100 episodes
The Insight Insitome: Your guide to the story of you
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- Science
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4.8 • 286 Ratings
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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.
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Brian Hare and Survival of the Friendliest: Understanding Our Origins and Rediscovering Our Common Humanity
Razib 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 -
Why Western Europeans are so WEIRD and why that matters!
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
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Why much of science is fiction
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 -
Siberian paleohistory
Razib and Spencer discuss the geography, prehistory, and genetics, of Siberia. Also, the time Spencer experienced a Siberian winter!
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Sundaland: a human evolutionary hearth
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
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Peopling the Americas 32,000 years ago
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
Customer Reviews
A jem
Fascinating podcast. Too bad it ended.
Not much Turchin in the Turchin episode
Disappointing. It was pretty much two guys bloviating sophomorically. Funny thing is, I actually agree with a lot of the sentiments they expressed (about America needing to grow up and accept that it is no longer going to be the dominant world power), but the factual inaccuracies and gross mischaracterization of certain eras were distracting, and the rambling conversation was frustrating—I know they mentioned Turchin’s name once or twice, but did they ever talk about his ideas? Anyway, if someone wants a good discussion of Turchin, try the episode from The Nietzsche Podcast that’s devoted to him—way better.
Outstanding
One of the best science podcasts I’ve heard since I started chasing them around 2006. Funny, concise, deepest and up to date. Invaluable context for the constant stream of gene stories and revelations.