Evolutionary Psychology (the podcast)

Selection with Paul Smaldino

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://scholar.google.com/citations?user=AwHfbP0AAAAJ&hl=en
https://smalldinosaurs.bandcamp.com/album/dad-songs
 

Consciousness with Michael Graziano

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 Michael Graziano:https://grazianolab.princeton.edu/
https://pni.princeton.edu/people/michael-graziano
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Graziano
https://www.press53.com/michael-s-a-graziano
https://www.amazon.com/stores/B.-B.-Wurge/author/B001JS4X0U?

Peace with Luke Glowacki

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 project, and how to think about our own species through the lens of other species--including mongeese (mongooses?) 
More about Luke Glowacki:
https://www.hsb-lab.org/
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=DaCQ-UIAAAAJ&hl=en
https://www.bu.edu/anthrop/profile/luke-glowacki/
 

Free Will with David Pietraszewski

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 evolutionary approach has to say about how to study it in the first place. If you love or hate the study of free will--or think it is a forever-unsolvable mystery-- then this episode is for you!
 
More about David Pietraszewski:
https://cal.psych.ucsb.edu/david-pietraszewski
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=rGFYm8AAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao
 

Moralizing Self-Control with Léo Fitouchi

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

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

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 our evolved psychology of cooperation and violence, and the social norms and institutions that push and pull on our evolved psychology. 
 
More about Sarah Mathew:
https://search.asu.edu/profile/2208359
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=FqTZawEAAAAJ&hl=en
 

Reasoning and Epistemic Vigilance with Hugo Mercier

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.com/citations?user=b3o24EEAAAAJ&hl=en