Humans rely on each other. Mothers, in particular, need help raising children. In this episode we discuss Professor Alessandra Cassar's work seeking to understand how maternal depression relates to gaining social support. We also touch on where evolutionary perspectives may be useful in structuring society more widely. Alessandra Cassar is a professor of economics at the University of San Francisco. Through laboratory and field experiments across the world, her studies focus on the contributions of evolutionary processes to shaping human behavior. Her current research concentrates on the under-studied areas of female competitiveness; the consequences of conflict and disaster victimization for altruism, trust, religiosity, risk, and time preferences; and the role of social networks for economic outcomes.

Why have humans evolved tendencies for substance addiction? In this episode, Adam and Tom discuss the evolutionary explanations for these vulnerabilities. The discussion is based on their paper "Evolutionary perspectives on substance and behavioural addictions: Distinct and shared pathways to understanding, prediction and prevention". Dr Tom Carpenter is a resident doctor in Psychiatry based in NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde and an Honorary Clinical Lecturer at the University of Glasgow. He is also a member of the executive committee of the Evolutionary Psychiatry Special Interest Group of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh after initially studying Human Sciences at the University of Oxford, completing a Master’s degree in research in Animal Behaviour at Newcastle University, and having a brief career in marketing. He has worked in a specialist addictions service in Glasgow and currently works in an early intervention in psychosis service. He has current research and engagement projects around the usefulness and impact of evolutionary psychoeducation for mental health clinicians.

Jerome Wakefield is a professor of social work in the Silver School of Social Work at New York University. Much of his work is in the history and philosophy of psychiatry. He is renowned in evolutionary psychiatry for his "harmful dysfunction" analysis of mental illness.

We discuss our evolved human nature and how we can designate 'disorder' given our understanding of biological design, the pathologisation of normal sadness as depression, and the worth of evolutionary psychiatry to society.

You can follow Adam Hunt on X/Twitter @RealAdamHunt

Tom Carpenter is a trainee psychiatrist in the West of Scotland. He is the trainee representative on the executive committee of the Evolutionary Psychiatry Special Interest Group of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

In this episode, we discuss Tom's intellectual history, the place of psychiatry in society and how we judge people, and how evolutionary thinking may affect psychiatry going forward.

You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter/X at @RealAdamHunt

Gurjot Brar is a trainee psychiatrist in Ireland. He runs the 'Evolution and Psychiatry' substack, a monthly collaborative 'journal' dedicated to discussing and exploring how evolutionary science can inform our understanding of psychiatry.

In this episode we discuss how Gurjot got introduced to evolutionary psychiatry and the major points he finds exciting about the field.

You can follow him on Twitter/X at @gurjotbrarmd

You can follow Adam on Twitter/X at @RealAdamHunt

Professor Henry O’Connell is a Consultant Psychiatrist working in Portlaoise, Ireland and Associate Clinical Professor with the School of Medicine at the University of Limerick. A graduate of Trinity College Dublin in 1997, he obtained his Membership of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in 2001. He holds Masters and doctorate level postgraduate qualifications in medical education and delirium research. In this episode, we discuss Henry's experience as a medical educator, the most important principles and takeaways of evolutionary psychiatry, and its clinical relevance. You can follow Henry on Twitter/X at @henrypoconnell You can follow Adam on Twitter/X at @realadamhunt

Kristen Syme is an Assistant Professor of Suicide and Suicide Prevention at Leiden University. She is an evolutionary anthropologist who works on understanding suicidal and self harm behavior from an evolutionary perspective, and works with the Chon Chuuk of Micronesia and the USA. In this episode Kristen and Adam discuss cases of adolescent-parent conflict, the outcomes and evolutionary models which help us understand such conflicts. You can follow Kristen on Twitter @KristenSyme You can follow Adam on Twitter @RealAdamHunt

Kristen Syme is an Assistant Professor of Suicide and Suicide Prevention at Leiden University. She is an evolutionary anthropologist who works on understanding suicidal and self harm behavior from an evolutionary perspective, and works with the Chon Chuuk of Micronesia and the USA.

