Evolutionary Psychology (the podcast)

Stories with Michelle Sugiyama Jul 7, 2026 5038 Sit back and relax as we tell you a story about....well....stories. In this episode, we talk with Michelle Sugiyama (U Oregon), who explores human nature through the lens of understanding how, when, and why we decide to tell each other stories. Other topics include the function of name labels, whether enjoying fiction is a byproduct or adaptation, history, propaganda, and how songs help us learn.

Mechanism, Function, and Philsophy of Science with Lauren Ross Jun 30, 2026 6752 What is a mechanism? Are claims about function doomed to fail? And why are explanations in psychology and human behavior so fraught and contested? We pose these and other mysteries to one the shining stars in modern philosophy of science, Lauren Ross (UC Irvine). Other topics include how philosophers are kind of like therapists, how modern philosophy of science thinks about grand explanations of e

Producing Belief with Pascal Boyer Jun 23, 2026 6656 Pascal Boyer (St. Louis) is one of the greats! We talk about his shifting thinking in terms of belief selection to belief production, and why this is a subversive idea. Other topics include birthdays, shamanism and magic, and why we should remain optimistic about the future of science. More about Pascal Boyer: http://www.pascalboyer.net/ https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=7OaZg10AAAAJ&

Health and the Shuar Project with Josh Snodgrass Jun 16, 2026 5383 Is leaving a hunter horticultural lifestyle for a more westernized, market economy good or bad for one's health? And what does it take to run a field site? In this episode we talk to Josh Snodgrass (Oregon), one of the co-directors of the Shuar Project, and an expert on the consequences of transitioning from a more traditional to market subsistence on one's existence and health. Turns out: it's co

Cooperation in the field with Kris Smith Jun 9, 2026 5747 Do we choose how we choose others? Kris Smith gives us a tour of his fieldwork in across Tanzania, from the arid plains of Hadza Land to the shores of village fisheries, Kris explains what he's learned about understand partner choice, levels of cooperation, and how the local way of making a living. Kris also explains what mistakes new students often make in the field, the effects of social mobilit

Pathogens with Josh Ackerman Jun 2, 2026 6443 How does our evolved psychology deal with pathogens? Can other people tell when you're sick? What's the relationship between worrying about sickness and your social network? Do you stay in or go out when you're sick? Love 'em or hate 'em, pathogens are a part of life and an extreme selection pressure, and our guest Josh Ackerman (UMichigan) gives us the in's and out's of how our minds deal with an

Design with Dave & David May 26, 2026 2748 We are all still recovering from the HBES conference in Morocco. So, in this half-length episode the David's discuss a listener comment about whether natural selection "designs" anything, and whether it is a mistake to talk and think in that way. We also hear from previous guest Greg Bryant in a mini-interview from HBES. Have a great week!

CES & HBES 2026 mini-episode May 19, 2026 894 This week features a special mini-episode, fresh off the presses from our trip to the Human Behavior and Evolution Society (HBES) conference in Rabat, Morocco. We (briefly) talk with Bret Beheim (Max Planck Leipzig), Cristina Moya (UC Davis), and Brian Wood (UCLA). Also, this episode marks one year of the podcast! More about Brian Wood: https://anthro.ucla.edu/person/brian-wood/ http://brianwood

Evolutionary Social Psychology with Steve Neuberg May 12, 2026 7383 Steve Neuberg (ASU) takes us on a professional and personal journey, explaining what it means to straddle two different sub-disciplines with grace, tact, and not a little bit of success. Topics include: the specificity of discrimination and stereotyping, the difference between going phenomenon vs. adaptive problem first in one's approach, why it's useful to give the benefit of the doubt, and what

The Yanamamo and Nap Chagnon with Ray Hames May 5, 2026 6164 Ray Hames, along with guest-host Zach Garfield, discusses his time with the Yanamamo, being a student of Napoleon Chagnon, and what it was like to be in the early, 2nd generation of anthropologists applying evolution to human behavior. Topics include hunting, the history of sociobiology, human behavioral ecology, and evolutionary psychology, attitudes about indigenous populations, the elderly, sex

