To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Worshipping Waterfalls: The Evolution of Belief

Jane Goodall has seen wild chimpanzees dance and bristle with excitement around roaring waterfalls — and she thinks it’s an experience of awe and wonder — and possibly a precursor to animistic religion. But can we ever know why our ancient human ancestors developed spiritual beliefs? Can evolutionary science uncover the roots of religion? At some point our ancestors went from admiring waterfalls to worshipping them - and all kinds of spirits and gods. They developed sacred rituals and turned stones into totems. And then came the Battle of the Gods. This was produced in partnership with the Center for Humans and Nature, an organization that brings together scholars from a diversity of disciplines to think creatively about our relationships with nature and each other. What do you think evolution can tell us about love and morality? Share your thoughts athumansandnature.org [http://goo.gl/hUJMxr]. This episode was made possible through the support of the John Templeton Foundation. Original Air Date: May 14, 2017 Guests: Jane Goodall [https://www.ttbook.org/people/jane-goodall]—Laura Kehoe [https://www.ttbook.org/people/laura-kehoe]—Frans de Waal [https://www.ttbook.org/people/frans-de-waal]—Barbara King [https://www.ttbook.org/people/barbara-king]—Ara Norenzayan [https://www.ttbook.org/people/ara-norenzayan]—Jeff Schloss [https://www.ttbook.org/people/jeff-schloss]—Andrew Newberg [https://www.ttbook.org/people/andrew-newberg] Interviews In This Hour: Do Chimpanzees Have Spiritual Experiences? [https://www.ttbook.org/interview/do-chimpanzees-have-spiritual-experiences]—How 'Big Gods' Transformed Human History [https://www.ttbook.org/interview/how-big-gods-transformed-human-history]—An Evolutionary Biologist Searches for God [https://www.ttbook.org/interview/evolutionary-biologist-searches-god]—What Bliss Looks Like In Your Brain [https://www.ttbook.org/interview/what-bliss-looks-your-brain]—Are Morals a Part of Our Evolution? [https://www.ttbook.org/interview/are-morals-part-our-evolution] Further Reading: Center for Humans and Nature [http://goo.gl/hUJMxr] Never want to miss an episode?Subscribe to the podcast. [https://link.chtbl.com/TTBOOK] Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive?Subscribe to our newsletter. [https://ttbook.us11.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=3cb4c021b28e511db7dc0b1ca&id=64562fd7d9]

Rewriting the Romance Script

We take a look at the romantic tropes of modern love and how they’re changing. Do the old dreams of true love and happiness ever after fit our new lives and new identities? Original Air Date: February 13, 2021 Guests: Logan Ury [https://www.ttbook.org/people/logan-ury]—Angelo Bautista [https://www.ttbook.org/people/angelo-bautista]—Jane Ward [https://www.ttbook.org/people/jane-ward]—Angela Chen [https://www.ttbook.org/people/angela-chen]—Bara Jichova Tyson [https://www.ttbook.org/people/bara-jichova-tyson] Interviews In This Hour: The New Coffee Date: COVID-19 Pushes The Dating World To Zoom [https://www.ttbook.org/interview/new-coffee-date-covid-19-pushes-dating-world-zoom]—Are Straight People Okay? [https://www.ttbook.org/interview/are-straight-people-okay]—Love Without Touch, Desire Without Sex [https://www.ttbook.org/interview/love-without-touch-desire-without-sex]—Learning To Believe In Monogamy [https://www.ttbook.org/interview/learning-believe-monogamy] Never want to miss an episode?Subscribe to the podcast. [https://link.chtbl.com/TTBOOK] Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive?Subscribe to our newsletter. [https://ttbook.us11.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=3cb4c021b28e511db7dc0b1ca&id=64562fd7d9]