In this episode Kristen and Adam discuss the bargaining model of suicidal behavior and depression, especially regarding adolescent-parent conflict.

You can follow Kristen on Twitter @KristenSyme

You can follow Adam on Twitter @RealAdamHunt

Season 2 of the Evolving Psychiatry Podcast begins with a brief comment on what's to come in the season, as Adam interviews psychiatrists and researchers who work in evolutionary psychiatry. Adam then discuss a fundamental theoretical advantage of evolutionary psychiatry and medicine, which is its ability to define health and disorder objectively.

Adam Hunt is a PhD student researching evolutionary psychiatry in the Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich. You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter @RealAdamHunt

Alfonso Troisi discusses how an evolutionary perspective should inform our measurement of clinical outcomes, the potential of evolutionary thinking to advance care, and his experience treating patients as an evolutionary psychiatrist. 

This episode is based on a chapter titled 'Evolutionary Thinking and Clinical Care of Psychiatric Patients', authored by Alfonso Troisi. It is chapter 20 in the book 'Evolutionary Psychiatry: Current Perspectives on Evolution and Mental Health', published by Cambridge University Press.

The book is available for purchase here via CUP or on Amazon.

You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter @RealAdamHunt

Adam Hunt considers how evolutionary thinking helps us understand criminal behaviour, circumstances leading to crime, blameworthiness and the chance to improve social outcomes. 

This episode is based on a chapter titled 'What the Evolutionary and Cognitive Sciences Offer the Sciences of Crime and Justice' authored by Brian B. Boutwell, Megan Suprenant and Todd K. Shackelford. It is chapter 19 in the book 'Evolutionary Psychiatry: Current Perspectives on Evolution and Mental Health", published by Cambridge University Press.

The book is available for purchase here via CUP or on Amazon.

You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter @RealAdamHunt

Martin Brüne talks through the paradox of why schizophrenia persists, how his view on its persistence has changed over the decades, and how an evolutionary approach informs us regarding treatment and prevention.

This episode is based on a chapter titled 'Evolutionary Perspectives on Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders' authored by Martin Brüne. It is chapter 10 in the book 'Evolutionary Psychiatry: Current Perspectives on Evolution and Mental Health', published by Cambridge University Press.

The book is available for purchase here via CUP or on Amazon.

You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter @RealAdamHunt

Social media, video games, gambling... why are some activities so rewarding that we become addicted? In this episode, we discuss the reason humans are susceptible to 'behavioural addictions', referencing our shared paper 'Evolutionary perspectives on substance and behavioural addictions: Distinct and shared pathways to understanding, prediction and prevention'. Dr. Giuseppe Pierpaolo Merola is an Italian psychiatrist and researcher currently practicing at San Donato Arezzo Hospital and serving as a Visiting Researcher at King's College London. His work focuses on genetics and evolutionary psychiatry. He is the author of the popular science book "Il paradosso della schizofrenia" and multiple scientific papers.

Paul St-John Smith gives an evolutionary psychiatrist's perspective on using pharmaceuticals in treatment, thinks about the limits of rating scales and the usefulness of animal models, and how evolution adds necessary depth to the task of healing in psychiatry. 

This episode is based on a chapter titled 'Psychopharmacology and Evolution', authored by Paul St John-Smith, Riadh Abed and Martin Brüne. It is chapter 18 in the book 'Evolutionary Psychiatry: Current Perspectives on Evolution and Mental Health", published by Cambridge University Press.

The book is available for purchase here via CUP or on Amazon.

You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter @RealAdamHunt

Molly Fox gives an insight into why evolution has left us vulnerable to Alzheimer's, what odd aspects of modern life may lead to increased rates of Alzheimer's, and how female reproductive health are a particularly important consideration. 

This episode is based on a chapter titled 'Alzheimer’s Disease as a Disease of Evolutionary Mismatch, with a Focus on Reproductive Life History' authored by Molly Fox. It is chapter 17 in the book 'Evolutionary Psychiatry: Current Perspectives on Evolution and Mental Health', published by Cambridge University Press.