Sex and Gender with Dan Conroy-Beam Apr 28, 2026 7582 What is sex? What is gender? These are big, weighty questions with not a few societal and political tensions involved. Who better to guide us through this morass than Dan Conroy-Beam (UCSB)? Get ready for a clear-minded, derived-from-first-principles tour of the evolution of sex, sex roles, and gender. Other topics include the culture vs. biology distinction, mentors, friends, what agent based mod

Revenge and Forgiveness with Mike McCullough Apr 21, 2026 6745 Revenge, forgiveness, morality. Join us and our guest Mike McCullough (UC San Diego) as we navigate the deep cost/benefit structure of the social world. Topics include what punishment really is, why we should respect revenge, why victims may sometimes not seek help, and why times heals all wounds. More about Mike McCullough: https://www.michael-mccullough.com/ https://psychology.ucsd.edu/people

Causality with Tadeg Quillien Apr 14, 2026 7637 Causality is....well...causality...it's hard to explain. And that's exactly what Tadeg Quillien (Edinburgh) does: figure out what the heck causality is, and how our mind does it. Other topics include domain generality vs. specificity, counterfactuals, relevance, morality, beliefs and theory of mind, and what it means to be computational, and how David Hume was pretty cool. More about Tadeg Quilli

Founding Evolutionary Psychology with Leda Cosmides Apr 7, 2026 7431 A guest who needs no introduction. Leda Cosmides (UCSB) talks about how she and John Tooby co-founded the enterprise "evolutionary psychology"---including the how's, when's and why's---and what she thinks about current work. Other topics include why it's good for science to not be a jerk, and how she's come to understand what the heck behavioral and experimental economists are up to. More about L

The Origins of evolutionary psychology with Martin Daly Mar 31, 2026 7221 Along with Margo Wilson, Martin Daly (McMaster) is one the founding pioneers of evolutionary psychology. In this episode, we get Martin's take on the history and the field. Topics include studying real-world phenomena (like homicide), inequality, and how evolutionary biologists like Williams and Hamilton supported the upstart approach (and whether it's really a different approach at all), and what

Music and Acoustics with Greg Bryant Mar 24, 2026 7090 What's up with music? Why do vibrating strings tug on our emotions? And why can't most animals keep a beat? In this episode, we talk to Greg Bryant (UCLA) all about things acoustic and musical. Other topics include: the evolutionary logic of distortion in rock, laughter (including in rats!), and the psychology of perfect pitch and jamming. More about Greg Bryant: https://gabryant.scholar.ss.ucl

Stress with Jen Byrd-Craven Mar 17, 2026 5559 What is stress? Is it useful? What is the endocrine system? Why do we need it (and why isn't a brain enough)? In this episode, we talk to Jen Byrd-Craven (Oklahoma State) about all things stress and endocrine. Other topics include development, supposedly "over-active" stress responses, rage-bait, chilling out, obesity, parenting, status, teaching history, and much more. More about Jen Byrd-Crave

Cultural Evolution with Rob Boyd Mar 10, 2026 7912 Along with Pete Richerson, Rob Boyd (ASU) is one of *the* founders of cultural evolution, and one of the key figures in connecting human behavior with evolution. A very special episode with one of the greats! To top it off, we have Rob's former PhD student (and previous guest) Cristina Moya, in the role of guest host. More about Rob Boyd: https://www.robboyd.net/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob

Microchimerism with Amy Boddy Mar 3, 2026 6869 Are we one, or do we contain multitudes? In this episode, we explore the bizarre and fascinating world of microchimerism with Amy Boddy (UCSB). More about Amy Boddy: https://www.anth.ucsb.edu/people/amy-boddy https://boddylab.com/ https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=jnNIBc4AAAAJ&hl=en

Status and Personality with Patrick Durkee Feb 24, 2026 8383 What is status? What is inspiration? What is personality? It all sounds simple and obvious, but in this episode with Patrick Durkee (CSU Fresno), we make "the familiar strange" and think through how an evolved mind may figure out how to invest our time and energy, what inspiration means, and what personality really is. More about Patrick Durkee: https://www.pdurkee.com/ https://csm.fresnostate.e

