Podcasts about Marlene Zuk

"The birds and the bees" may be a euphemism for human reproduction, but procreation of actual winged animals is far wilder. This hour, TED speakers explore how birds, bees and bugs multiply. Guests include beekeeper Noah Wilson-Rich, biologist Carin Bondar, behavioral ecologist Marlene Zuk and comedian Julia Sweeney.Original broadcast date: July 15, 2022. TED Radio Hour+ subscribers now get access to bonus episodes, with more ideas from TED speakers and a behind the scenes look with our producers. A Plus subscription also lets you listen to regular episodes (like this one!) without sponsors. Sign-up at plus.npr.org/ted.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Chances are you have heard a woman poking fun at a man in her life for having a cold and — let's just say — not handling it very well. The idea has been parodied hundreds of times in standup performances and internet comedy sketches.But research shows there may be some biological and evolutionary factors that indeed make male and female experiences of having a common cold feel different. University of Minnesota professor of ecology, evolution and behavior Marlene Zuk says there's evidence that many men may suffer more from the effects of infection. She joins MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to explain.

Here is a problem about spaghetti that has stumped some of the brightest minds in science, including Nobel prize winning physicist Richard Feynman: Hold one strand of spaghetti at each end and try to break it into two pieces. You will find that it is impossible. There now appears to be an explanation thanks to some very high-speed cameras. Listen and I will tell you what it is. https://www.thenakedscientists.com/get-naked/experiments/snapping-spaghetti You want things. I want things. We all want things. That is what human desire is all about. Have you ever stopped to wonder why you desire those particular things? For an explanation of human desire, we turn to Luke Burgis. He is an entrepreneur and a philosopher and he has written a book about desire titled, Wanting (https://amzn.to/3fPJyR9). Listen as he offers insight into what triggers all of our desires – big and small. If we evolved from apes, why are there still apes? That's one of many questions people ponder about evolution. Perhaps you've also wondered if humans are still evolving, or have we stopped? Can we predict how evolution will change the world? These are just some of the questions I tackle with Marlene Zuk. She is an evolutionary biologist and author of the book Paleofantasy: What Evolution Really Tells Us about Sex, Diet, and How We Live (https://amzn.to/3uUyd6H). Listen and you will have a better understanding of how we evolved to be who we are. When a child gets hurt, what you do and say in response is critical. And it isn't only because the correct response can soothe the child and alleviate their stress, it can also affect the way the child recovers from an injury. Listen to hear the science of this important phenomenon. Source: Judith Acosta author of Verbal First Aid (https://amzn.to/3fScUhV) PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS! Indeed is offering SYSK listeners a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to get your jobs more visibility at https://Indeed.com/SOMETHING NerdWallet lets you compare top travel credit cards side-by-side to maximize your spending! Compare & find smarter credit cards, savings accounts, & more https://NerdWallet.com TurboTax Experts make all your moves count — filing with 100% accuracy and getting your max refund, guaranteed! See guarantee details at https://TurboTax.com/Guarantees Luckily for those of us who live with the symptoms of allergies, we can Live Claritin Clear with Claritin-D! eBay Motors has 122 million parts for your #1 ride-or-die, to make sure it stays running smoothly. Keep your ride alive at https://eBayMotors.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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[caption id="attachment_464" align="alignnone" width="860"] Marlene Zuk presenting a TED Talk.[/caption] For this episode, Greg and Mike Zoomed with Marlene Zuk to ask her some pointed questions about her book Paleofantasy:  What Evolution Really Tells Us About Sex, Diet, and How We Live. We didn't ask what she had for breakfast, nor what she suggests that we have for breakfast, because that isn't the point of the book.  Zuk wrote about the complexity of evolutionary development and that it's not necessarily so that modern people can look to the past to build our menus, our patterns of relationships, nor what we do for exercise.  We don't need to be stuck in the past, since evolution doesn't teach that we should.  Evolution doesn't stop, so why should we? As usual, the conversation touched on concepts that both Greg and Marlene developed during their field research. Even the Bing Chat AI made a contribution.  Not a great one, but then it's just a bot. Marlene will return to give us inside baseball on her most recent book Dancing Cockatoos and the Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man's Test: How Behavior Evolves and Why It Matters. (Purchasing through these links helps fund the podcast, so, if you're going to buy a book, you know... especially if we turned you on to it.)

