scientific organization dedicated to supporting and disseminating innovative research and teaching on human biological variation in evolutionary, social, historical, and environmental context worldwide.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 20, 2023 • 34min
SoS 207: Dr. Meradeth Snow: aDNA in Paquimé (Casas Grandes)
Special Edition HBA Fellow take-over! HBA Junior Fellows Eric Griffith and Courtney Manthey-Pierce co-host this season's final episode with Dr. Meradeth Snow. Dr. Snow is an Associate Professor and Co-Chair of Anthropology at the University of Montana. There, she and her research team analyze ancient and degraded DNA for anthropological and forensic purposes. Her lab focuses primarily on the northern region of prehistoric Mexico. She is here to talk to us today about her most recent paper (currently in review) titled “A Reanalysis of Population Dynamics in the Casas Grandes Region of Northern Mexico Using Mitochondrial DNA.”
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Contact Meradeth: meradeth.snow@umontana.edu
Website: meradethhouston.com; Twitter: @MeradethHouston
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Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association:
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc
Courtney Manthey-Pierce, Guest-Co-Host, Website: courtneymanthey-pierce.godaddysites.com/ E-mail: cpierce4@uccs.edu, Twitter: @HolyLaetoli
Eric Griffith, Guest Co-Host, HBA Junior Fellow
E-mail: eric.griffith@duke.edu
Cristina Gildee, HBA Junior Fellow, SoS producer
Website: cristinagildee.org, E-mail: cgildee@uw.edu, Twitter:@CristinaGildee

Dec 16, 2023 • 46min
SoS 206: Dr. Charles Roseman wants to know -- are you adapt-erific?!
Cara is solo hosting this episode! She is joined by Dr. Charles Roseman to discuss the finer points of why/how "adaptionist" thinking can lead us all down scientific dead ends.
Bonus fun: We also learn a little bit about squirrels and nicotine withdrawal. You know Chris was sorry to miss this episode!
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The Scientific American article "To Understand Sex, We Need to Ask the Right Questions," co-authored by Profs. Roseman and Ocobock can be found here:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/to-understand-sex-we-need-to-ask-the-right-questions/
Dr. Roseman's video demonstration will be uploaded to the HBA youtube page soon:
https://www.youtube.com/@HumanBiologyAssociation
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Dr. Roseman is an Associate Professor in Evolution, Ecology and Behavior and Anthropology in the School of Integrative Biology at the University of Illinois. His work broadly focuses on genotype phenotype map structure, and the evolution of complex traits. You can view his website here: sib.illinois.edu/profile/croseman and follow him on Twitter @EvoRoseman.
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Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation
Website: humbio.org/,
Twitter: @HumBioAssoc
Cara Ocobock, Co-Host, Website: sites.nd.edu/cara-ocobock/, Email:cocobock@nd.edu, Twitter:@CaraOcobock
Eric Griffith, HBA Junior Fellow, SoS producer
E-mail: eric.griffith@duke.edu

Dec 4, 2023 • 45min
SoS 205: Dimitris Xygalatas on Fire walking and other things that make us human
Chris and special guest co-host Courtney Manthey-Peirce interview Dimitris Xygalatas, author of Ritual: How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life Worth Living. Associate Professor in Anthropology and Psychological Sciences at the University of Connecticut and head of the Experimental Anthropology Lab, Dimitris is an anthropologist and cognitive scientist who studies some things that make us human – but not the obvious ones. He is interested in some of the more peculiar aspects of human nature: ritual, music, sports fanship, and other things that help people connect, cope, and live meaningful lives. Dimitris’ research combines experimental methods with ethnographic fieldwork to study human culture holistically over the last several years in Southern Europe and Mauritius.
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Contact Dimitris: xygalatas@uconn.edu
Website: xygalatas.com; Twitter: @xygalatas
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Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association:
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc
Chris Lynn, HBA Public Relations Committee Chair,
Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly
Courtney Manthey-Peirce, Guest-Co-Host, Website: courtneymanthey-pierce.godaddysites.com/ E-mail: cpierce4@uccs.edu, Twitter: @HolyLaetoli
Cristina Gildee, SoS producer
Website: cristinagildee.org, E-mail: cgildee@uw.edu, Twitter:@CristinaGildee

