Evolutionary Psychology (the podcast)

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
 

Love and Regret with Cari Goetz

What is love? What is regret? What are we missing in our understanding of mating? In this episode we talk to Cari Goetz (Cal State San Bernardino) about the (still largely unexplored) emotions surrounding romance, sex, commitment, and parenting. Topics include: the field's current overemphasis on the early stages of mating, the cultural propaganda surrounding love and related emotions, deliberate ignorance about infidelity, the rehearsal of the social consequences of dating earlier in development, mate ejection strategies, and what love might be at a functional/software level. 
More about Cari Goetz:https://www.csusb.edu/profile/cgoetz
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=BIKau3cAAAAJ&hl=en

Exploitation with Hannes Rusch

What is exploitation? Why does it happen? And how can we better understand what makes it more or less likely? In this episode, we talk to Hannes Rusch (Max Planck Crime, Security, & Law) about all things exploitation and group-y. Other topics include jobs, mopping, scapegoating, bravery, and how much people care about their group identities. 
 
More about Hannes Rusch: 
https://hrusch.de/
https://csl.mpg.de/en/hannes-rusch
 
Shownotes:
Metallica "Man Unkind":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUVr2xnGIEo
Exploitation: Theory and Practice
https://pure.mpg.de/rest/items/item_3655768_1/component/file_3655769/content
 

Polygamy with Brooke Scelza

Are humans designed to be monogamous? Polygamous? In this episode, we talk to Brooke Scelza (UCLA) about her work with the Himba and the complex web of social norms at play in that society and what it can teach us about our evolved psychology. Other topics include parental investment, the state of cross-talk between evolutionary anthropology and psychology, and the sometimes perverse incentives in science and the resulting replication crisis. If you think you do (or do not) understand mating markets and social norms, then this episode is for you. 
 
More about Brooke Schelza:
https://bscelza.weebly.com/
https://anthro.ucla.edu/person/brooke-scelza/
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=v8E5934AAAAJ&hl=en