In this engaging discussion, Dean Falk, a Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and expert on human brain evolution, dives into our evolutionary journey after separating from chimpanzees. She explores the concept of the Botanic Age, where early humans began using botanical tools. Falk highlights the transition to bipedalism that shaped our ancestors and how it intertwined with the origins of language and music. Additionally, she challenges traditional views on brain evolution, suggesting cognitive development began before the Stone Age, offering fresh insights into what makes us uniquely human.

Tim Coulson, Head of Biology at the University of Oxford and author of "A Universal History of Us," takes listeners on a compelling journey through the origins of life on Earth. He discusses how meteors influenced early life, the role of climate change in human evolution, and the profound impacts of the Great Oxidation Event. Coulson also explores the fascinating transition of life from sea to land and how our ancestors thrived alongside dinosaurs. His reflections highlight the remarkable journey of humanity and encourage curiosity about our existence.

Where do we come from? How did we get here? What kind of creature are we?The science of human origins has made great progress in answering these timeless questions. From carbon isotopes to ancient DNA extraction, we now have unprecedented tools to explore our past. But with all this detail, it’s easy to miss the forest from the trees.To fill this gap, On Humans has partnered with CARTA — a UC San Diego-based research unit on human origins. Together, we have designed a five-episode journey to dig deep into the new science of the origins of humankind. Together, these episodes explore the emerging science of how we became the puzzling and wonderful creatures we are today. The series begins tomorrow. Subscribe now free episode and written summaries at:Onhumans.Substack.com/OriginsSERIES OVERVIEW#1 The Big PictureThe series begins with a sweeping take on the history of life on Earth, from the origin of life to the rise of humans.Key questions: What is life? Who were our ancestors during the dinosaurs? What led to the rise of primates? And what kind of a primate are we?Your guide: Tim Coulson is the Head of the Department of Biology at the University of Oxford. He recently released a breathtaking overview of the history of life and the universe titled A Universal History of Us.When: March 25th#2 An Unusual ApeIn episode two, we follow the first steps on the human line, exploring how abandoning life in the trees paved the way for many of our human oddities.Key questions: Why was upright posture so important? What did it do to parents and children? When did the brains of our ancestors start to show human oddities?Your guide: Dean Falk, a leading expert on brain evolution at the University of Florida. She recently published a book titled A Botanic Age, looking at human evolution behind the Stone Age.When: April 2nd#3 What Is a Human?The stage has been set. The third episode tackles human evolution head-on, focusing on the new scientific discoveries about the genus Homo.Key questions: What is a human? Why did we evolve? And how do modern humans differ from Neanderthals or other extinct humans?Your guide: Chris Stringer is an iconic figure in the field, best known for his groundbreaking work towards the widely accepted Out of Africa -theory of human evolution. His career at London’s Natural History Museum stretches across five decades.When: April 9th#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: In 2010, Johannes Krause became the first person to discover a new species of humans by DNA alone. Co-author of Hubris, and A Short History of Humanity, he is the Director of the Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology.When: March 16th & 23rdSUBSCRIBE ⁠Onhumans.Substack.com/Origins⁠

Bishnupriya Gupta, a professor of economics and author, delves into India's post-colonial journey. The discussion highlights the deep-seated legacy of British colonialism and its impact on modern education and economic structures. Gupta contrasts India's economic progress with East Asian nations, uncovering the successes and challenges of its democracy. Key topics include the role of historical educational policies and the divergence in economic strategies between India and countries like South Korea. Insights into inequality and future expectations further enrich this compelling narrative.

Bishnupriya Gupta, a renowned economics professor at the University of Warwick and author of 'An Economic History of India,' dives into the origins of modern India. She discusses the stark differences in living standards between India and England in 1600, highlighting the detrimental impacts of British colonial policies on the Indian economy. Gupta examines the Great Famines of Bengal, revealing British negligence, and critiques both imperial apologists and Indian nationalists. She also connects Mahatma Gandhi's education to India's lag behind East Asia in the 20th century.

Angarika Deb, a cognitive anthropologist at Central European University, dives deep into the origins of gender inequality. She challenges the biological determinism of patriarchy, illustrating that hunter-gatherer societies often showcased gender equality, unlike their agricultural counterparts. Deb explores the unique dynamics of the Bayaka and Akta tribes, revealing egalitarian labor distributions. With thought-provoking examples, she urges listeners to reconsider societal structures and the potential for equitable relationships across cultures.