To All The Dogs We've Loved

The bond we share with dogs runs deep. The satisfaction of gentle head scratches or a round of playing fetch is simple and pure, but in other ways, the connection we have is truly unknowable. How do dogs make our lives better? How do they think? And how do we give them the lives they deserve? Original Air Date: February 05, 2022 Guests: Blair Braverman [https://www.ttbook.org/people/blair-braverman-0]—Quince Mountain [https://www.ttbook.org/people/quince-mountain-0]—Donna Haraway [https://www.ttbook.org/people/donna-haraway]—Sarah Miller [https://www.ttbook.org/people/sarah-miller] Interviews In This Hour: Adventure, goofiness and trail snacks: Stories from the dog musher's journal [https://www.ttbook.org/interview/adventure-goofiness-and-trail-snacks-stories-dog-mushers-journal]—Getting inside the mind of a dog [https://www.ttbook.org/interview/getting-inside-mind-dog]—Nothing makes losing a dog easy. But a bridge dog can help. [https://www.ttbook.org/interview/nothing-makes-losing-dog-easy-bridge-dog-can-help]—Joy and peace, high up on Dog Mountain [https://www.ttbook.org/interview/joy-and-peace-high-dog-mountain] Never want to miss an episode?Subscribe to the podcast. [https://link.chtbl.com/TTBOOK] Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive?Subscribe to our newsletter. [https://ttbook.us11.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=3cb4c021b28e511db7dc0b1ca&id=64562fd7d9]

Our Time of Mourning

Is there a better way to talk about death? And to grieve? So many people have died during the pandemic — 4.8 million and counting — that we're living through a period of global mourning. And some people — and certain cultures — seem to be better prepared to handle it than others. Original Air Date: June 19, 2021 Guests: Heather Swan [https://www.ttbook.org/people/heather-swan]—Gillian O'Brien [https://www.ttbook.org/people/gillian-obrien]—Charles Monroe-Kane [https://www.ttbook.org/people/charles-monroe-kane]—Gabe Joyner [https://www.ttbook.org/people/gabe-joyner]—Rafael Campo [https://www.ttbook.org/people/rafael-campo] Interviews In This Hour: The Barred Owl Who Came To Visit [https://www.ttbook.org/interview/barred-owl-who-came-visit]—How The Irish Talk About Death [https://www.ttbook.org/interview/how-irish-talk-about-death]—How To Remember A Beloved Brother? A Memorial Tattoo [https://www.ttbook.org/interview/how-remember-beloved-brother-memorial-tattoo]—A Physician-Poet Bears Witness to the Pandemic's Lost Voices [https://www.ttbook.org/interview/physician-poet-bears-witness-pandemics-lost-voices] Never want to miss an episode?Subscribe to the podcast. [https://link.chtbl.com/TTBOOK] Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive?Subscribe to our newsletter. [https://ttbook.us11.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=3cb4c021b28e511db7dc0b1ca&id=64562fd7d9]

Searching for Order in the Universe

When things don't go the way they're supposed to — viruses, star systems, presidents, even fish — we're often desperate to explain the chaos. In this episode, we search for order in the universe. Original Air Date: August 08, 2020 Guests: Patrik Svensson [https://www.ttbook.org/people/patrik-svensson]—Lulu Miller [https://www.ttbook.org/people/lulu-miller]—Alexander Boxer [https://www.ttbook.org/people/alexander-boxer]—Margaret Wertheim [https://www.ttbook.org/people/margaret-wertheim]—S. James Gates Jr. [https://www.ttbook.org/people/s-james-gates-jr] Interviews In This Hour: The Weird World Of Eels [https://www.ttbook.org/interview/weird-world-eels]—We Call Them Fish. Evolution Says They're Something Else. [https://www.ttbook.org/interview/we-call-them-fish-evolution-says-theyre-something-else]—The Original Algorithm Was Written In The Stars [https://www.ttbook.org/interview/original-algorithm-was-written-stars]—Seeing The World With A Mathematician's Eyes [https://www.ttbook.org/interview/seeing-world-mathematicians-eyes] Further Reading: Nautilus: Eels Don’t Have Sex Until the Last Year of Their Life [http://nautil.us/issue/88/love--sex/eels-dont-have-sex-until-the-last-year-of-their-life]—NYAS: The Mystery of Our Mathematical Universe [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2YvRWZCmo0&feature=emb_title] Never want to miss an episode?Subscribe to the podcast. [https://link.chtbl.com/TTBOOK] Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive?Subscribe to our newsletter. [https://ttbook.us11.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=3cb4c021b28e511db7dc0b1ca&id=64562fd7d9]