Here's the thing about evolution: It's really complicated. And there's so much about how humans have evolved and what causes certain behaviors that scientists are still figuring out. It's those unknowns that fascinate Marlene Zuk, a professor of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior at the University of Minnesota. She's written numerous books on animal behavior and evolution, with her most recent publication being Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test: How Behavior Evolves and Why It Matters. Marlene and Greg discuss common misconceptions about genes and heredity, how to even define “behavior,” and why humans have not evolved to be perfectly suited for our environment. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*Episode Quotes:On the complexity of science04:14: Newsflash: Science is complicated. But I feel like if you can internalize that complication, it's really liberating because you realize that you do not have to come up with the sound bite, the click bait, or whatever you want to call it.Underestimating our capacity as human beings29:44: Mismatch is real, but what it illustrates is how evolution works, which is full of trade-offs and things that are just okay but functional. And evolution doesn't produce organisms that are perfect for their environment because it can't. Evolution can only produce something based on what's already there.Evolution shows your connectedness among living things20:44: One of the things that I think is super cool about evolution is that it shows you the connectedness among living things. How awesome is that? But to go from there to creating this scale of nature, this chain of being, and saying, "Okay, well, this one is next to me because it's better than the one that's behind it, and the ones that are next to me are better than the ones that aren't next to me," That just seems feudal.Show Links:Recommended Resources:Hamish SpencerWatson and Crick She Has Her Mother's Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of HereditaryunSILOed episode featuring Daniel LiebermanGuest Profile:Faculty Profile at University of Minnesota Professional Profile on Association for Behavior Analysis InternationalHer Work:Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test: How Behavior Evolves and Why It MattersPaleofantasy: What Evolution Really Tells Us about Sex, Diet, and How We LiveSex on Six Legs: Lessons on Life, Love, and Language from the Insect WorldRiddled With Life: Friendly Worms, Ladybug Sex, and the Parasites That Make Us Who We AreSexual Selections: What We Can and Can't Learn About Sex from AnimalsScholarly Articles

Original broadcast date: July 15, 2022. "The birds and the bees" may be a euphemism for human reproduction, but procreation of actual winged animals is far wilder. This hour, TED speakers explore how birds, bees and bugs multiply. Guests include beekeeper Noah Wilson-Rich, biologist Carin Bondar, behavioral ecologist Marlene Zuk and comedian Julia Sweeney. TED Radio Hour+ subscribers now get access to bonus episodes, with more ideas from TED speakers and a behind the scenes look with our producers. A Plus subscription also lets you listen to regular episodes (like this one!) without ads. Sign-up at: plus.npr.org/ted

En una sociedad cada vez más tecnológica y avanzada, nuestra dependencia de elementos y minerales raros y escasos se está incrementando, en algunos casos, hasta situarlos al borde del agotamiento. Científicos españoles advierten de los riesgos ambientales, económicos, sociales y geopolíticos y abogan por acabar con la obsolescencia programada y desarrollar nuevas tecnologías que favorezcan un uso más eficiente de estos materiales, su reciclaje y la búsqueda de alternativas. Hemos entrevistado a Josep Peñuelas, investigador del CREAF y coautor del estudio. Hemos informado de la concesión del premio BBVA Fronteras del Conocimiento en Ecología y Biología de la Conservación a Susan Alberts, Jeanne Altmann y Marlene Zuk por demostrar el papel clave del comportamiento social en la evolución de los animales y su importancia para la conservación de especies. Alda Olafsson nos ha contado los descubrimientos realizados en Marte gracias al instrumento español MEDA, situado a bordo del róver Perseverance de la NASA, que acaba de cumplir un año marciano en el planeta Rojo. Con testimonios de José Antonio Rodríguez-Manfredi, investigador principal de MEDA en el Centro de Astrobiología. Fernando de Castro nos ha hablado del olfato en humanos, 10 mil veces más sensible que cualquier otro de nuestros sentidos, y el único donde el sistema nervioso central se expone directamente al ambiente. Con la colaboración de Adeline Marcos, hemos entrevistado a Pere Brunet, catedrático de la Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña, colaborador en el proyecto europeo para la creación de una nube que reúna el Patrimonio Cultural para que pueda ser investigado, restaurado y preservado.-Con Montse Villar hemos conocido unos de los objetos más misteriosos y fascinantes del universo: las estrellas de neutrones. El próximo sábado, 11 de febrero, se celebra el Día Internacional de la Mujer y la Niña en la Ciencia, con muchas actividades en toda España. Una de ellas es la jornada “Género y Comunicación de la Ciencia”, organizada para el jueves 9 de febrero en Bilbao por la cátedra de cultura científica de la Universidad del País Vasco. Hemos entrevistado a Óscar Menéndez, comunicador científico y coordinador del evento. Escuchar audio

