Evolutionary Psychology (the podcast)
Episodes
Revenge and Forgiveness with Mike McCullough
21 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Revenge, forgiveness, morality. Join us and our guest Mike McCullough (UC San Diego) as we navigate the deep cost/benefit structure of the social worl...
Causality with Tadeg Quillien
14 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Causality is....well...causality...it's hard to explain. And that's exactly what Tadeg Quillien (Edinburgh) does: figure out what the heck causality i...
Founding Evolutionary Psychology with Leda Cosmides
07 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
A guest who needs no introduction. Leda Cosmides (UCSB) talks about how she and John Tooby co-founded the enterprise "evolutionary psychology"---inclu...
The Origins of evolutionary psychology with Martin Daly
31 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Along with Margo Wilson, Martin Daly (McMaster) is one the founding pioneers of evolutionary psychology. In this episode, we get Martin's take on the ...
Music and Acoustics with Greg Byrant
24 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What's up with music? Why do vibrating strings tug on our emotions? And why can't most animals keep a beat? In this episode, we talk to Greg Bryant (U...
Stress with Jenn Byrd-Craven
17 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What is stress? Is it useful? What is the endocrine system? Why do we need it (and why isn't a brain enough)? In this episode, we talk to Jenn Byrd-Cr...
Cultural Evolution with Rob Boyd
10 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Along with Pete Richerson, Rob Boyd (ASU) is one of *the* founders of cultural evolution, and one of the key figures in connecting human behavior with...
Amy Boddy
03 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Status and Personality with Patrick Durkee
24 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What is status? What is inspiration? What is personality? It all sounds simple and obvious, but in this episode with Patrick Durkee (CSU Fresno), we m...
The Microbiome with Katrine Whiteson
17 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we talk with Katrine Whiteson (UC Irvine) about her amazing work studying the human microbiome. We cannot stress enough how much we l...
Views of Mind with Clark Barrett
10 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we talk to Clark Barrett (UCLA) about all the ways we understand the mind, and all the ways that that understanding may be weirder an...
The Behavioral Immune System with Josh Tybur
03 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
It stinks to be sick. Our guest, Josh Tybur (VU Amsterdam), is the one of the foremost experts on how our brain--or better yet, our "behavioral immune...
Selection with Paul Smaldino
27 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Intentions be damned! Whats matter is selection! In this episode, Paul Smaldino (UC Merced) takes us on a tour of his work on social signals, social i...
Consciousness with Michael Graziano
20 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Consciousness: is it really that hard of a problem? In this episode, we talk to our favorite mechanistically-minded (and possibly clearest) thinker ab...
Peace with Luke Glowacki
13 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The evolution of war has occupied science. But what about the evolution of peace? In this episode, we talk to Luke Glowacki about his framing of peace...
Free Will with David Pietraszewski
06 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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 rece...
Moralizing Self-Control with Léo Fetuchi
30 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 t...
Evolutionary Social Sciences with Dan Nettle
23 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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? ...
Culture, Killing, and PTSD with Sarah Matthew
16 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How do evolutionary behavioral scientists think about the interplay between our psychology and culture? What causes some cultural norms to persist and...
Reasoning and Epistemic Vigilance with Hugo Mercier
09 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 al...
Love and Regret with Cari Goetz
02 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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) abo...
Exploitation with Hannes Rusch
25 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Polygamy with Brooke Scelza
18 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 o...
Leadership with Zach Garfield
11 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Are mothers the evolutionary crucible of leadership psychology? And is leadership more misunderstood and cryptic than we might think? In this episode,...
Cultural Dynamics with Bret Beheim
04 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What is cultural diffusion, why do need models of cultural change and distance, and what is on Bret's whiteboard? In this episode, we do a deep on how...
Inter-group Relations with Anne Pisor
28 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Are group boundaries solid, impermeable, and red in tooth-and-claw? Is animosity between groups inevitable? In this episode, we talk to Anne Pisor ( P...
Shame, Pride, and Guilt with Daniel Sznycer
21 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why do we feel shame? Is it a useless emotion? Our guest, Daniel Sznycer (Oklahoma State) has been studying "self-conscious" emotions from a functiona...