The Microbiome with Katrine Whiteson Feb 17, 2026 7004 In this episode, we talk with Katrine Whiteson (UC Irvine) about her amazing work studying the human microbiome. We cannot stress enough how much we learned from this episode, from how to prevent your gut bacteria from becoming trashed by antibiotics, how to shop for food that will feed your healthy microbes and prevent blood sugar spikes. Other topics include: what's missing form our modern gut b

Views of Mind with Clark Barrett Feb 10, 2026 8374 In this episode, we talk to Clark Barrett (UCLA) about all the ways we understand the mind, and all the ways that that understanding may be weirder and wider that our intellectual inheritance would have it. Topics include: lies, hunting magic, predicting the future, spirituality, dreams, Freud, fish with two jaws, embodiment, art, physical intelligence, not discounting other views of the mind, Kon

The Behavioral Immune System with Josh Tybur Feb 3, 2026 8278 It stinks to be sick. Our guest, Josh Tybur (VU Amsterdam), is the one of the foremost experts on how our brain--or better yet, our "behavioral immune system"--helps us avoid pathogens while still navigating the necessities of social and physical life: eating, hugging, parenting, mating, and so on. Topics include whether pathogen avoidance actually drives attitudes towards social outgroups, how di

Selection with Paul Smaldino Jan 27, 2026 7452 Intentions be damned! Whats matter is selection! In this episode, Paul Smaldino (UC Merced) takes us on a tour of his work on social signals, social identities, the perverse incentives of science, the stupidity and yet usefulness of models, and so much else. (Paul also shows us his small model of the solar system in the background). More about Paul Smaldino: https://smaldino.com/wp/ https://schol

Consciousness with Michael Graziano Jan 20, 2026 7755 Consciousness: is it really that hard of a problem? In this episode, we talk to our favorite mechanistically-minded (and possibly clearest) thinker about consciousness we've had the pleasure to stumble across, Michael Graziano (Princeton). Topics include why consciousness has been so hard to study, what it is, and what future (evolutionary) work on consciousness would look like. More about Michae

Peace with Luke Glowacki Jan 13, 2026 6794 The evolution of war has occupied science. But what about the evolution of peace? In this episode, we talk to Luke Glowacki about his framing of peace as requiring just as much, if not more, explanation, than the evolution of war, and how it comes about via cultural technology interacting with our evolved psychology. Other topics include the distribution of conflict, the Omo valley research projec

Free Will with David Pietraszewski Jan 6, 2026 7368 Free will: Do we really have it? And what is it, exactly? In this episode, co-host David Pietraszewski takes the role of guest and explains his recent evolutionary, adaptationist approach to the problem of free will, explaining what people are talking about when they talk about free will, why different people have different opinions about whether it really exists in light of science, and what an

Moralizing Self-Control with Léo Fitouchi Dec 30, 2025 6604 Why do we care about delaying gratification? Why do we judge others for moral failings that have no apparent consequences on us? In this episode, we talk to Lêo Fitouchi (IAST Toulouse) about all things moral, including guzzling french fries. More about Léo Fitouchi: https://sites.google.com/view/leofitouchi/home

Evolutionary Social Sciences with Dan Nettle Dec 23, 2025 6284 Poverty? Universal basic income? Do we really crave sugar because of evolutionary mismatch? How do you train for an 800meter and a 100K running race? We cover this and much more with Dan Nettle (Jean Nicod). More about Dan Nettle: https://www.danielnettle.eu/ https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=rl3kkv4AAAAJ&hl=en

Culture, Killing, and PTSD with Sarah Mathew Dec 16, 2025 7268 How do evolutionary behavioral scientists think about the interplay between our psychology and culture? What causes some cultural norms to persist and spread? Do non-Western combatants in war have something like PTSD? In this episode, we explore all of these questions and more with Sarah Mathew (ASU), who talks about her work with the Turkana, and her long-term interest in the interplay between ou

Reasoning and Epistemic Vigilance with Hugo Mercier Dec 9, 2025 5874 Is the evolved mind prone to believing misinformation? Are people gullible? What is reasoning, anyway? And what is it for? In this episode, we talk all things reasoning with Hugo Mercier (Institute Jean Nicod). If you have an opinion about whether people are reasonable (or not) this episode is for you. More about Hugo Mercier: https://sites.google.com/site/hugomercier/ https://scholar.google.co