Dancing Cockatoos, Silent Sparks and the Future: Writing About Science for the Public Marlene Zuk, PhD, Regents Professor of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota Website Writing about science for the public is fun, and hard, and requires some skills you may not regularly use as a scientist. Abstract What's good, bad and sometimes weird about writing for the general public? And how can people get started doing it? I will discuss some of the ideas—and misconceptions—about popular science writing. Related links: Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test: How Behavior Evolves and Why It Matters, Marlene Zuk (2022) Why we do what we do: From regenerating sea slugs to self-medicating sheep, biologist Marlene Zuk probes the origins and evolution of behavior in a new book, Review by Rob Dunn, Science, 4 Aug 2022 (*NC State access link) THE UP-GOER FIVE TEXT EDITOR and De-Jargonizer Speaker Bio Dr. Marlene Zuk is a behavioral ecologist interested in the evolution of sexual signals, mate choice, and the role of parasites in host ecology, evolution and behavior. Most of her research is on insects, especially crickets. She is also interested in how people think about animal and human behavior, and has written several books for general audiences about animals and evolution. Dr. Zuk is a professor at the University of Minnesota, and before that was on the faculty at the University of California, Riverside. GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Dawn Rodriguez-Ward, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Colloquium will be held in-person in Poe 202, as well as live-streamed via Zoom. Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and Twitter for updates . Genetic Engineering and Society Center GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology. Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Your mother told you not to lie. After all, lying is dishonest. More importantly, it may also be bad for your health. This episode begins by revealing why telling the truth could help prevent you from getting sick. http://research.nd.edu/news/32485-study-telling-fewer-lies-linked-to-better-health-relationships/ How did YouTube go from being a simple dating site to the biggest video sharing service in the world that generates billions of dollars in ad revenue each year? How did it happen that many ordinary people have become wealthy superstars simply by creating and uploading videos to YouTube? Joining me to tell the phenomenal story of YouTube's rapid growth and financial success is business journalist Mark Bergen author of the book Like, Comment, Subscribe: Inside YouTube's Chaotic Rise to World Domination (https://amzn.to/3erOSvM).  What drives your behavior? Is it nature or nurture – or both? Are all your behaviors the result of conscious thought or instinct? What compels you to behave the way you do? Here with some fascinating insight into the origins of our behavior and the behavior of all creatures on earth is Marlene Zuk. Marlene is professor of ecology, evolution, and behavior at the University of Minnesota, and author of the book Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test: How Behavior Evolves and Why It Matters (https://amzn.to/3cOtTmz).  You likely have some valuables hidden in your home that you hope a burglar will never find. But if you really want to be clever about it, you need to know where burglars look and where they almost never look. Listen as I explain the places burglars say they check first and places in your home they almost never go. https://lifehacker.com/the-best-spot-to-hide-valuables-may-be-your-kids-room-5937620 PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS! Go to https://Shopify.com/sysk for a FREE fourteen-day trial and get full access to Shopify's entire suite of features! Cancel unnecessary subscriptions with Rocket Money today. Go to https://RocketMoney.com/something . Seriously, it could save you HUNDREDS of dollars per year! Redeem your rewards for cash in any amount, at any time, with Discover Card! Learn more at https://Discover.com/RedeemRewards Download Best Fiends for FREE from the App Store or Google play.. Plus, earn even more with $5 worth of in-game rewards when you reach level 5! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test - Dr. Marlene Zuk The Not Old Better Show, Smithsonian Associates Science Interview Series Welcome to The Not Old Better Show, Smithsonian Associates interview series.  I'm Paul Vogelzang, and as part of our Smithsonian Associates Inside Science interview series, our guest today is Dr. Marlene Zuk.  Dr. Marlene Zuk is an evolutionary biologist studying the evolution of behavior, particularly sexual selection and communication. Dr. Zuk helped develop the idea that parasites and pathogens are instrumental in the evolution of sexual differences and has examined how behavior affects the rate of evolution.  Dr. Zuk will be appearing at Smithsonian Associates, so please check out our website for more details. Our lively conversation today is about exploring animal behavior in all its glorious complexity; Dr. Marlene Zuk goes beyond the tired nature-versus-nurture debate to focus on the interaction between genes and the environment. Driving her investigation is a simple but essential question: How does behavior evolve? Dr. Zuk addresses our questions by drawing from a wealth of research on animal behavior, including her own on insects. She shares stories of cockatoos that dance to rock music, ants that heal their injured companions, dogs that exhibit signs of obsessive-compulsive disorder, and more.  Dr Zuk has written the new book, creatively titled Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test: How Behavior Evolves and Why It Matters  Dr. Marlene Zuk's new book, Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test: How Behavior Evolves and Why It Matters.  Available on Apple Books, HERE. We will discuss Dr. Zuk's insights into animal intelligence, mating behavior, disease-fighting capacity, and the diverse interactions between an organism's genes and its environment—and Dr. Zuk urges us to consider how that same process applies to humans. Please join me in welcoming to The Not Old Better Show Smithsonian Associates Inside Science interview series on radio and podcast Dr. Marlene Zuk. My thanks to author and scientist Dr. Marlene Zuk for her generous time today.  Dr. Marlene Zuk will be appearing at the Smithsonian Associates and you can check out more details in our show notes today.  I thank you, my wonderful audience here on The Not Old Better Show. Please be well, be safe and let's eliminate assault rifles.  Assault rifles are unnecessary and instill fear in our children and grandchildren in the very place they learn:  school.  Please let's do this.  And, please, let's talk about better.  The Not Old Better Show on radio and podcast.  Thanks, everybody, and we'll see you next time.  Today's show is dedicated to the late Dr. Barry Sinervo...my favorite scientist. For more information about Dr. Zuk's presentation at Smithsonian Associates, please click HERE:  https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/animal-behavior