The book is available for purchase here via CUP or on Amazon.

You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter @RealAdamHunt

Daniela Sieff talks about the difficulties and differences of rearing children in hunter gatherer societies and how child maltreatment can follow. She considers what this means for understanding, prevention and social intervention in the modern world. 

This episode is based on a chapter titled 'Maternal Negativity and Child Maltreatment: How Evolutionary Perspectives Contribute to a Layered and Compassionate Understanding' by Daniela Sieff. It is chapter 16 in the book 'Evolutionary Psychiatry: Current Perspectives on Evolution and Mental Health", published by Cambridge University Press.

The book is available for purchase here via CUP or on Amazon.

You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter @RealAdamHunt

Annie Swanepoel discusses why ADHD and autism may be unusually problematic in the modern world, the evolutionary reasons for them, and how an evolutionary perspective has affected her treatment of children and families with these conditions. 

This episode is based on a chapter titled 'Evolutionary Perspectives on Neurodevelopmental Disorders', authored by Annie Swanepoel, Michael J. Reiss, John Launer, Graham Music and Bernadette Wren. It is chapter 15 in the book 'Evolutionary Psychiatry: Current Perspectives on Evolution and Mental Health", published by Cambridge University Press.

The book is available for purchase here via CUP or on Amazon.

You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter @RealAdamHunt

Annie Swanepoel discusses trauma and its effects through an evolutionary lens: when trauma is a useful signal, why it is exasperated in certain modern situations and what this means for understanding, treating and preventing trauma.  

This episode is based on a chapter titled 'Evolutionary Perspectives on Childhood Trauma', authored by Annie Swanepoel, Michael J. Reiss, John Launer, Graham Music and Bernadette Wren. It is chapter 14 in the book 'Evolutionary Psychiatry: Current Perspectives on Evolution and Mental Health", published by Cambridge University Press.

The book is available for purchase here via CUP or on Amazon.

You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter @RealAdamHunt

Robin Dunbar discusses alcohol, its history with humans and primates, why it's so useful for bonding, and how novel circumstances have pushed it into being a drug of abuse. 

This episode is based on a chapter titled 'The Social Function of Alcohol from an Evolutionary Perspective', authored by Robin Dunbar. It is chapter 13 in the book 'Evolutionary Psychiatry: Current Perspectives on Evolution and Mental Health", published by Cambridge University Press.

The book is available for purchase here via CUP or on Amazon.

You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter @RealAdamHunt

Paul St-John Smith talks about substance abuse, the propensity for humans to seek out substances, and how an evolutionary perspective can help us understand substance use and abuse.  

This episode is based on a chapter titled 'Substance Abuse and Evolution' by Paul St John-Smith and Riadh Abed. It is chapter 11 in the book 'Evolutionary Psychiatry: Current Perspectives on Evolution and Mental Health", published by Cambridge University Press.

The book is available for purchase here via CUP or on Amazon.

You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter @RealAdamHunt

Riadh Abed discusses eating disorders, the various evolutionary pressures which may lie behind tendencies towards them, and mismatches in modern environments which encourage them.

This episode is based on a chapter titled 'Evolutionary Perspectives on Eating Disorders', authored by Riadh Abed and Agnes Ayton. It is chapter 11 in the book 'Evolutionary Psychiatry: Current Perspectives on Evolution and Mental Health", published by Cambridge University Press.

The book is available for purchase here via CUP or on Amazon.

You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter @RealAdamHunt or Riadh Abed @RiadhAbed1

Matthew Large tackles the difficulty of predicting suicide, the reasons evolution couldn't solve the problem of suicide, and what this means in psychiatric practice.

This episode is based on a chapter titled 'On the Randomness of Suicide: An Evolutionary, Clinical Call to Transcend Suicide Risk Assessment', authored by Cas Soper, Pablo Ocejo and Matthew Large. It is chapter 9 in the book 'Evolutionary Psychiatry: Current Perspectives on Evolution and Mental Health", published by Cambridge University Press.

The book is available for purchase here via CUP or on Amazon.