Nov 27, 2023 • 44min
SoS 204: Everything you need to know about parasites and self medication with Ed Hagen
Listeners, please welcome Ed Hagen to the show! In this episode Prof. Hagen discusses his research on self medication and parasites.
Prof. Hagen joins our regular host, Prof. Chris Lynn, as well as returning guest host Cristina Gildee.
Find the publication discussed in today’s episode via this citation:
Hagen, E. H., Blackwell, A. D., Lightner, A. D., & Sullivan, R. J. (2023). Homo medicus: The transition to meat eating increased pathogen pressure and the use of pharmacological plants in Homo. American Journal of Biological Anthropology, 180(4), 589-617.
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Prof. Hagen investigates tobacco use in the larger context of human use of plant secondary compounds. He investigates depression, suicide, and deliberate self-harm as potential signaling strategies. Child growth and development is a research theme that grew out of his work on postpartum depression. Prof. Hagen also recently begun testing evolutionary models of leadership and knowledge specialization as part of my more general interest in the evolution of human social organization. Finally, he has published a number of theoretical papers on evolutionary approaches to ontogeny, cognition, and behavior.
Blog: https://grasshoppermouse.github.io
Twitter: @ed_hagen
Email: edhagen@wsu.edu
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Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation
Website: humbio.org/,
Twitter: @HumBioAssoc
Chris Lynn, HBA Public Relations Committee Chair
Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly
Cristina Gildee, SoS producer, SoS Guest Host:
Website: cristinagildee.org, E-mail: cgildee@uw.edu, Twitter:@CristinaGildee
Eric Griffith, HBA Junior Fellow, SoS producer
E-mail: eric.griffith@duke.edu

Nov 20, 2023 • 51min
SoS 203: Achsah Dorsey discuss anemia in Peru
Listeners, please welcome Achsah Dorsey to the show! In this episode Prof. Dorsey discusses her research on childhood anemia in Peru and casually tosses in an excellent airplane turbulence metaphor to describe human physiology. Stick around for the ABBA shout-out.
Prof. Dorsey joins our regular host, Prof. Chris Lynn, as well as returning guest host Prof. Theresa Gildner.
Find the publication discussed in today’s episode via this citation:
Dorsey, A. (2023). Biological and Ecological Impacts on Recovery from Anemia Among Peri-Urban Peruvian Children. In Human Growth and Nutrition in Latin American and Caribbean Countries (pp. 397-419). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
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Prof. Achsah Dorsey’s research utilizes life-history and evolutionary medicine perspectives to investigate the relationships between immune activation, body size and growth, and nutritional status in women and children. Her recent research explores the biological, environmental, and cultural links between anemia and infection, the gut microbiome, and home environment in families living in peri-urban communities within Lima, Peru.
She can be contacted via e-mail: adorsey@umass.edu
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Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation
Website: humbio.org/, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc
Chris Lynn, HBA Public Relations Committee Chair
Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly
Theresa Gildner, HBA Fellow, SoS Guest Host
E-mail: gildner@wustl.edu
Eric Griffith, HBA Junior Fellow, SoS producer
E-mail: eric.griffith@duke.edu

Nov 13, 2023 • 48min
SoS 202: Georgia Scott: Bioarchaeology, ethics, and perseverance
This week, Chris and guest co-host Cristina catch up with Georgia Scott, a master's student studying bioarchaeology at the University of Nevada, Reno. Her research interests focus on mortuary practices and treatment of the deceased, both past and present. Georgia received her Bachelor of Science in Anthropology from Montana State University and has a background in vertebrate paleontology, zooarchaeology, and museum studies. She is passionate about collaborative methodologies and improving engagement with descendant communities. Her most recent work explores the ethical considerations in bioarchaeological research and publications regarding the use and treatment of human remains.
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Contact Georgia: georgiascott@nevada.unr.edu
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Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association:
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc
Chris Lynn, HBA Public Relations Committee Chair,
Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter: @Chris_Ly
Cristina Gildee, SoS producer and guest co-host
Website: cristinagildee.org, E-mail: cgildee@uw.edu, Twitter: @CristinaGildee

Nov 6, 2023 • 57min
Sausage of Science 201: Dr. Molly Fox discusses the importance of Latina grandmothers
Chris and Cristina sit down with Dr. Molly Fox, Associate Professor of Anthropology and of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA. She studies the evolutionary context of chronic disease and the biosocial relationships between grandmothers, mothers, and children.
Her current research projects investigate (1) the biological embedding of immigration and acculturation experiences in Mexican-American women and how this process influences aspects of gestational physiology that are implicated in shaping fetal developmental trajectories, thereby affecting health across generations; (2) psychobiological profiles of postpartum depression risk, etiology, and manifestation; (3) how the human newborn intestinal ecology (microbiome) affects infant cognitive and emotional development, with implications for vulnerability to mental illness; (4) how gestational and lactational (pregnancy and breastfeeding) physiology impose long-term alterations to biophysiology in ways that affect later-life risk of Alzheimer’s and other geriatric disease.
Find the work discussed in today’s episode here:
Molly Fox, Delaney A. Knorr, Dayoon Kwon, Kyle S. Wiley, Michael H. Parrish. “How prenatal cortisol levels relate to grandmother-mother relationships among a cohort of Latina women.” American Journal of Human Biology. (2023) https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.23883
Molly Fox (2022) How demographics and concerns about the Trump administration relate to prenatal mental health among Latina women. Social Science and Medicine. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115171
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Contact Molly: mollyfox@ucla.edu; website: mollyfox.mystrikingly.com/ Twitter: @mollymfox
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Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association:
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc
Chris Lynn, HBA Public Relations Committee Chair,
Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly
Cristina Gildee, SoS producer:
Website: cristinagildee.org, E-mail: cgildee@uw.edu, Twitter:@CristinaGildee

