Evolutionary Psychology (the podcast)
Actual evolutionary psychology by actual evolutionary psychologists. Hosted by Dave Pietraszewski and David Pinsof. Every week, Dave and David bring cutting-edge work in the evolutionary behavioral sciences to you.
Listen on:
Episodes
Episodes
Tuesday Jul 15, 2025
Tuesday Jul 15, 2025
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=OhbXo2kAAAAJ&hl=en
https://people.miami.edu/profile/820e96aef57fc53a0625013a86f7ecee
https://www.amazon.com/Objection-Disgust-Morality-Debra-Lieberman/dp/0190491299
More about David Pinsof:
https://www.everythingisbullshit.blog/
https://www.kremslab.com/people
More about Dave Pietraszewski:
https://cal.psych.ucsb.edu/david-pietraszewski
Tuesday Jul 08, 2025
Tuesday Jul 08, 2025
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 perspective.
More about Michael Moncrieff:
https://www.michaelmoncrieff.com/
More about David Pinsof:
https://www.everythingisbullshit.blog/
https://www.kremslab.com/people
More about Dave Pietraszewski:
https://cal.psych.ucsb.edu/david-pietraszewski
Thursday Jul 03, 2025
Thursday Jul 03, 2025
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.
Tuesday Jul 01, 2025
Tuesday Jul 01, 2025
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 David Pinsof:
https://www.everythingisbullshit.blog/
https://www.kremslab.com/people
More about Dave Pietraszewski:
https://cal.psych.ucsb.edu/david-pietraszewski
Tuesday Jun 24, 2025
Tuesday Jun 24, 2025
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 staying at a 3-star hotel without room-service.
More about Sheina Lew-Levy:
https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/sheina-lew-levy/
https://sites.google.com/view/sheinalewlevy/home
More about David Pinsof:
https://www.everythingisbullshit.blog/
https://www.kremslab.com/people
More about Dave Pietraszewski:
https://cal.psych.ucsb.edu/david-pietraszewski
Tuesday Jun 17, 2025
Tuesday Jun 17, 2025
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 about David Pinsof:
https://www.everythingisbullshit.blog/
https://www.kremslab.com/people
More about Dave Pietraszewski:
https://cal.psych.ucsb.edu/david-pietraszewski
Tuesday Jun 10, 2025
Tuesday Jun 10, 2025
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:
Computational Mate Choice @ UCSB
https://psych.ucsb.edu/people/faculty/daniel-conroy-beam
More about David Pinsof:
https://www.everythingisbullshit.blog/
https://www.kremslab.com/people
More about Dave Pietraszewski:
https://cal.psych.ucsb.edu/david-pietraszewski
Tuesday Jun 03, 2025
Tuesday Jun 03, 2025
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.kremslab.com/people
More about Dave Pietraszewski:
https://cal.psych.ucsb.edu/david-pietraszewski