"The birds and the bees" may be a emphamism for human reproduction, but procreation of actual winged animals is far wilder. This hour, TED speakers explore how birds, bees and bugs multiply. Guests include beekeeper Noah Wilson-Rich, biologist Carin Bondar, behavioral ecologist Marlene Zuk and comedian Julia Sweeney.

Today I'm speaking with one of my very first guests on the Here We Are podcast, Marlene Zuk. Marlene is a Professor of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior at the University of Minnesota. We talk about common misconceptions about evolution and comparing humans to other animals. Check out Marlene's upcoming book, "Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test: How Behavior Evolves and Why It Matters" here: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324007227 And check out some of her other books here: https://cbs.umn.edu/zuk-lab/books Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being.

Today I'm speaking with one of my very first guests on the Here We Are podcast, Marlene Zuk. Marlene is a Professor of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior at the University of Minnesota. We talk about common misconceptions about evolution and comparing humans to other animals. Check out Marlene's upcoming book, "Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test: How Behavior Evolves and Why It Matters" here: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324007227 And check out some of her other books here: https://cbs.umn.edu/zuk-lab/books Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being.

Hold a strand of spaghetti at each end and break it in 2. It cannot be done. And this puzzle has mystified great minds of science including Nobel prize winner Richard Feynman. Now there appears to be an explanation which I'll tell you at the beginning of this episode. https://www.thenakedscientists.com/get-naked/experiments/snapping-spaghetti You have a lot of desires. Have you ever wondered why you desire those things? Why do you want what you want? Joining me with an explanation is Luke Bergis. He is an entrepreneur and a philosopher and he has written a book about desire titled, Wanting (https://amzn.to/3fPJyR9) that offers insight into what triggers out desires - big and small.  Have you ever asked yourself - if we evolved from apes, why are there still apes? That's one of the several confusing questions about evolution tackled by my guest Marlene Zuk. She is an evolutionary biologist and author of the book Paleofantasy: What Evolution Really Tells Us about Sex, Diet, and How We Live (https://amzn.to/3uUyd6H). If you ever wondered how we evolved to be who and where we are - you need to listen.  When a child gets hurt, how you respond in words and actions is critically important. This is true not only because it soothes the child, it can also affect the way they recover from their injury. Listen as I explain the science of this important phenomenon. Source: Judith Acosta author of Verbal First Aid (https://amzn.to/3fScUhV) PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS! We really enjoy The Jordan Harbinger Show and we think you will as well! There's just SO much here. Check out https://jordanharbinger.com/start for some episode recommendations, OR search for The Jordan Harbinger Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.  Save time, money, and stress with Firstleaf – the wine club designed with you in mind! Join today and you'll get 6 bottles of wine for $29.95 and free shipping! Just go to https://tryfirstleaf.com/SOMETHING Backcountry.com is the BEST place for outdoor gear and apparel. Go to https://backcountry.com/sysk and use promo code SYSK to get 15% off your first full price purchase! Hims is helping guys be the best version of themselves with licensed medical providers and FDA approved products to help treat hair loss. Go to https://forhims.com/something Go Daddy lets you create your website or store for FREE right now at https://godaddy.com Download the five star-rated puzzle game Best Fiends FREE today on the Apple App Store or Google Play! https://bestfiends.com Discover matches all the cash back you earn on your credit card at the end of your first year automatically and is accepted at 99% of places in the U.S. that take credit cards! Learn more at https://discover.com/yes https://www.geico.com Bundle your policies and save! It's Geico easy! Look before you lock! Leaving a child in a hot vehicle can lead to their death very quickly. Set cellphone reminders or place something you'll need in the back seat, so you don't forget your child is in the car. Paid for by NHTSA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, a challenge: bear with us. We decided to shake things up at the show so we threw our staff a curveball, Walter Matthau-style. In two weeks time we told our producers to pitch, report, and produce stories about breaking news….or bears. What emerged was a sort of love letter for our honey-loving friends and a discovery that they embody so much more than we could have imagined: a town’s symbol for hope, a celebrity, a foe, and a clue to future ways we’ll deal with our changing environment.  This episode was reported and produced by Simon Adler, Molly Webster, Bethel Habte, Pat Walters, Matt Kielty, Rachael Cusick, Annie McEwen and Latif Nasser. Special thanks to Wendy Card, Marlene Zuk, Karyn Rode, Barbara Nielsen and Steven Amstrup at Polar Bears International, Jimmy Thomson, Adam Kudlak, Greg Durner, Todd Atwood, and Dawn Curtis and the Environment and Natural Resources Department of Northwest Territories. And thanks to composer Anthony Plog for allowing us to use the Fourth Movement of his "Fantasy Movement," "Very Fast and Manic," performed by Eufonix Quartet off of their album Nuclear Breakfast, available from Potenza Music.  Support Radiolab today at Radiolab.org/donate. 

Inspiring fear and fascination alike in humans, insects are capable of incredibly complex behavior like personality, and language. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, behavioral ecologist Marlene Zuk examines the bedroom lives of bugs, showing how six-legged sex lives can be just as interesting as our own. To learn about upcoming SciCafe events, visit amnh.org/scicafe. Watch a video version of this lecture here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a-1G5dI48Q The SciCafe Series is proudly sponsored by Judy and Josh Weston.

Robin on the lack of female playwrights, NASA's new Blue Marble photo, and Cosby as "America's ideal Dad." Guests: Jillian Goodman, founder of new magazine Mary; Alaa Murabit on women in Libya; evolutionary biologist Marlene Zuk on insects as sex instructors. Jillian Goodman Alaa Murabit Marlene Zuk

with Marlene Zuk.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

with Marlene Zuk.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this 1st birthday episode, I find out about some more avian criminals of the animal kingdom. I learn that most birds can't taste sugar, but hummingbirds can, and I learn how. And in the Scientific Spark, I talk to Marlene Zuk, Professor of behavioural and evolutionary biology at the University of Minnesota. Together with Bill Hamilton, Marlene proposed the good genes hypothesis of sexual selection Download the MP3Quicklinks: Maude Baldwin's Science paper on Hummingbird sweet taste pageProf. Marlene Zuk's webpageDr Toni Shephard's paper on magpiesCrab Exeter on twitter

