Tag: Evolution

Greger Larson: Animal Domestication and Human Evolution

The Dissenter | 31 August 2023 | 1h 01m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
Interview with Greger Larson about the domestication of animals. Discusses the evidence from genetics and archaeology about how domestication got started; the impact of animal domestication on human evolution; issues with how we think about domestication and the supposed intentionality behind it; how we should think about the early stages of our relationship with other animal species; and insights from animal domestication on the timing of human dispersal.

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Sleeping Beauties: the Mystery of Dormant Innovations in Nature and Culture

Big Biology | 15 June 2023 | 1h 11m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
Interview with Andreas Wagner about his book Sleeping Beauties: The Mystery of Dormant Innovations in Nature and Culture. Explains how novel traits sometimes lie dormant for millions of years waiting until the environment changes to become useful, leading to speciation or offering novel solutions to ecological problems. These long fuses are also evident in our history, namely the life-changing technologies we invent but don’t fully exploit until the right social or economic context arises.

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Andreas Wagner on Life Finds a Way

Groks Science Show | 12 June 2019 | 0h 19m | Listen Later | Podcasts
Interview with Andreas Wagner about his book Life Finds a Way: What Evolution Teaches Us About Creativity. Discusses the parallels between innovation in biological evolution and human cultural creativity, drawing insights for finding solutions to adversity.

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Andreas Wagner on Arrival of the Fittest

Groks Science Show | 22 October 2014 | 0h 24m | Listen Later
Interview with Andreas Wagner about his book The Arrival of the Fittest: Solving Evolution’s Greatest Puzzle. Explains that biological adaptations are not just driven by chance, but by a set of laws that allow nature to discover new molecules and mechanisms in a fraction of the time that random variation would take.

There’s not much new from Matt Ridley to read while he fights the good fight on the origins of covid. But he speaks highly about Andreas Wagner. This is the first of three posts about his books.

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David Geary – Why Are Differences Between Men & Women Being Denied?

Modern Wisdom | 1 May 2023 | 1h 30m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
Interview with David Geary about his book Male, Female: The Evolution of Human Sex Differences. Discusses his research assessing differences between men and women in every domain from physical to psychological and behavioural to cognitive. Covers the underrepresentation of women in STEM, the drivers of gender inequality, trans athletes in female sports, the increase in transgender youths, and more.

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Michael Tomasello on The Social Origins of Cognition and Agency

Sean Carroll’s Mindscape | 30 January 2023 | 1h 22m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
Interview with Michael Tomasello about his book The Evolution of Agency: Behavioral Organization from Lizards to Humans. Argues that we developed agency and cognition and even morality in order to better communicate and cooperate with our fellow humans.

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Simon Conway Morris on Evolution, Convergence, and Theism

Sean Carroll’s Mindscape | 8 August 2022 | 1h 16m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
Interview with Simon Conway Morris about his book From Extraterrestrials to Animal Minds: Six Myths of Evolution. Makes the case for evolutionary convergence and adaptationism – even when there is a mass extinction, the resulting shake-up simply accelerates the developments that evolution would have made anyway. Also discusses the possible role of God in an evolutionary worldview.

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Sam Tatam – Evolutionary Ideas For Modern Problems

Modern Wisdom | 15 October 2022 | 1h 12m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
Interview with Sam Tatam about his book Evolutionary Ideas: Unlocking Ancient Innovation to Solve Tomorrow’s Challenges. Discusses the application of evolutionary solutions to modern problems, covering how the wings of an owl helped fix problems in the bullet train, how the ears of a hare assist wind turbines, why Google Glass failed, why airline tickets are so confusing, how companies can aid customer decision without limiting choice, and more.

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