“We are survival machines – robot vehicles blindly programmed to preserve the selfish molecules known as genes.” - Richard Dawkins in The Selfish Gene In 1976, Richard Dawkins published one of the most iconic science books of all time. It has inspired a generation of science enthusiasts. But unsurprisingly, many readers disliked the idea of being but a “robot vehicle” or a “survival machine” for some tiny molecules — especially if these molecules are best served by repeated pregnancies or donations to a sperm bank. Yet Dawkins was right on one thing: “however much we may deplore something, it does not stop being true.” So what is true? I have previously written about one claim in the Selfish Gene which is certainly not true. This is the claim that, if we accept the book's biological theories, then we humans must be “born selfish”. Even Dawkins has accepted that this was a "rogue" claim that readers should "mentally delete". You can hear more by heading to episode 20 of On Humans. But what about the underlying science? Are selfish genes still the right way to think about the facts of evolution? Not so, according to Eva Jablonka. You might remember Jablonka from episode 36 on the evolution of consciousness. But before her work on consciousness, Jablonka was famous for her research on epigenetic inheritance -- literally, "inheritance beyond the gene". So what is epigenetic inheritance? What do we know about it scientifically? And does it matter philosophically? I hope you enjoy this conversation. LINKS Get more links and references from my accompanying essay at OnHumans.Substack.com. Support my work at Patreon.com/OnHumans

Each year, the World Happiness Report ranks countries based on their citizen's life satisfaction. My home country, Finland, tends to come at the top. Sure. But lessons can we draw from all this? Beyond patting Finns on the back, can we distil some more insights from the report?I got to discuss this with Lara Aknin, co-editor of the World Happiness Report. In this previously unpublished clip, Aknin explains the major findings from the World Happiness Report and reveals the “single best predictor of happiness” across countries. If you want to hear more about Aknin’s work, see episode 47.Support the show⁠Patreon.com/OnHumans⁠KeywordsHappiness | Life satisfaction | Economics | Social Science | World Happiness Report | Finland | Latin America | Nordic countries | Scandinavia | Welfare state | Well-being | Freedom | Equality | Generosity | Altruism

Many traditional societies accept polygyny (one man, many wives). Monogamy, too, is practised across the globe. But what about polyandry — one woman, many husbands? Is this a "dubious idea" as sometimes suggested by evolutionary theorists? In this bonus clip, anthropologist Katie Starkweather offers interesting examples of formal and informal polyandry from around the world. She also brings nuance to theories about jealousy in men and women. (This is a previously unpublished clip from my conversation with anthropologist Katie Starkweather, as published in episode 43.) LINKS Scholars mentioned Donald Symons (author of Evolution of Human Sexuality), Sarah Blaffer Hrdy (author of Father Time, see episode 40), Brooke Scelza, Sean Prall Articles mentioned See the list and links here. This and other resources are available for free at OnHumans.Substack.com Support the show Patreon.com/OnHumans Keywords Monogamy | Polygamy | Polyandry | Mating | Pairbonding | Anthropology | Ethnography | Jealousy

Happy New Year 2025! To celebrate, here is an encore of what proved to be the most popular episode of 2024. This rerun combines episodes 30 and 31 into one epic journey towards the frontiers of human understanding. My guest is Donald Hoffman. Our topics are consciousness, cosmos, and the meaning of life. Enjoy! Original show notes Laws of physics govern the world. They explain the movements of planets, oceans, and cells in our bodies. But can they ever explain the feelings and meanings of our mental lives? This problem, called the hard problem of consciousness, runs very deep. No satisfactory explanation exists. But many think that there must, in principle, be an explanation. A minority of thinkers disagree. According to these thinkers, we will never be able to explain mind in terms of matter. We will, instead, explain matter in terms of mind. I explored this position in some detail in episode 17. But hold on, you might say. Is this not contradicted by the success of natural sciences? How could a mind-first philosophy ever explain the success of particle physics? Or more generally, wouldn't any scientist laugh at the idea that mind is more fundamental than matter? No — not all of them laugh. Some take it very seriously. Donald Hoffman is one such scientist. Originally working with computer vision at MIT's famous Artificial Intelligence Lab, Hoffman started asking a simple question: What does it mean to "see" the world? His answer begins from a simple idea: perception simplifies the world – a lot. But what is the real world like? What is “there” before our perception simplifies the world? Nothing familiar, Hoffman claims. No matter. No objects. Not even a three-dimensional space. And no time. There is just consciousness. This is a wild idea. But it is a surprisingly precise idea. It is so precise, in fact, that Hoffman’s team can derive basic findings in particle physics from their theory.  A fascinating conversation was guaranteed. I hope you enjoy it. If you do, consider becoming a supporter of On Humans on ⁠⁠Patreon.com/OnHumans⁠⁠.  MENTIONS Names: David Gross, Nima Arkani-Hamed, Edward Whitten, Nathan Seiberg, Andrew Strominger, Edwin Abbott, Nick Bostrom, Giulio Tononi, Keith Frankish, Daniel Dennett, Steven Pinker, Roger Penrose, Sean Carroll,  Swapan Chattopadhyay Terms (Physics and Maths): quantum fields, string theory, gluon, scattering amplitude, amplituhedron, decorated permutations, bosons, leptons, quarks, Planck scale, twistor theory, M-theory, multiverse, recurrent communicating classes, Cantor’s hierarchy (relating to different sizes of infinity... If this sounds weird, stay tuned for full episode on infinity. It will come out in a month or two.) Terms (Philosophy and Psychology): Kant’s phenomena and noumena, integrated information theory, global workspace theory, orchestrated objective reduction theory, attention schema theory Books: Case Against Reality by Hoffman, Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker Articles etc.: For links to articles, courses, and more, see ⁠https://onhumans.substack.com/p/links-for-episode-30⁠