Love and Regret with Cari Goetz Dec 2, 2025 6643 What is love? What is regret? What are we missing in our understanding of mating? In this episode we talk to Cari Goetz (Cal State San Bernardino) about the (still largely unexplored) emotions surrounding romance, sex, commitment, and parenting. Topics include: the field's current overemphasis on the early stages of mating, the cultural propaganda surrounding love and related emotions, deliberate

Exploitation with Hannes Rusch Nov 25, 2025 7023 What is exploitation? Why does it happen? And how can we better understand what makes it more or less likely? In this episode, we talk to Hannes Rusch (Max Planck Crime, Security, & Law) about all things exploitation and group-y. Other topics include jobs, mopping, scapegoating, bravery, and how much people care about their group identities. More about Hannes Rusch: https://hrusch.de/ http

Polygamy with Brooke Scelza Nov 18, 2025 6682 Are humans designed to be monogamous? Polygamous? In this episode, we talk to Brooke Scelza (UCLA) about her work with the Himba and the complex web of social norms at play in that society and what it can teach us about our evolved psychology. Other topics include parental investment, the state of cross-talk between evolutionary anthropology and psychology, and the sometimes perverse incentives in

Leadership with Zach Garfield Nov 11, 2025 6362 Are mothers the evolutionary crucible of leadership psychology? And is leadership more misunderstood and cryptic than we might think? In this episode, we talk to Zach Garfield (UM6P, Morocco) about all things lead-y and follow-y, and the new and amazing Omo Valley Research Project. More about Zach Garfield: https://zhgarfield.github.io/ The Omo Valley Research Project (with Luke Glowacki) https:/

Cultural Dynamics with Bret Beheim Nov 4, 2025 7474 What is cultural diffusion, why do need models of cultural change and distance, and what is on Bret's whiteboard? In this episode, we do a deep on how cultural change and distance are measured and studied with Bret Beheim (Max Planck for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig). Other topics include the local norms surrounding red lights and the evergreen game of "go". More about Bret Beheim: https:

Inter-group Relations with Anne Pisor Oct 28, 2025 6417 Are group boundaries solid, impermeable, and red in tooth-and-claw? Is animosity between groups inevitable? In this episode, we talk to Anne Pisor ( Penn State) about all things inter-group from an evolutionary perspective, including the forging of relationships across group boundaries as a way to deal with uncertainty and risk, and the circumstances that increase or decrease inter-group antagonis

Shame, Pride, and Guilt with Daniel Sznycer Oct 21, 2025 7470 Why do we feel shame? Is it a useless emotion? Our guest, Daniel Sznycer (Oklahoma State) has been studying "self-conscious" emotions from a functional/evolutionary perspective. If you're curious about why we feel things like shame, pride, guilt, or how an evolutionary approach can she light on understanding our emotions, this episode is for you. More about Daniel Sznycer: https://sites.google.

Evolutionary Psychology and the Law with Keelah Williams Oct 14, 2025 6314 Motive? Intent? Case closed! In this episode, Keelah Williams (JD, PhD, Hamilton) runs us through our bar exam prelims, explaining how our evolved psychology influences legal decision-making, and what consequences this may have on truth, justice, and much else... If you are interested in how evolutionary approaches inform legal issues, this episode is for you. Bonus: Keelah also discusses her grou

Horror and Morbid Curiosity with Coltan Scrivner Oct 7, 2025 7565 Grab some candy (or brains): Halloween is here! This week, we talk to Coltan Scrivner about why we can't look away from the macabre, what exactly the "horror" genre is, and why a self-dose of fear and horror may be good for anxiety. If you are curious about horror, true crime, cobwebs, zombies, great white sharks, Jurassic Park, or whether its good for kids to experience gross or scary things, thi

Cooperative breeding with Karen Kramer Sep 30, 2025 4574 How are humans able to sustain large families? What is our "true" reproductive strategy as a species? Are kids designed to raise younger children? And is it unnatural for us to live in such strongly age-segregated societies? In this episode, we talk to Karen Kramer (U of Utah) where we discuss our (possibly unique) ability to live with and raise one another. More about Karen Kramer: https://www

