Claim OwnershipThe Insight
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Where did we come from? One of humanity's most basic questions, the answer is fascinating. Weaving together insights from the fields of genetics, archaeology, linguistics, and paleoanthropology, hosts Spencer Wells and Razib Khan take us on a grand tour of human history. Scientific storytelling at its best.
102 Episodes
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1Razib discusses the new book Survival of the Friendliest: Understanding Our Origins and Rediscovering Our Common Humanity with one of the authors. https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B07ZC6XGGX/geneexpressio-20
Razib talks to evolutionary anthropologist Joe Henrich about his new book, The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous, https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B07RZFCPMD/geneexpressio-20
Razib talks to Stuart Ritchie about his new book, Science Fictions: How Fraud, Bias, Negligence, and Hype Undermine the Search for Truth https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1250222699/geneexpressio-20
Razib and Spencer discuss the geography, prehistory, and genetics, of Siberia. Also, the time Spencer experienced a Siberian winter!
Razib and Spencer discuss why the geology and biogeography of Southeast Asia may explain why it is so important in the history of human evolution. Show notes: https://blog.insito.me/humanitys-second-cradle-in-southeast-asia-cbb26244f08a
Razib discusses revolutionary new work published in Nature that tells us that modern humans were present in the Americas 32,000 years ago with one of the authors, Lorena Becerra-Valdivia. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02190-y https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2509-0 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2509-0
Spencer and Razib talk about what we mean when we say "ghost population" in human genetics, and why it's so important to understand our origins. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2842210/ https://www.genetics.org/content/192/3/1065.short
Razib talks to Alex Ioannidis on the new paper which he is a first author of which argues that there is pre-Columbian Native American ancestry in Eastern Polynesia. Did the Polynesians bring them back from the mainland? Or did they voyage themselves? https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2487-2
Razib and Spencer talk about what a new ancient DNA paper from Neolithic Ireland suggests about radical inequality and power differentials in early agricultural societies, and what that says about the transition from hunting and gathering more generally https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2378-6 (also, coronavirus update!)
Spencer and Razib discuss what the humanities can offer to science with Kerim Yasar, professor of East Asian literature https://twitter.com/nihonkyo
Razib talks to Dr. Emily Deans on what's like to work in psychiatry today in a world with personal genomics. https://twitter.com/evolutionarypsy
Spencer and Razib discuss current events in the context of cultural evolution. The history of decline, the American "Empire", and Peter Turchin's thoughts on social disorder http://peterturchin.com/cliodynamica/the_2020/
This week Razib talks to Dan Crouch about what we know about the genetics of the variation shape and features. https://www.pnas.org/content/115/4/E676.short
Spencer and Razib discuss the latest ancient DNA work that sheds light on East Asian prehistory (and also some coronavirus status update) https://reich.hms.harvard.edu/sites/reich.hms.harvard.edu/files/inline-files/YangSciecne2020.pdf (excuse the "sound effects" early in the podcast!)
Razib catches up with Chris Stinger on the state of paleoanthropology in 2020 and the ramifications of what genetics has taught us about the diversity in Denisovans in the past few years!
Razib talks to Chad Niederhuth at Michigan State on the promise of GMO agriculture! http://niederhuthlab.com/
Spencer and Razib discuss the state of the pandemic, why Spencer is skeptical of rapid vaccine development, and the political and cultural fallout of COVID-19. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/04/29/847755751/compared-to-china-u-s-stay-at-home-has-been-a-giant-garden-party-journalist-says https://medium.com/@spwells
Razib and Spencer discuss the state-of-the-pandemic at the end of March 2020. https://blog.insito.me/the-insight-show-notes-season-3-episode-13-pandemic-c6640de64d6b
Razib talks to Austin Reynolds about what he's discovered about adaptation in indigenous peoples of the New World. https://www.pnas.org/content/116/19/9312.short
Razib talks to Dr. Jessica Chong of the University of Washington about how genomics has changed how we view and understand rare disorders https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002929719302745
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I really enjoy this podcast. Its an amazing genetics podcast for people who aren't Geneticists. Has this podcast been discontinued or are they just on a hiatus from new episodes.
Fascinating stuff from Razib again. I hadn't heard of Monte Verde previously. As his interviewee said, hopefully there'll be more research undertaken in future on early human history within South America.
more lockdown because my paycheck is still coming in
This is a great podcast. One of the greatest. Once you get over their piss poor title, you'll enjoy an amount of smarts that is nigh impossible to find anywhere else. They are well read, experienced and they value each others and their guests which makes for stellar conversations. Must must must listen.
The xenophobes will have to update their signs https://goo.gl/images/VU9RG5 /Jonas