You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter @RealAdamHunt

Severi Luoto considers depression, its various forms and causes, and how we can subtype and understand them from an evolutionary perspective. He finishes on future connotations for prevention and treatment.

This episode is based on a chapter titled 'Evolutionary Perspectives on Depression' authored by Markus J. Rantala and Severi Luoto. It is chapter 8 in the book 'Evolutionary Psychiatry: Current Perspectives on Evolution and Mental Health", published by Cambridge University Press.

The book is available for purchase here via CUP or on Amazon.

You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter @RealAdamHunt and Severi Luoto @SeveriLuoto

Depression is often linked to adversity: why would it reliably appear in such conditions? Ed Hagen has spent over forty years wondering about this question, and is one of the world's foremost researchers on evolutionary approaches to depression. We discuss depression in this interview. Ed Hagen is a Pofessor of Evolutionary Anthropology at Washington State University. Professor Hagen began his academic career with a BA in mathematics from UC Berkeley and initially worked in an organic polymer lab before discovering his passion for anthropology. This led him to pursue a Ph.D. in anthropology at UC Santa Barbara, where he graduated in 1999. Following his doctoral studies, he joined Peter Hammerstein’s group at the Institute for Theoretical Biology at Humboldt University in Berlin. Since 2007, Dr. Hagen has been a faculty member at Washington State University, where he directs the Bioanthropology Lab. Dr. Hagen’s research explores evolutionary medicine, particularly focusing on non-infectious diseases—a field where traditional medicine has seen limited breakthroughs. His studies encompass various aspects of mental health, examining conditions like depression, suicide, and self-harm through the lens of evolutionary signaling strategies. He has also explored the complex dynamics of tobacco use and human interactions with plant secondary compounds, child growth and development (stemming from his research on postpartum depression), and more recently, evolutionary models of leadership and knowledge specialization. To connect with Dr. Hagen’s ongoing work, check out his blog at grasshoppermouse.github.io or follow him on Twitter at @ed_hagen and on Mastodon at @edhagen@fediscience.org.

Randolph Nesse's second interview covers anxiety of all kinds; why are humans so vulnerable to it, where it is helpful and harmful, and his experience treating patients with anxiety whilst informed by an evolutionary perspective.  

This episode is based on a chapter titled 'Anxiety Disorders in Evolutionary Perspective', authored by Randolph Nesse. It is chapter 7 in the book 'Evolutionary Psychiatry: Current Perspectives on Evolution and Mental Health", published by Cambridge University Press. 

The video form of this episode is available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Y98HdH2zsBA

The book is available for purchase here:  

via Cambridge University Press: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/evolutionary-psychiatry/2A1862AA7A2D78F946A34475D98425EB 

via Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Evolutionary-Psychiatry-Current-Perspectives-Evolution/dp/1316516563/ 

You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter @RealAdamHunt and Randolph Nesse @RandyNesse

Randolph Nesse considers why humans are so vulnerable to mental disorders of all kinds. Evolution hasn't shaped us to be happy, or healthy, and there are all sorts of reasons why our minds veer into the states we call disorder. He also notes the usefulness of this perspective for clinicians and patients.

This episode is based on a chapter titled 'Why Do Mental Disorders Persist? Evolutionary Foundations for Psychiatry', authored by Randolph Nesse. It is chapter 6 in the book 'Evolutionary Psychiatry: Current Perspectives on Evolution and Mental Health", published by Cambridge University Press.

The book is available for purchase here via CUP or on Amazon.

You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter @RealAdamHunt and Randolph Nesse @RandyNesse

Nikhil Chaudhary talks about hunter-gatherer life and aspects of ancestral and modern human societies which may differ and lead to mental disorder; and what lessons we may take away for prevention and intervention.

This episode is based on a chapter titled 'Hunter Gatherers, Mismatch and Mental Disorder', authored by Nikhil Chaudhary and Deniz Gul Salali. It is chapter 5 in the book 'Evolutionary Psychiatry: Current Perspectives on Evolution and Mental Health", published by Cambridge University Press.