Belief with Dan Williams Sep 23, 2025 6856 Why do we believe what we believe? And our we aware of why we believe what we believe? And what is a belief anyway? And what should we think of people like Jordan Peterson? We tackle these questions and more in this episode with Dan Williams (Sussex): our first guest representing evolutionary approaches to philosophy. More about Dan Williams: https://danwilliamsphilosophy.com/ https://www.consp

The Evolution of Human Longevity with Mike Gurven Sep 16, 2025 6754 Did we evolve to live long lives? Is heart disease a human universal? In this episode, we talk to Mike Gurven (UCSB), who has run a number of large-scale studies on the life and health of non-Western populations (among much, much more). And now, he has a new book out (Seven Decades: How We Evolved to Live Longer) summarizing the big picture of what we've learned so far! More about Mike Gurven:

Language and Communication with Thom Scott-Phillips Sep 9, 2025 5905 What do the lindy hop, ostensive communication, and the evolution of language all have in common? Thom Scott-Phillips! In this episode, we discuss if language is an adaptation, why art museums have that certain vibe, the theory crisis in the behavioral sciences, the state of scientific publishing, and why Thom loves the lindy hop. More about Thom Scott-Phillips: https://www.thomscottphillips.co

The Evolutionary Psychology of Humor Sep 2, 2025 6351 Humor is one of the great puzzles of evolutionary psychology. Co-host David Pinsof (UCLA) presents the coordinating “mix-up” hypothesis of humor, in which….well, you’ll have to listen to find out. By Dave’s account, it is one of the best accounts of the psychology of humor out there (but what do we know?) Content warning: this episode does contain humor (or at least attempts at it). More about D

Plants, Infants, and the Evolution of Social Learning with Annie Wertz Aug 26, 2025 7082 Plants are mini chemical weapon factories! Learning and evolution are not opposed! This week, Annie Wertz (UCSB) joins us to describe her groundbreaking world on the evolutionary psychology of what babies know about plants, and how infants selectively use social information to guide their interactions with them. A lovely example of how adopting an evolutionary perspective inspires new areas of res

Cooperation with Pat Barclay Aug 19, 2025 6907 Pat Barclay (Guelph) joins us to discuss his work solving the mysteries of the evolution of cooperation. Pat is a wonderful human being and an exceptional scientist, whose work is at the forefront of understanding how and why we solve the problem of cooperation as a species. More about Pat Barclay: http://patbarclay.com/ More about David Pinsof: https://www.everythingisbullshit.blog/ https:

Drugs, Delusions, and Depression with Ed Hagen Aug 12, 2025 7220 Why would a mind ever be delusional or depressed, and can we understand these as functional or maladaptive outcomes? Why do humans take drugs, and why do plants make them in the first place? (And why might the answer to the second question also answer the first?) Join us on a fun, wide-ranging conversation with guest Ed Hagen (Washington State, Vancouver) one of evolutionary psychology’s most ency

Conspiracy Theories and Group Boundaries with Cristina Moya Aug 5, 2025 7264 Guest Cristina Moya (UC Davis) is one of our favorite evolutionary behavioral scientists. In this episode, we discuss her work in Peru on ethnolinguistic group boundaries, why we all believe crazy things, and what the lay of the land is in the evolutionary behavioral sciences. More about Cristina Moya: https://sites.google.com/site/cristinasolermoya/pubs?authuser=0 https://anthropology.ucdavis.

Thoughtful Warriors with Brenda Bowser Jul 29, 2025 8565 Guest Brenda Bowser (CalState Fullerton) recounts a life spent studying conflict and politics in Canambo, in the Ecuadorian Amazon, with her late husband and colleague John Q. Patton. Brenda shares first and second hand accounts of incredible events (including death by phantasm), and how she thinks about status, violence, and conflict, and how these relate to our connections with others. One of ou

Egalitarianism in the Amazon with Chris Von Rueden Jul 22, 2025 7079 Egalitarianism is not what you think it is! Guest Chris Von Rueden (URichmond) has wrapped his head around what egalitarianism is and shares his insights and what he’s learned living with and studying the Tsimane, hunter horticulturists in the Bolivian rainforest. TL;DR: How to make a more just society requires respecting the complexity of our evolved psychology. More about Chris Von Rueden: http

