Pathogens with Josh Ackerman

Pathogens with Josh Ackerman

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 and are dealt with by this tiny microscopic critters.  More about Josh Ackerman: https://lsa.umich.edu/psych/people/faculty/joshack.html https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=w3nbv6UAAAAJ&hl=en

Design with Dave & David

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

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/ [https://anthro.ucla.edu/person/brian-wood/] http://brianwoodresearch.com/ [http://brianwoodresearch.com/] https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=oRH6SiEAAAAJ&hl=en [https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=oRH6SiEAAAAJ&hl=en]

Evolutionary Social Psychology with Steve Neuberg

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 Steve's newest venture is. A fun, thoughtful, and wide-ranging conversation.  More about Steve: https://psychology.asu.edu/research/labs/evolution-ecology-social-behavior [https://psychology.asu.edu/research/labs/evolution-ecology-social-behavior] https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=98Zaz2MAAAAJ&hl=en [https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=98Zaz2MAAAAJ&hl=en] https://search.asu.edu/profile/11074 [https://search.asu.edu/profile/11074]

The Yanamamo and Nap Chagnon with Ray Hames

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, sexual orientation, and the darkness in Eldorado hoax.    More about Ray Hames: https://rhames.unl.edu/ [https://rhames.unl.edu/] https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=BZ98oywAAAAJ&hl=en [https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=BZ98oywAAAAJ&hl=en] https://www.nasonline.org/directory-entry/raymond-b-hames-srcedw/ [https://www.nasonline.org/directory-entry/raymond-b-hames-srcedw/]