On Humans

Nov 02 2024 67 ep. 52 mins 149
On Humans Podcast artwork

Where do we come from? What brings us together? Why do we love? Why do we destroy? On Humans features conversations with leading scholars about human nature, human condition, and the human journey. From the origins of war to the psychology of love, each topic brings fresh insights into perennial questions about our self-understanding. Support: Patreon.com/OnHumans Articles: OnHumans.Substack.com Focus areas: Anthropology, Psychology, Archaeology, Philosophy, Big History

  Science
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48 | Is War Natural After All? ~ Luke Glowacki

Nov 02 2024 66 mins  
Our ancestors did not wage war. Warfare emerged only when humans started settling down and storing food. Indeed, some modern hunter-gatherers still enjoy the peaceful existence that once was the natural state of our species. Or so argued Douglas P. Fry, my guest in episode 8. I found many of his arguments convincing. For example, ancient cave art is surprisingly void of depictions

Nobel-Prize Special | Daron Acemoglu on Why We Should Celebrate Humanity

Oct 18 2024 20 mins  
Daron Acemoglu has been awarded the 2024 Nobel-prize for Economic Science. This is a great testament to his impressive career. But the award was given for his early work on global inequality, together with Johnson and Robinson. The Swedish Riksbank did not pay attention to his new work on inequality within rich countries. Should we? And is his new theory even consistent with the ol

47 | This Might Be The Nicest Thing About Human Nature ~ Lara Aknin

Oct 01 2024 55 mins  
You are given 20 dollars in cash. You can use it as you wish, but with one condition: you have to use it to treat yourself. Now imagine getting another 20 dollars next week. This time, the rules have changed: you must use the money to treat someone else. Which do you think will make you feel better? Contrary to many people's predictions, we tend to feel much better after spending

46 | What About China? Part III: A Brief History of China’s Future ~ Yasheng Huang

Sep 21 2024 30 mins  
Where is China today? Will its rise continue to benefit the vast majority of its population? Or is Xi Jinping's increasingly repressive government committing one of the biggest blunders of modern history? This is the final episode in the China-trilogy, the product of hours of conversations I've had with ChinaTalk's Jordan Schneider and MIT professor Yasheng Huang. In part 1, we d

45 | What About China? Part II: Explaining the Chinese Miracle ~ Yasheng Huang

Sep 19 2024 65 mins  
China's rise has shook the world. It has changed the lives of over a billion people in China. It has flooded humanity with cheap goods, from single-use toys to high-tech solar panels. And it has changed the logic of war and peace in the 21st Century. But how to explain China's dramatic rise? Was it due to the wisdom of China's leaders after Mao? Or was it all about foreign investor

44 | What About China? Part I: The Deep Currents of Chinese History ~ Yasheng Huang

Sep 02 2024 72 mins  
The West has ruled history — at least the way history has been written. This is a shame. To tell the story of humans, we must tell the story of us all. So what about the rest? What themes and quirks does their history hide? And what forces, if anything, prevented them of matching Europe’s rise? I aim to cover these topics for several countries and cultures over the next year.

43 | Does It Matter Who Brings In The Meat? ~ Katie Starkweather

Aug 01 2024 48 mins  
How do hunter-gatherers live? Do they wage war? Are they egalitarian? Do they really work for less? These are fascinating questions. I’ve tried my best at covering them on the show. (You can see a list of episodes below). But since 2023, the most controversial question has been on the role of women. Is it true that men hunt and women gather? Or is this theory, nicknamed “Man t

42 | Why Agriculture? Climate Change and the Origins of Farming ~ Andrea Matranga

Jul 15 2024 58 mins  
Agriculture changed everything. Traditionally, this “Neolithic Revolution” was celebrated for opening the gates of civilisation. Recently, it has been compared to the original sin. But whatever our take on agriculture, we should be puzzled by one thing: Why did our ancestors start to farm in the first place? It's not like early farmers had improved lives. Quite the opposit

41 | What Can Moral Dilemmas Tell Us About Ourselves? ~ Peter Railton

Jun 30 2024 71 mins  
You are driving a car. The brakes stop working. To your horror, you are approaching a busy street market. Many people might be killed if you run into them. The only way to prevent a catastrophe is by turning fast to the right. Unfortunately, a lonely pedestrian might be killed if you do so. Should you turn? Many people say you should. After all, killing one is better than killing

The Birth of Modern Prosperity, Part IV: Grasping Towards Equality (with Branko Milanovic)    

Jun 18 2024 36 mins  
The Industrial Revolution played in the hands of the rich. A century after James Watt revealed his steam engine in 1776, the richest 1% owned a whopping 70% of British wealth. Then things changed. Across rich countries, inequality plummeted for decades. Join Branko Milanovic on this quest to understand the evolution of inequality during the building of modern prosperity. Our conve