Disgust, Morality, and Kinship with Deb Lieberman Jul 15, 2025 9100 Why do we appeal to disgust when we moralize, and why do we moralize what we find disgusting? Guest Deb Lieberman (UMiami) explains why our human propensity to gang up on others may be driving a lot of our moral sentiments, and why she gets uncomfortable when people appeal to disgust to argue for what is right and wrong. More about Debra Lieberman: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Ohb

Terrorism, Drag Queens, and International Humanitarian Law with Michael Moncrieff Jul 8, 2025 6829 From offering the UN insights into the psychology of terrorists to interviewing victims of war-torn Croatia, guest Michael Moncrieff has seen a lot of life and yet remains hopeful. Dave wonders aloud why we are so blind to the civilian impacts of war and David and Michael discuss predatory rationality. Michael explains the history of the drag-queen phenomenon from an evolutionary psychological per

Bonus: Dave & David (and guest Pat Barclay) Read Some Reviews Jul 3, 2025 1036 Dave and David read a review of the podcast, and future guest Pat Barclay (Guelph) joins them for a second reading. Topics include why it may be good to be skeptical of high production values, and the tradeoff between focusing on basic research findings versus their broader implications.

Examples of Good Evolutionary Psychology Jul 1, 2025 8316 Dave and David move beyond the controversies to explain—and give examples of—evolutionary psychology done well. Topics covered include the science of racial categorization and why we get angry. If you’re looking for examples of novel insights in evolutionary psychology, this episode is for you. More about Evolutionary Psychology The Center for Evolutionary Psychology “Primer” More about Da

Childhood in the Congo Basin with Sheina Lew-Levy Jun 24, 2025 6775 Helicopter parenting is not a human universal! Guest Sheina Lew-Levy (Durham) explains what drew her to studying childhood among BaYaka foragers in the Congo Basin, and what parenting and childhood is like there and how this helps us understand who we are and what we need growing up. In this episode we also cover why field anthropologists are bad*ss and how, for David, “roughing it” involves stayi

Friendship with Jaimie Krems Jun 17, 2025 7311 Why is the study of friendship so lonely, and what makes Philadelphia Philly? Guest Jaimie Krems (UCLA) explains why friendship is a blindspot in science, and why she has no advice to give you if you’re feeling lonely (we’re only half-kidding). If you do want friends, don’t want friends, or have friends, you should listen to this episode. More about Jaimie Krems: UCLA Social Minds Lab More a

Mating with Daniel Conroy-Beam Jun 10, 2025 7091 Guest Daniel Conroy-Beam (UCSB) explains why human mating has occupied the interest of evolutionary psychologists, what consequences this has had on science, and how things might be done better. If you want to understand the science behind why we prefer certain other people to bonk, don’t listen to this episode (we’re kidding, this is exactly what Dan studies). More about Daniel Conroy-Beam:

Controversies in Evolutionary Psychology Jun 3, 2025 7288 Dave and David plunge (or dip a toe) into the controversies surrounding evolutionary psychology and try to make a good-faith effort, while not suffering fools (or internet trolls) lightly. Listen through to the end of this one. More about Evolutionary Psychology The Center for Evolutionary Psychology “Primer” More about David Pinsof: https://www.everythingisbullshit.blog/ https://www.krems

Basement Cults May 27, 2025 7773 Co-host Dave Pietraszewski explains how he learned to love evolutionary psychology despite hating it at first, why attending basement cults as a child in upstate New York wasn’t all bad, really, and why he thinks understanding the human mind will require eventually understanding the evolutionary psychology of psychologists. More about Evolutionary Psychology The Center for Evolutionary Psychol

Is Evolutionary Psychology Bulls**t? May 20, 2025 6981 Co-host David Pinsof explains how he discovered evolutionary psychology, why it might not be bulls**t, and why we hate status-seekers (most of the time). Since this is our first episode and it’s been a while, there may be other stuff in this episode, but we don’t remember what it is. More about Evolutionary Psychology The Center for Evolutionary Psychology “Primer” More about David Pinsof:

Episodes

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