Oct 30, 2023 • 27min
Sausage of Science 200: Dee Jolly explains how stigma affects trans peoples' health
Dee Jolly, PhD student in anthropology at the University of Oregon, joins Cara and Courtney to discuss how stigma affects the health of trans and gender diverse people.
Dee is currently a 2nd year PhD student, working with Prof. Zachary DuBois. They finished their undergraduate studies at the University of Florida in 2016 and then earned a Master's degree in Medical Anthropology and Cross-Cultural Practice from Boston University in 2018.
Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation
Website: humbio.org/, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc
Cara Ocobock, Co-Host, Website: sites.nd.edu/cara-ocobock/, Email:cocobock@nd.edu, Twitter:@CaraOcobock
Courtney Manthey-Pierce, HBA webmaster, SoS co-host
Website: courtneymanthey-pierce.godaddysites.com/
Eric Griffith, HBA Junior Fellow, SoS producer
E-mail: eric.griffith@duke.edu

Oct 25, 2023 • 41min
Sausage of Science 199: Dr. Rob Tennyson talks telomeres, athletes, and stress
Cara and Chris chat with Dr. Rob Tennyson, a Postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Biobehavioral Health at Penn State University and a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Sociology Department at the University of Utah, who received his PhD in Biological Anthropology from the University of Washington in 2022. His research focuses on psychosocial stress, aging, and student-athlete mental health and well-being. His research program leverages diversity within and between populations to tease apart how differences in social environments, physical environments, and behavior influence human biological aging, connecting lived experiences to molecular, immunological, and demographic processes.
Find the work discussed in today’s episode here:
Analyzing COVID-19 Related Disruptions and Psychosocial Stress in Collegiate Student-Athletes https://osf.io/25f4h/
'Legs Feed the Wolf': An Evolutionary Perspective on Psychosocial Stress, Physical Activity, and Telomere Length in NCAA Student-Athletes https://osf.io/s2cuj/
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Contact Rob: robtennyson@gmail.com; website: robtennyson.org Twitter: @RobTennyson_PhD
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Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association:
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc
Cara Ocobock, Co-Host, Website: sites.nd.edu/cara-ocobock/, Email:cocobock@nd.edu, Twitter:@CaraOcobock
Chris Lynn, HBA Public Relations Committee Chair,
Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly
Cristina Gildee, SoS producer:
Website: cristinagildee.org, E-mail: cgildee@uw.edu, Twitter:@CristinaGildee

Oct 17, 2023 • 45min
Sausage of Science 198: Woman the Hunter as told by Sarah Lacy and Cara Ocobock
Welcome to Bizarro World, Sausage of Science listeners! Cara is on the show today ...as a guest! She is joined by Sarah Lacy to discuss their recent American Anthropologist articles "Woman the hunter: The physiological evidence" and "Woman the hunter: The archaeological evidence."
Also, please welcome guest host, and HBA webmaster, Courtney Manthey-Pierce.
Find the publications discussed in today’s episode here:
Ocobock, C., & Lacy, S. (2023). Woman the hunter: The physiological evidence. American Anthropologist. https://doi.org/10.1111/aman.13915
Lacy, S., & Ocobock, C. (2023). Woman the hunter: The archaeological evidence. American Anthropologist. https://doi.org/10.1111/aman.13914
And here is a link to their article in the Nov. 2023 issue of Scientific American:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-theory-that-men-evolved-to-hunt-and-women-evolved-to-gather-is-wrong/
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Sarah A. Lacy is a biological anthropologist specializing in paleoanthropology and bioarchaeology. She received a BS in anthropology from Tulane University in 2008 and a PhD in anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis in 2014. She taught at the University of Missouri, St. Louis and at California State University, Dominguez Hills (Los Angeles) before joining the faculty at the University of Delaware in 2023.
Prof. Lacy explores dental cavities, periodontal disease, and tooth loss in Neandertals and early modern humans across Europe and Southwest Asia and given the prevalence among recent humans. More than just oral health, she looks at how oral diseases also reveal information about diet, environment, disease susceptibility, and overall health in individuals and populations.
Her website can be found here:
https://www.anthropology.udel.edu/people/salacy
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Dr. Cara Ocobock is the Director of the Human Energetics Laboratory at 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. Ocobock works in northern Finland, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Lapland and University of Oulu.
Prof. Ocobock is also an avid powerlifter and loves to bring anthropology to sport. She has worked with hockey players at the collegiate and semi-professional level as well as collegiate track and field athletes.
Her website can be found here:
https://anthropology.nd.edu/people/faculty/cara-ocobock/
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Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation
Website: humbio.org/, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc
Chris Lynn, HBA Public Relations Committee Chair,
Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly
Courtney Manthey-Pierce, HBA webmaster, SoS co-host
Website: https://courtneymanthey-pierce.godaddysites.com/
Eric Griffith, HBA Junior Fellow, SoS producer
E-mail: eric.griffith@duke.edu


