Go Backly Tepe, an ancient site, reveals the world's first keg party. The desire for beer may have led to the development of civilizations. Edward Slingerland argues that alcohol has benefits and we should tap into them. The host of the show, Alex Kantruitz, shares his personal struggle with quitting alcohol and his conversation with Edward was illuminating.
Do we have alcohol to thank for civilization? The answer, according to Edward Slingerland’s new book, “Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization,” is a resounding yes. Edward, who’s a professor at the University of British Columbia and self-proclaimed “philosophical hedonist,” says that far from being an evolutionary fluke, our taste for alcohol is an evolutionary advantage — one that we’ve relied on for millennia to help us lead more social, creative, and pleasurable lives.
(This episode first aired in July 2021.)