What led humans on the unique path of cultural development? And can we do anything useful with newly reconstructed histories of this process?
Do Other Animals Have Consciousness? Science Could Force Us to Rethink Our Relationships With Them
The broad consensus is that many species are sentient.
How the Psychology of Oppression Perpetuates Harm to Animals and the Environment
To achieve justice for all species and the environment, we must create a more relational world.
Robert Sapolsky: Are We Better off Accepting That There’s No Free Will?
Interviewing the neuroscientist and primate behavior expert on a question that could radically change our understanding of reality.
The Role of Ancient DNA in Modern Traits
Ancient human retrovirus DNA could be one of the markers of susceptibility to mental illness—specifically schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder, a new study suggests.
The Mystery of the Missing Apes Who Came Before Humans
The fossil record of our ape ancestors in Africa is almost nonexistent for a period of about 8 or 9 million years.
Finding the Roots of Religion in Human Prehistory
In a world so profoundly transformed by science and technology, it seems reasonable to ask: Why do religions still exist?
Roman Oligarchs Avoided Tax Liability and Restrictions on Land Size
The oligarchic tradition of land-grabbing and tax dodging goes back centuries.
How Prehistoric Humans Discovered Fire Making
Of all the pivotal technologies discovered by humans, fire making was the one that gifted our species with power beyond all others.
Learning From History, if We Dare
Sorry, there was a YouTube error. By Gary M. Feinman The New Gilded Age, wars along the Russian border, a global pandemic, battles for women’s rights, even the Titanic: history does rhyme with the present. Yet as former New York Times columnist Bob Herbert once observed: “If history tells us anything, it’s that we never learn […]