All Episodes

#662 Christopher von Rueden: Leadership and Hierarchy from an Evolutionary Perspective

Aug 8, 2022

Dr. Christopher von Rueden is Associate Professor of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond. An anthropologist with expertise in traditional human societies, his research focuses on how humans form status hierarchies, why we evolved to do so, and the demographic and ecological factors that cause our hierarchies to be more or less coercive. Relatedly, he studies the role of leader-follower relationships in the evolution of human cooperation. In addition to his work on status and leadership, he has published on topics such as why humans differ in personality traits and why we have such unique life histories among primates. More»
#661 Kristina Durante: The Career-Family Trade-Off for Modern Women, and Changing Gender Norms

Aug 5, 2022

Dr. Kristina Durante is an evolutionary psychologist and Professor of Marketing, Marketing Department Vice Chair, and the marketing Ph.D. program coordinator at Rutgers Business School. She is a social psychologist interested in the biology of decision-making. Her research lies at the intersection of social psychology, evolutionary biology, and consumer decision-making. Her areas of expertise include women’s consumer choice and luxury spending, family consumer decisions, hormones and behavior, and the psychological consequences of ambiguity. More»
#660 William Costello: The Psychology of Involuntary Celibates (Incels), and Modern Mating

Aug 4, 2022

William Costello finished his MSc in Psychology: Culture and Evolution at Brunel University London in 2021. The topic of his thesis was incels. Later this year he will join Dr. David Buss's Evolutionary Psychology lab at the University of Texas at Austin, as a PhD student. He will retain an honorary research assistant role at Swansea University. He writes opinion pieces on a range of cultural issues including gender and identity politics, and his work has been featured in Quillette and Areo, and his academic research has been presented at several academic conferences around the world. More»
#659 Nick Chater & Morten Christiansen - The Language Game; Language as a Game of Charades

Aug 1, 2022

Dr. Nick Chater is Professor of Behavioural Science at Warwick Business School. He works on rationality and language using a range of theoretical and experimental approaches. More»
#658 Todd Kashdan - The Art of Insubordination: How to Dissent and Defy Effectively

Jul 29, 2022

Dr. Todd Kashdan is Professor of Psychology at George Mason University. He has been named Distinguished Faculty Member of the Year at George Mason University and received the American Psychological Association's Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contribution to Psychology. His new book is The Art of Insubordination: How to Dissent and Defy Effectively. More»
#657 David Benatar - The Fall of the University of Cape Town: Africa’s Leading University in Decline

Jul 28, 2022

Dr. David Benatar is professor of philosophy at the University of Cape Town in Cape Town, South Africa. He is best known for his advocacy of anti-natalism in his book Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence, in which he argues that coming into existence is a serious harm, regardless of the feelings of the existing being once brought into existence, and that, as a consequence, it is always morally wrong to create more sentient beings. His new book is The Fall of the University of Cape Town: Africa’s Leading University in Decline. More»
#656 Tereza Capelos: The Psychology of Political Radicalization, Tolerance, and Reactionism

Jul 25, 2022

Dr. Tereza Capelos is Associate Professor in Political Psychology at the University of Birmingham, Director of the Institute for Conflict Cooperation and Security, Director for the MSc in Political Psychology of International Relations, and President of the International Society of Political Psychology (ISPP). Her research focuses on the affective, cognitive and motivational determinants of political judgments. She is particularly interested in the role of emotions and values on political radicalization and tolerance, the formation and updating of institutional and individual reputations and the role of trust and confidence on political accountability attributions. More»
#655 Anne Pisor: Studying Subsistence Societies, Long-Distance Relationships, and Climate Change

Jul 22, 2022

Dr. Anne Pisor is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Washington State University. Her research interests include long-distance relationships and resource management, long-distance relationships and the downsides of climate change, and the evolution of human sociality. More»
#654 Russell Blackford: Religious Freedom, Atheism, Scientism, Nihilism, and Morality

Jul 21, 2022

Dr. Russell Blackford is a Fellow of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, and a Laureate of the International Academy of Humanism. He holds an honorary appointment as Conjoint Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Newcastle. He is the author of several books, including Freedom of Religion and the Secular State, 50 Great Myths About Atheism, The Mystery of Moral Authority, and The Tyranny of Opinion: Conformity and the Future of Liberalism. More»
#653 Cas Soper - The Evolution of Life Worth Living: Why we choose to live

Jul 18, 2022

Dr. Cas Soper is a psychotherapist and psychologist in private practice. Dr. Soper has degrees from the University of Cambridge and the University of London, and is registered by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. His therapeutic work specializes in helping people deal with addiction, depression, bereavement and other life crises. He is the author of The Evolution of Suicide, and, more recently, The Evolution of Life Worth Living: Why we choose to live. More»