We evolved to eat berries rather than bagels, to live in caves rather than condos, to sprint barefoot rather than wear sneakers—or did we? These, along with many other questions about what is or is not "natural" for humans from an evolutionary perspective and is the subject of the new book by biologist, Dr. Marlene Zuk, Paleofantasies: What Evolution Really Tells Us about Sex, Diet, and How We Live. The book was recently long-listed for the Royal Society's Winton Prize, one of the most book prizes in science writing.   Dr. Zuk is an evolutionary biologist and behavioral ecologist at the University of Minnesota, where she heads the Zuk Lab. She has published many papers and books on evolution and evolutionary biology.     Lindsay interviews her about the book with a view to the "Paleo" craze in health and nutrition, asking if we really know what some claim we do about our paleolithic ancestors and what impact, if any, that knowledge should have on our lives.

In episode 55 we’re joined by a luminary of evolutionary biology and behavioural ecology, Professor Marlene Zuk of the University of Minnesota!  Marlene joins us to talk about her latest book Paleofantasy, crickets, the odd things that people will tell you, and more!  If you like science, this one’s chock-full of it.

I talk with the author of Paleofantasy, Marlene Zuk. We talk about whether or not the Paleo Diet is just a fantasy or if it can lead to better health. Marlene also talks about rapid evolution and how species evolve in surprising ways. We end the discussion by talking about exercise and what, if anything, evolution tells us about the optimal way to be fit and healthy. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/aaronolson/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/aaronolson/support

I talk with the author of Paleofantasy, Marlene Zuk. We talk about whether or not the Paleo Diet is just a fantasy or if it can lead to better health. Marlene also talks about rapid evolution and how species evolve in surprising ways. We end the discussion by talking about exercise and what, if anything, evolution tells us about the optimal way to be fit and healthy.