Evolutionary Psychology and the Law with Keelah Williams
14 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Motive? Intent? Case closed! In this episode, Keelah Williams (JD, PhD, Hamilton) runs us through our bar exam prelims, explaining how our evolved psy...
Horror and Morbid Curiosity with Coltan Scrivner
07 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Grab some candy (or brains): Halloween is here! This week, we talk to Coltan Scrivner about why we can't look away from the macabre, what exactly the ...
Cooperative breeding with Karen Kramer
30 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How are humans able to sustain large families? What is our "true" reproductive strategy as a species? Are kids designed to raise younger children? And...
Belief with Dan Williams
23 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why do we believe what we believe? And our we aware of why we believe what we believe? And what is a belief anyway? And what should we think of people...
The Evolution of Human Longevity with Mike Gurven
16 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Did we evolve to live long lives? Is heart disease a human universal? In this episode, we talk to Mike Gurven (UCSB), who has run a number of large-sc...
Language and Communication with Thom Scott-Phillips
09 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
The Evolutionary Psychology of Humor
02 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Humor is one of the great puzzles of evolutionary psychology. Co-host David Pinsof (UCLA) presents the coordinating “mix-up” hypothesis of humor, ...
Plants, Infants, and the Evolution of Social Learning with Annie Wertz
26 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Plants are mini chemical weapon factories! Learning and evolution are not opposed! This week, Annie Wertz (UCSB) joins us to describe her groundbreaki...
Cooperation with Pat Barclay
19 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 excepti...
Drugs, Delusions, and Depression with Ed Hagen
12 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Conspiracy Theories and Group Boundaries with Cristina Moya
05 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Guest Cristina Moya (UC Davis) is one of our favorite evolutionary behavioral scientists. In this episode, we discuss her work in Peru on ethnolinguis...
Thoughtful Warriors with Brenda Bowser
29 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Guest Brenda Bowser (CalState Fullerton) recounts a life spent studying conflict and politics in Canambo, in the Ecuadorian Amazon, with her late husb...
Egalitarianism in the Amazon with Chris Von Rueden
22 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Egalitarianism is not what you think it is! Guest Chris Von Rueden (URichmond) has wrapped his head around what egalitarianism is and shares his insig...
Disgust, Morality, and Kinship with Deb Lieberman
15 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why do we appeal to disgust when we moralize, and why do we moralize what we find disgusting? Guest Deb Lieberman (UMiami) explains why our human prop...
Terrorism, Drag Queens, and International Humanitarian Law with Michael Moncrieff
08 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
From offering the UN insights into the psychology of terrorists to interviewing victims of war-torn Croatia, guest Michael Moncrieff has seen a lot of...
Bonus: Dave & David (and guest Pat Barclay) Read Some Reviews
03 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dave and David read a review of the podcast, and future guest Pat Barclay (Guelph) joins them for a second reading. Topics include why it may be good ...
Examples of Good Evolutionary Psychology
01 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dave and David move beyond the controversies to explain—and give examples of—evolutionary psychology done well. Topics covered include the science...
Childhood in the Congo Basin with Sheina Lew-Levy
24 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Helicopter parenting is not a human universal! Guest Sheina Lew-Levy (Durham) explains what drew her to studying childhood among BaYaka foragers in th...
Friendship with Jaimie Krems
17 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why is the study of friendship so lonely, and what makes Philadelphia Philly? Guest Jaimie Krems (UCLA) explains why friendship is a blindspot in scie...
Mating with Daniel Conroy-Beam
10 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Guest Daniel Conroy-Beam (UCSB) explains why human mating has occupied the interest of evolutionary psychologists, what consequences this has had on s...
Controversies in Evolutionary Psychology
03 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dave and David plunge (or dip a toe) into the controversies surrounding evolutionary psychology and try to make a good-faith effort, while not sufferi...
Basement Cults
27 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Co-host Dave Pietraszewski explains how he learned to love evolutionary psychology despite hating it at first, why attending basement cults as a child...
Is Evolutionary Psychology Bulls**t?
20 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Co-host David Pinsof explains how he discovered evolutionary psychology, why it might not be bulls**t, and why we hate status-seekers (most of the tim...