All Episodes

#781 R. Brian Ferguson - Chimpanzees, War, and History: Are Men Born to Kill?

May 12, 2023

Dr. R. Brian Ferguson is Professor of Anthropology at Rutgers University Newark. His expertise lies in cultural anthropology, the anthropology of war, ethnic conflict, state-tribe interaction, policing, and Puerto Rico. Dr. Ferguson has published many papers critical of biological perspectives in anthropology, especially explanations of war. His latest book is “Chimpanzees, War, and History: Are Men Born to Kill?”. More»
#780 Deborah Carr: Obesity, Disability, Healthcare, and Aging in America

May 11, 2023

Dr. Deborah Carr is a Professor of Sociology and inaugural director of the Center of Innovation in Social Science at Boston University. Her research interests include aging and the life course, psychosocial factors influences on health over the life course, and end-of-life issues. Her latest book is Aging in America. More»
#779 Keelah Williams: Stereotypes, Perceptions of Criminal Behavior, and Friendships

May 8, 2023

Dr. Keelah Williams is an Assistant Professor of Psychology and Director of Jurisprudence of Law and Justice Studies at Hamilton College. Her current research explores how the perception of threats and opportunities in the environment may shape stereotype content, punishment strategies, and legal decision-making. Her work has been published in journals such as Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. More»
#778 Carles Lalueza-Fox - Inequality: A Genetic History

May 5, 2023

Dr. Carles Lalueza-Fox is Director of the Natural Science Museum in Barcelona. He participated in the Neanderthal Genome Project and led the first retrieval of the genome of an 8,000-year-old European hunter-gatherer. He is the author of Inequality: A Genetic History. More»
#777 Gil Greengross: The (Evolutionary) Psychology of Humor, Laughter, and Comedians

May 4, 2023

Dr. Gil Greengross is a Lecturer in Psychology at Aberystwyth University. He is an evolutionary psychologist, studying the evolutionary roots of everyday behaviors and emotions. His main area of research focuses on the evolution of humor and laughter, what makes people laugh, and how humor is used in mating and mate choice. He also has a strong interest in studying people with extreme creative abilities, such as stand-up comedians, magicians, and other artists. More»
#776 Adina Roskies: Neuroimaging Studies, Neuroethics, and Free Will

May 1, 2023

Dr. Adina Roskies is The Helman Family Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Cognitive Science Program at Dartmouth College. She is affiliated faculty with Psychological and Brain Sciences. Dr. Roskies' philosophical research interests lie at the intersection of philosophy and neuroscience, and include philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, and ethics. She was a member of the McDonnell Project in Neurophilosophy, and the MacArthur Law and Neuroscience Project. Awards include the William James Prize and the Stanton Prize, awarded by the Society of Philosophy and Psychology, a Mellon New Directions Fellowship, and the Laurance S. Rockefeller Visiting Faculty Fellowship from the Princeton University Center for Human Values. More»
#775 Charles Fernyhough: Inner Speech, Imaginary Companions, and Auditory Hallucinations

Apr 28, 2023

Dr. Charles Fernyhough is a Professor of Psychology at Durham University, where he is also Director of the Centre for Research into Inner Experience. He has contributed to the understanding of how language and thought are related in child development and beyond. The focus of his recent scientific work has been in applying ideas from mainstream developmental psychology to the study of psychosis, particularly the phenomenon of voice-hearing. He is the author of books like Pieces of Light: The New Science of Memory, and The Voices Within: The History and Science of How We Talk to Ourselves. More»
#774 Andrew Buskell: Cultural Evolution, Cumulative Culture, and the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis

Apr 27, 2023

Dr. Andrew Buskell is a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of Public Policy. His work analyses issues where human cognition, culture, politics, and biology intersect. His current project examines the ontological and epistemic assumptions underwriting cross-cultural comparison and their implications for research and policy design. He is one of the co-organizers of the project ‘Culture at the Macro-Scale: Boundaries, Barriers, and Endogenous Change‘. More»
#773 Catarina Dutilh Novaes: Argumentation, Reason, and Disinformation

Apr 24, 2023

Dr. Catarina Dutilh Novaes is Professor and University Research Chair at the Department of Philosophy of the VU Amsterdam. She is also a Professorial Fellow at Arché in St. Andrews (2019-2024). She is currently running the ERC Consolidator project 'The Social Epistemology of Argumentation' (2018-2023). Her main fields of research are history and philosophy of logic, philosophy of mathematics, and social epistemology. Dr. Novaes also has general interests in medieval philosophy, philosophy of psychology and cognitive science, general philosophy of science, philosophy of mind, issues pertaining to gender and race, and empirically-informed approaches to philosophy in general. More»
#772 Joseph Uscinski: The Politics and Psychology of Conspiracy Theories

Apr 21, 2023

Dr. Joseph Uscinski is Professor of Political Science at the University of Miami. He studies public opinion and mass media, with a focus on conspiracy theories and related misinformation. He is co-author of American Conspiracy Theories (Oxford, 2014) and editor of Conspiracy Theories and the People Who Believe Them (Oxford, 2018). His textbook on conspiracy theories is Conspiracy Theories: A Primer. More»