In this episode, we’re joined by award-winning science journalist Angela Saini to discuss her bold and timely book: The Patriarchs: How Men Came to Rule. In this interview with historian Marianne Klerk, Saini traces the deep and complex roots of patriarchy — from the world’s earliest known human settlements to modern-day societies. Drawing on cutting-edge research in archaeology, history, and science, she challenges the myth that male dominance is natural or inevitable, revealing it instead as a fragile construct that has been built, contested, and reshaped throughout history. Together, we explore how gendered inequality became entrenched across cultures, how it continues to shape our present, and why rethinking old narratives is crucial to imagining a more equal future.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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