The Hebrews called it “Eden.” The Greeks and Romans called it the “Golden Age.” The philosophes–or Rousseau at least–called it the “State of Nature.” Marx and Engels called it “Primitive Communism.” The underlying notion, however, is the same: there was a time, long ago, when things were much better than they are today because we were then “in tune” with God, nature, or whatever. Thereafter we “fell,” usually due to our own stupidity, and landed in our present corrupted state. Today we are told by some that the paleolithic period (roughly 3 million to 10,000 years ago) was, similarly, a time in which we were “in tune” with nature. According to the paleofantasists, we were selected in the paleolithic environment and it is to the Paleolithic environment that we became most “fit.” After the paleolithic, they say, came the fall (domestication, cities, states, industrialization). Today, they continue, we are “out of tune” and, as a result, we are suffering all kinds of nasty consequences. Or so the story goes. But Marlene Zuk says it just ain't so. In Paleofantasy: What Evolution Really Tells Us about Sex, Diet, and How We Live (W. W. Norton, 2013), she points out that we were always out of tune because evolution makes it impossible to be truly “in tune.” The environment was always changing and we were always changing;the environment is still changing and we are still changing. What is “natural” to us is a kind of moving target. One millenium something seems “natural”; the next millenium not so much. Evolution is a ceaseless and surprisingly rapid process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Hebrews called it “Eden.” The Greeks and Romans called it the “Golden Age.” The philosophes–or Rousseau at least–called it the “State of Nature.” Marx and Engels called it “Primitive Communism.” The underlying notion, however, is the same: there was a time, long ago, when things were much better than they are today because we were then “in tune” with God, nature, or whatever. Thereafter we “fell,” usually due to our own stupidity, and landed in our present corrupted state. Today we are told by some that the paleolithic period (roughly 3 million to 10,000 years ago) was, similarly, a time in which we were “in tune” with nature. According to the paleofantasists, we were selected in the paleolithic environment and it is to the Paleolithic environment that we became most “fit.” After the paleolithic, they say, came the fall (domestication, cities, states, industrialization). Today, they continue, we are “out of tune” and, as a result, we are suffering all kinds of nasty consequences. Or so the story goes. But Marlene Zuk says it just ain’t so. In Paleofantasy: What Evolution Really Tells Us about Sex, Diet, and How We Live (W. W. Norton, 2013), she points out that we were always out of tune because evolution makes it impossible to be truly “in tune.” The environment was always changing and we were always changing;the environment is still changing and we are still changing. What is “natural” to us is a kind of moving target. One millenium something seems “natural”; the next millenium not so much. Evolution is a ceaseless and surprisingly rapid process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Hebrews called it “Eden.” The Greeks and Romans called it the “Golden Age.” The philosophes–or Rousseau at least–called it the “State of Nature.” Marx and Engels called it “Primitive Communism.” The underlying notion, however, is the same: there was a time, long ago, when things were much better than they are today because we were then “in tune” with God, nature, or whatever. Thereafter we “fell,” usually due to our own stupidity, and landed in our present corrupted state. Today we are told by some that the paleolithic period (roughly 3 million to 10,000 years ago) was, similarly, a time in which we were “in tune” with nature. According to the paleofantasists, we were selected in the paleolithic environment and it is to the Paleolithic environment