AnthroBiology Podcast

Dr. Clark Spencer Larsen of Ohio State joins the show to discuss his history in the field, bioarchaeology, and how we can use biological anthropology to understand human health in the past.  Links mentioned in the show: Dr. Larsen's faculty page The past 12,000 years of behavior, adaptation, population and evolution shaped who we are today (2023 PNAS article - opens as a website) Paleosyndemics: A...

Dr. Daniel Benyshek of UNLV joins the show to discuss plancentophagy. Check out his lab page for more info on placentophagy. Note: There is a special addition at the end of this episode. Find links to articles, books, and pics at AnthroBiology.com . Find the show on Instagram and Twitter @AnthroBiology. Email the host at gaby.lapera@anthrobiology.com.

Dr. Jeremy DeSilva of Dartmouth joins the show to discuss bipedalism -- why anthropologists are obsessed with it and how it might have come to be.  Find links to articles, books, and pics at  AnthroBiology.com . Find the show on Instagram and Twitter @AnthroBiology. Email the host at gaby.lapera@anthrobiology.com.

Rhianna Drummond-Clarke, PhD candidate at the Max Planck Institute (Dept. of Human Origins), joins the show to discuss her most recent article examining how environments affect chimp locomotion. She also chat about her time in the field. See her article here: https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/sciadv.add9752   Find links to articles, books, and pics at  AnthroBiology.com . Find the show on In...

Dr. Kirsty Graham from the University of St. Andrews discusses how bonobos use gestures to communicate, which winds into a chat about what that means for ape communication generally -- especially humans. They also have some insights into field research. Check out the article about humans understanding nonhuman ape gestures here: https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio...

Dr. James Cole from the University of Brighton joins the show to talk about how studying stone tools can reveal insights about the evolution of cognition in humans. Along the way, we touch on brain size, theory of mind, and social groups. Find links to articles, books, and pics at  AnthroBiology.com . Find the show on Instagram and Twitter @AnthroBiology. Email the host at gaby.lapera@anthrobiolog...

Rick Coste, host of the  Evolution Talk podcast, talks about his new book ( Evolution Talk ) and how he became interested in science. Find links to articles, books, and pics at AnthroBiology.com . Find the show on Instagram and Twitter @AnthroBiology.

Dr. Agustin Fuentes of Princeton and Dr. Barbara King joined the show to discuss the scientific community's responsibility for animals used in research. Should it be done? Is it possible to carry out ethical research involving animals?  Want to learn more? Read the article the episode is based on: "Towards an Anti-Maleficent Research Agenda" Find links to articles, books, and pics at  AnthroBiolog...

Dr. Christian Crowder from the Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office joins the show to talk about his experiences in forensic anthropology, using histology for forensic cases, and how anthropologists are a crucial component of the response team for mass fatality events. Dr. Crowder also talks about his work on the editorial boards of peer-reviewed publications like the  Journal of Forensic Anthr...

Dr. John Lindo of Emory talks about ancient DNA -- how it works, what you can understand from it, and why it's important. He explains how he's using ancient DNA to understand the biological diversity of pre-contact indigenous groups in the Americas. Find links to articles, books, and pics at  AnthroBiology.com . Find the show on Instagram and Twitter @AnthroBiology. Email the host at gaby.lapera@a...

Dr. Nicole Iturriaga of UC - Irvine joined the show to talk about her book: Exhuming Violent Histories: Forensics, Memory, and Rewriting Spain's Past .  In this episode, we discuss the history of the Spanish Civil War, how forensics can help change perceptions and heal communities, and how the general public perceives forensic anthropology. Find links to articles, books, and pics at  AnthroBiology...

Dr. Julia Boughner of the University of Saskatchewan talks about the evolution of human teeth. Why do adults have ~32 teeth? Are our jaws shrinking? What's the deal with wisdom teeth? Does modern dentistry change our evolutionary path? Find links to articles, books, and pics at  AnthroBiology.com . Find the show on Instagram and Twitter @AnthroBiology. Email the host at gaby.lapera@anthrobiology.c...

