Evolutionary Psychology (the podcast)

What do the lindy hop, ostensive communication, and the evolution of language all have in common? Thom Scott-Phillips! In this episode, we discuss if language is an adaptation, why art museums have that certain vibe, the theory crisis in the behavioral sciences, the state of scientific publishing, and why Thom loves the lindy hop. 
 
More about Thom Scott-Phillips:
https://www.thomscottphillips.com/
 

Humor is one of the great puzzles of evolutionary psychology. Co-host David Pinsof (UCLA) presents the coordinating “mix-up” hypothesis of humor, in which….well, you’ll have to listen to find out. By Dave’s account, it is one of the best accounts of the psychology of humor out there (but what do we know?) Content warning: this episode does contain humor (or at least attempts at it).
 
More about David Pinsof: 
https://www.everythingisbullshit.blog/
https://www.kremslab.com/people
 
More about Dave Pietraszewski: 
https://cal.psych.ucsb.edu/david-pietraszewski

Plants are mini chemical weapon factories! Learning and evolution are not opposed! This week, Annie Wertz (UCSB) joins us to describe her groundbreaking world on the evolutionary psychology of what babies know about plants, and how infants selectively use social information to guide their interactions with them. A lovely example of how adopting an evolutionary perspective inspires new areas of research, and a good example of how evolution builds learning mechanisms. 
 
More about Annie Wertz: 
https://psych.ucsb.edu/people/faculty/annie-e-wertz
https://lilac.psych.ucsb.edu/

Pat Barclay (Guelph) joins us to discuss his work solving the mysteries of the evolution of cooperation. Pat is a wonderful human being and an exceptional scientist, whose work is at the forefront of understanding how and why we solve the problem of cooperation as a species. 
More about Pat Barclay: 
http://patbarclay.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
 

Why would a mind ever be delusional or depressed, and can we understand these as functional or maladaptive outcomes? Why do humans take drugs, and why do plants make them in the first place? (And why might the answer to the second question also answer the first?) Join us on a fun, wide-ranging conversation with guest Ed Hagen (Washington State, Vancouver) one of evolutionary psychology’s most encyclopedic minds. 
 
More about Ed Hagen:
https://anthro.vancouver.wsu.edu/people/hagen/
https://blog.edhagen.net/
 
Evolutionary Psychology FAQ:
https://grasshoppermouse.github.io/evpsychfaq/
 
More about David Pinsof: https://www.everythingisbullshit.blog/
https://www.kremslab.com/people
 
More about Dave Pietraszewski: https://cal.psych.ucsb.edu/david-pietraszewski

Guest Cristina Moya (UC Davis) is one of our favorite evolutionary behavioral scientists. In this episode, we discuss her work in Peru on ethnolinguistic group boundaries, why we all believe crazy things, and what the lay of the land is in the evolutionary behavioral sciences. 
 
More about Cristina Moya:
https://sites.google.com/site/cristinasolermoya/pubs?authuser=0
https://anthropology.ucdavis.edu/people/cristina-moya
 
More about David Pinsof: 
https://www.everythingisbullshit.blog/
https://www.kremslab.com/people
 
More about Dave Pietraszewski: 
https://cal.psych.ucsb.edu/david-pietraszewski

Guest Brenda Bowser (CalState Fullerton) recounts a life spent studying conflict and politics in Canambo, in the Ecuadorian Amazon, with her late husband and colleague John Q. Patton. Brenda shares first and second hand accounts of incredible events (including death by phantasm), and how she thinks about status, violence, and conflict, and how these relate to our connections with others. One of our most memorable episodes! 
 
More about Brenda Bowser:
https://anthro.fullerton.edu/People/BrendaBowser.aspx
https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/the-amazonian-house/
 
More about John Q. Patton:
https://news.fullerton.edu/2024/11/anthropology-scholars-students-host-symposium-to-honor-late-professor/
https://anthro.fullerton.edu/People/JohnPatton.aspx
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NkJttDkP2ZID-a7HSgUNzIfSOlMnQ51I/view?usp=drive_link
 
John Q. Patton Memorial Symposium:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KRRcx00RJmWI6VKcwGs8ms29lRNnP-5oY6VIPqeEkNg/edit?tab=t.0
 
 

Egalitarianism is not what you think it is! Guest Chris Von Rueden (URichmond) has wrapped his head around what egalitarianism is and shares his insights and what he’s learned living with and studying the Tsimane, hunter horticulturists in the Bolivian rainforest. TL;DR: How to make a more just society requires respecting the complexity of our evolved psychology. 
More about Chris Von Rueden:https://sites.google.com/site/chrisvonrueden/home
Tsimane Health and Life History Project:https://tsimane.anth.ucsb.edu/
More about David Pinsof: https://www.everythingisbullshit.blog/
https://www.kremslab.com/people
More about Dave Pietraszewski: https://cal.psych.ucsb.edu/david-pietraszewski