The book is available for purchase here via CUP or on Amazon.

You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter @RealAdamHunt

Derek Tracy gives his second interview on hominin evolution, covering the aspects of homo sapiens which may have made us special in comparison to other human lineages, the evolutionary pressures which were most important, and how thinking about our evolutionary history helps him as a clinician. 

This episode is based on a chapter titled 'Hominin evolution II: Sapiens, Masters of the Known Universe', authored by Derek Tracy. It is chapter 3 in the book 'Evolutionary Psychiatry: Current Perspectives on Evolution and Mental Health", published by Cambridge University Press. 

The book is available for purchase here via CUP or on Amazon.

You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter @RealAdamHunt and Derek Tracy on Twitter @DerekTracy1

Derek Tracy gives his first interview on hominin evolution, covering the variety of human species which cohabited Earth over the past few hundred thousand years, why homo and homo sapiens may be special, and the complexity of human evolution we are just uncovering.

This episode is based on a chapter titled 'Hominin evolution I: the origins of Homo sapiens', authored by Derek Tracy. It is chapter 3 in the book 'Evolutionary Psychiatry: Current Perspectives on Evolution and Mental Health", published by Cambridge University Press. The book is available for purchase here via CUP or on Amazon.

You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter @RealAdamHunt and Derek Tracy on Twitter @DerekTracy1

Adam talks about the biopsychosocial model of medicine and how evolutionary psychiatry offers to improve upon it. Evolutionary approaches can inform the biological, psychological and social approaches to mental health, and bring together disparate areas of research under an overarching theory.

This episode is based on a chapter titled 'The Biopsychosocial Model Advanced by Evolutionary Theory', authored by Adam Hunt, Paul St-John Smith and Riadh Abed. It is chapter 2 in the book 'Evolutionary Psychiatry: Current Perspectives on Evolution and Mental Health", published by Cambridge University Press. The book is available for purchase here via CUP or on Amazon.

You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter @RealAdamHunt

Riadh Abed introduces the field of evolutionary psychiatry. He makes the case for evolution being the basic science which should guide mental health research and talks about a couple of key concepts which evolutionary psychiatrists think about which are missing from current mainstream psychiatry.

This episode is based on chapter 1, titled 'Introducing Evolutionary Psychiatry' of the book 'Evolutionary Psychiatry: Current Perspectives on Evolution and Mental Health", published by Cambridge University Press. The book is available for purchase here via CUP or on Amazon.

You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter @RealAdamHunt or Riadh Abed @RiadhAbed1

Adam begins the Evolving Psychiatry podcast by introducing some key concepts from evolutionary psychiatry, talking a bit about the sorts of disorders which evolutionary psychiatry concerns itself with, and generally making the case for evolutionary psychiatry as a suitable new paradigm for psychiatry.

Following this episode, there will be a series of twenty episodes on various topics in evolutionary psychiatry, interviewing experts about a corresponding chapter they authored in the new volume 'Evolutionary Psychiatry: Current Perspectives on Evolution and Mental Health' published by Cambridge University Press.

The book is available for purchase here via CUP or on Amazon.

You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter @RealAdamHunt 

The past is invisible - how are we supposed to know the truth behind our evolutionary history? In this episode, Adam Hunt discusses the complexity of the reality behind our evolution, and the limits of science in telling these stories. Dr Adam Hunt is a postdoctoral research at the University of Cambridge. He received his PhD in evolutionary biology and philosophy from the University of Zurich in March of 2024, for his dissertation entitled 'Evolving Evolutionary Psychiatry and Explaining Neurodiversity'. He has been researching evolutionary psychiatry for eight years, since completing a Masters in philosophy of science at the University of Bristol. He is on the executive committee of the Royal College of Psychiatrist's evolutionary psychiatry special interest group and the council of the International Society for Evolution, Medicine and Public Health.

In the Amazon rainforest, how would mental illness manifest? What is life in non-industrialised societies like? Camila Scaff discusses social life, loneliness, and her journey investigating mental health and disorder amongst the Tsimane of the Bolivian Amazon.

