All Episodes

#1145 Javier Suárez: Units of Selection in Evolution

Sep 4, 2025

Dr. Javier Suárez is Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy at the Universidad de Oviedo. He is a philosopher of biology interested in the study of symbiotic interactions, and their implications for philosophy of biology (the concept of natural selection, the definition of species, etc.), and general philosophy of science (explanation, modelling, methodology of science, etc.). He is the author (with Elisabeth A. Lloyd) of Units of Selection (Cambridge University Press). More»
#1144 Nikhil Chaudhary: Cooperation, Social Learning, Breeding Systems, and Evolutionary Psychiatry

Aug 31, 2025

Dr. Nikhil Chaudhary is Lecturer in Human Evolutionary and Behavioral Ecology in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Cambridge. He is an evolutionary anthropologist interested in applying evolutionary theory to explain diversity in behavior and cognition across the entire spectrum of human societies. Currently, He is particularly focused on developing the field of evolutionary psychiatry. He is thinking about how evolutionary perspectives can advance our understanding of the etiology of mental illness. More»
#1143 Brian Lerch: Same-Sex Sexual Behavior, Indiscriminate Sexual Behavior, Attachment, and Divorce

Aug 29, 2025

Dr. Brian Lerch is a theoretical ecologist and evolutionary biologist who just received a PhD from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. He is primarily interested in understanding feedbacks between ecology, evolution, and behavior. More»
#1142 Gül Salali: Social Dynamics, Culture, Mental Health and Physical Health in Hunter-Gatherers

Aug 28, 2025

Dr. Gül Salali is Assistant Professor in Evolutionary Anthropology at University College London. Her research focuses on human behavior and health using evolutionary approaches. Since 2013, she has been conducting fieldwork in the Congo rainforest studying Mbendjele BaYaka hunter-gatherers. Some of her most recent research projects include: social learning and cultural evolution; evolutionary approaches to health-related behavior and mental health; and hunter-gatherer diet, health and physical activity. More»
#1141 Matti Häyry: Cloning and Antinatalism

Aug 25, 2025

Dr. Matti Häyry is Professor of Philosophy at Aalto University School of Business, Finland. Dr. Häyry’s main fields of interest have been moral and political philosophy and philosophical bioethics. His practical topics in bioethics have ranged from abortion, euthanasia, and resource allocation to genetics, systems biology, and synthetic biology. Theoretically, his work has centered on the main normative doctrines of European moral and political philosophy. He is the co-author of Pure Cloning. More»
#1140 Will Storr: How to Use the Science of Storytelling to Lead, Motivate and Persuade

Aug 22, 2025

Will Storr is a British author, journalist and former photographer. He has been a contributing editor at Esquire and GQ Australia. He is the author of several books, including The Science of Storytelling, The Status Game, and A Story is a Deal: How to use the science of storytelling to lead, motivate and persuade. More»
#1139 Kristen Ghodsee: Real-Life Utopian Societies

Aug 21, 2025

Dr. Kristen Ghodsee is an award-winning author and professor and chair of Russian and East European Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. She also serves as a member on the graduate groups of Anthropology and Comparative Literature. Dr. Ghodsee’s articles and essays have been translated into over twenty-five languages and have appeared in publications such as Dissent, Foreign Affairs, Jacobin, The Baffler, The New Republic, Quartz, NBC Think, The Lancet, Project Syndicate, Le Monde Diplomatique, Die Tageszeitung, The Washington Post, and the New York Times. She is the author of 12 books, including Everyday Utopia: What 2,000 Years of Wild Experiments Can Teach Us About the Good Life. More»
#1138 Adam Bode: The Science of Romantic Love

Aug 18, 2025

Adam Bode is an interdisciplinary romantic love and human mating researcher who employs an ethological framework in his theory and analysis. He has a Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) and a Bachelor of Laws from the Australian National University. He is currently enrolled in a PhD in Biological Anthropology at the Australian National University’s School of Archaeology and Anthropology and holds a position as a Sessional Academic at Federation University Australia in the Institute of Health and Wellbeing. Adam’s research investigates romantic love using methods and approaches from biological anthropology, human ethology, and psychology. Adam is a proponent of a new approach to the science of romantic love which takes a broad definition of romantic love, uses an ethological framework, and suggests it evolved by co-opting mother-infant bonding. More»
#1137 Scott Hershovitz: Law Is a Moral Practice

Aug 15, 2025

Dr. Scott Hershovitz is the Thomas G. and Mabel Long Professor of Law and Professor of Philosophy at the University of Michigan. He directs the University’s Law and Ethics Program. And he co-edits Legal Theory. Dr. Hershovitz writes about law and philosophy. He is the author of Law Is a Moral Practice. More»
#1136 Ronald de Sousa: Why It's OK to Be Amoral

Aug 14, 2025

Dr. Ronald de Sousa is Emeritus Professor at the Department of Philosophy of the University of Toronto. His research interests include ancient philosophy, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of sex. He is the author of several books, his latest one being Why It's OK to Be Amoral. More»