that we became most “fit.” After the paleolithic, they say, came the fall (domestication, cities, states, industrialization). Today, they continue, we are “out of tune” and, as a result, we are suffering all kinds of nasty consequences. Or so the story goes. But Marlene Zuk says it just ain’t so. In Paleofantasy: What Evolution Really Tells Us about Sex, Diet, and How We Live (W. W. Norton, 2013), she points out that we were always out of tune because evolution makes it impossible to be truly “in tune.” The environment was always changing and we were always changing;the environment is still changing and we are still changing. What is “natural” to us is a kind of moving target. One millenium something seems “natural”; the next millenium not so much. Evolution is a ceaseless and surprisingly rapid process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Hebrews called it “Eden.” The Greeks and Romans called it the “Golden Age.” The philosophes–or Rousseau at least–called it the “State of Nature.” Marx and Engels called it “Primitive Communism.” The underlying notion, however, is the same: there was a time, long ago, when things were much better than they are today because we were then “in tune” with God, nature, or whatever. Thereafter we “fell,” usually due to our own stupidity, and landed in our present corrupted state. Today we are told by some that the paleolithic period (roughly 3 million to 10,000 years ago) was, similarly, a time in which we were “in tune” with nature. According to the paleofantasists, we were selected in the paleolithic environment and it is to the Paleolithic environment that we became most “fit.” After the paleolithic, they say, came the fall (domestication, cities, states, industrialization). Today, they continue, we are “out of tune” and, as a result, we are suffering all kinds of nasty consequences. Or so the story goes. But Marlene Zuk says it just ain’t so. In Paleofantasy: What Evolution Really Tells Us about Sex, Diet, and How We Live (W. W. Norton, 2013), she points out that we were always out of tune because evolution makes it impossible to be truly “in tune.” The environment was always changing and we were always changing;the environment is still changing and we are still changing. What is “natural” to us is a kind of moving target. One millenium something seems “natural”; the next millenium not so much. Evolution is a ceaseless and surprisingly rapid process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Hebrews called it “Eden.” The Greeks and Romans called it the “Golden Age.” The philosophes–or Rousseau at least–called it the “State of Nature.” Marx and Engels called it “Primitive Communism.” The underlying notion, however, is the same: there was a time, long ago, when things were much better than... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are constantly compelled to fit what we know, or think we know, about the past into some kind of narrative, which are sometimes wrong. On this episode, Dr. Marlene Zuk discusses her book, Paleofantasies.

Marlene Zuk – author of Paleofantasy, professor of ecology Unless you’ve been living in a cave (best….pun….ever), you are probably well aware of the new fad diet, the paleo diet. The quick and dirty of the diet is you can eat anything that was available to our cave dwelling ancestors. So chow down on all...

Last time we had Marlene Zuk on the show, the subject was parasites. This time, it's insects, what they do or don't have in common with human beings, and how we go wrong when we anthropomorphize too much.

Love them or hate them, something is going on with male crickets on the island of Kauai. Once evenings filled with a chorus of these tiny singers has become strangely silent. Dr. Biology talks with biologist Marlene Zuk about how things are changing fast – maybe the fastest observed evolutionary change in an animal in the wild.

Evolutionary biologist and parasite maven Marlene Zuk. Plus, parasite music with singer Daniel Kahn.