Ms. Selina Carlhoff, PhD candidate at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, talks about the basics of DNA, what you should know about ancient DNA, and some of the ethical complexities that come with studying prehistoric populations. She also fills us in on her article in  Nature , "Genome of a middle Holocene hunter-gatherer from Wallacea. " Find links to articles, books, and pic...

Dr. David Braun of George Washington University's Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology in the Anthropology Department chats about the cycles of tool use and niche construction. We talk about how one affects the other and vice versa in cycles, plus the interplay of greater environmental and climate change. Dr. Braun also discusses  how  we can look into the near and deep past to figu...

Dr. Jonathan Marks of the University of North Carolina - Charlotte joins the show to talk about his book,  Why Are There Still Creationists? Human Evolution and the Ancestors. We chat about one of the toughest conversations everyone who deals with evolution faces: Speaking with creationists. In the episode, Marks talks about theology and the surprising history between scientists and creationists....

Dr. Bill Schutt, zoologist and author, joins the show to talk about his latest book,  Pump: A Natural History of the Heart . We chat about the evolution of hearts, how people learned about how hearts work, and science writing.  Check out his book here. Find links to articles, books, and pics at  AnthroBiology.com . Find the show on Instagram and Twitter @AnthroBiology.

Dr. Robert Anemone of the University of North Carolina - Greensboro joins the show to talk about how advances in geospatial tech can help paleoanthropologists find productive sites, along with how he's used it in his real life field work in the Great Divide Basin of Wyoming. Helpful background: Fossil GPS, Scientific American, May 2014, Anemone & Emerson Dr. Anemone's webpage Find links to article...

Dr. Sarah Kindschuh of the DPAA discusses what it's like to work for federal government to recover and identify members of the U.S. armed services. We also chatted about advice for undergraduates interested in pursuing work as anthropologists. Find links to articles, books, and pics at AnthroBiology.com . Find the show on Instagram and Twitter @AnthroBiology.

Dr. Christopher D. Lynn of the University of Alabama joins the show to talk about tattoos and what they can tell us about immune function, health signaling, and cultural meanings. Plus, we talk about sci comm! Find links to articles, books, and pics at AnthroBiology.com . Find the show on Instagram and Twitter @AnthroBiology. Check out Dr. Lynn's website here: https://cdlynn.people.ua.edu/  

Stine Carlsson is a PhD candidate at Queens University Belfast in Northern Ireland. We discuss strategies for finding a good grad program, dealing with toxic academic environments, choosing a path, and skeletal stress indicators.  Find links to articles, books, and pics at AnthroBiology.com. Find the show on Instagram and Twitter @AnthroBiology.

Dr. Robert Mann of the University of Hawaii talks about his winding path in biological anthropology. Find links to articles, books, and pics at AnthroBiology.com . Find the show on Instagram and Twitter @AnthroBiology.

Dr. DiGangi from SUNY-Binghamton and Dr. Bethard from the University of South Florida joined the show to discuss their position papers on the use of ancestry in forensic sciences and in the justice system. Find links to articles, books, and pics at  AnthroBiology.com . Find the show on Instagram and Twitter @AnthroBiology.

Dr. Tara Cepon-Robins of the University of Colorado - Colorado Springs joined me to talk about worms. She talks about humans' evolutionary arms race with parasites, measuring disgust, and her work among the Shuar people and in the rural southern United States. Check out Dr. Cepon-Robins' site . Find links to articles, books, and pics at AnthroBiology.com . Find the show on Instagram and Twitter @A...

Dr. Herman Pontzer of Duke is on the show this week to talk about human metabolism and his new book, Burn . He helps answer questions like: How much energy can a person burn in one day? Does exercise help you lose weight? Do people with different subsistence strategies have different metabolisms? We also talk about his work with the Hadza. Find links to articles, books, and pics at AnthroBiology.c...

Dr. Cara Ocobock of Notre Dame joins the show to discuss human energetics in high-latitude populations, and the potential downstream health consequences of a changing environment. (Learn why reindeer herders are rad!) She also shares insights on science communication and how we can do it better. (Learn how to talk to your science-averse relatives today!) If you want to find out more, visit Dr. Oco...