Dr. Camila Scaff earned her PhD in Cognitive Sciences from the École Normale Supérieure - Paris Diderot University (now Université Paris Cité). She holds split-time postdoctoral research fellowships with the Human Ecology Group at the University of Zurich’s Institute of Evolutionary Medicine and the Language Acquisition Across Cultures group at the École Normale Supérieure’s Laboratoire de Sciences Cognitives et Psycholinguistiques (LSCP) in Paris. Her research explores how socioecological environments shape human cognitive and linguistic variation.

Why does severe trauma lead to PTSD? This episode considers work on combat stress and PTSD symptoms in Turkana warriors of North West Kenya, and how it relates to evolutionary explanations of PTSD symptoms.

Matt Zefferman is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Defense Analysis at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.

He uses mathematical models and ethnographic field research to understand human culture, cooperation, and conflict – especially in the contexts of political organization and war.

He has also conducted ethnographic fieldwork with Turkana pastoralist warriors in northwest Kenya. They have a high degree of combat exposure – with about half of adult male mortality due to combat in cattle raids. Matt is interested in how Turkana organization for war has influenced their susceptibility to combat stress and moral injury. He has interviewed hundreds of warriors about their combat experiences, moral beliefs about warfare, combat stress symptoms, and moral injury.

Before starting as an assistant professor at NPS Matt was a Donald R. Beall Defense Fellow in his department. Before that he was a postdoctoral research fellow at ASU’s Institute of Human Origins and a member of  the Adaptation, Behavior, Culture and Society research group in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change.  Before that, he was a postdoctoral researcher at the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis and, before that, earned his PhD at the University of California, Davis in the Cultural Evolution and Human Behavioral Ecology Labs.

Matt is also a US Air Force veteran with six years of service as a civil engineering officer with deployments to the UAE and Afghanistan.

Evolutionary explanations of depression could change how we perceive the condition, and how depressed people perceive themselves. In this episode, clinical psychologist Hans Schroder discusses his experiences and research in providing functional explanations of depression to patients.

Hans Schroder is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan (U-M) Medical School and a Psychology Faculty Associate at U-M. He received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Michigan State University in 2018 and completed his internship and two-year postdoctoral fellowship at McLean Hospital / Harvard Medical School in Massachusetts, followed by a 1-year postdoctoral fellowship at U-M in the Department of Psychiatry and the Center for Bioethics and Social Sciences in Medicine. As a licensed clinical psychologist, Dr. Schroder’s primary role in Psychiatry is providing psychotherapy and exposure-based therapies to individuals and groups with anxiety and depressive disorders in the Adult Anxiety Clinic. His earlier research examined error-related brain activity using electroencephalogram (EEG) and its relation to anxiety and depression. His current research interests include understanding beliefs and messages about mental health (e.g., the “chemical imbalance” narrative) and their impacts on treatment expectations, decision-making and well-being. The goal of this research is to better equip patients and providers with messages that optimize motivation for improving mental health. You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter/X @RealAdamHunt

Justin Garson is Professor of Philosophy at Hunter College and The Graduate Center, City University of New York, and a contributor for PsychologyToday.com and Aeon. He writes on the philosophy of madness, evolution of the mind, and purpose in nature. In this episode we discuss scientific concepts of dysfunction, the role of the paradigms framing psychiatry, and the possible benefits of evolutionary thinking about mental 'disorders'. Justin has two recently published books you should check out: Madness: A Philosophical Exploration (Oxford University Press, 2022) and The Biological Mind: A Philosophical Introduction, 2nd ed. (Routledge, 2022). You can connect with Justin on Twitter @Justin_Garson You can connect with Adam on Twitter @RealAdamHunt

Joe Polimeni is a Canadian general psychiatrist and Associate Professor at the University of Manitoba who has conducted research in neuroscience, psychopharmacology and evolutionary psychiatry. His book, Shamans Among Us, outlines his hypothesis regarding the evolution of schizophrenia, which is the topic of this episode. You can purchase the book here: https://josephpolimeni.com/purchase.html You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter/X @RealAdamHunt