Origin Stories – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Technical and general information from the podcast's RSS feed.

Origin Stories

The Leakey Foundation

Science

Frequency: 1 episode/43d. Total Eps: 93

Explore human evolution one story at a time. This award-winning show blends storytelling with science that will change your understanding of who we are.

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Apple

Recent rankings

Latest chart positions across Apple Podcasts and Spotify rankings.

Apple Podcasts

🇨🇦 Canada - naturalSciences
20/08/2026
#14
🇬🇧 Great Britain - naturalSciences
20/08/2026
#9
🇬🇧 Great Britain - science
20/08/2026
#86
🇩🇪 Germany - naturalSciences
20/08/2026
#49
🇺🇸 USA - naturalSciences
20/08/2026
#23
🇫🇷 France - naturalSciences
20/08/2026
#36
🇨🇦 Canada - naturalSciences
19/08/2026
#12
🇬🇧 Great Britain - naturalSciences
19/08/2026
#5
🇬🇧 Great Britain - science
19/08/2026
#74
🇩🇪 Germany - naturalSciences
19/08/2026
#32

Spotify

No recent rankings available

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

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https://www.leakeyfoundation.org/donate
35 shares
https://www.leakeyfoundation.org/originstories
23 shares
https://leerosevere.bandcamp.com/
20 shares

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNife3N3X0Q
2 shares
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQ7HJ5Xdceg
2 shares
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgIDdH58Qwg
2 shares

https://twitter.com/OriginsPodcast
8 shares
https://twitter.com/originspodcast
7 shares
https://twitter.com/Neil_Sandell
4 shares

RSS feed quality and score

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RSS feed quality

Good

Score global : 73%

Publication history

Monthly episode publishing history over the past years.

Year

Latest published episodes

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Ape Medicine

Episode 84

Tuesday, October 8, 2024 • Duration 23:51

Are humans the only animals that practice medicine? In this episode, two scientists share surprising observations of orangutans and chimpanzees treating wounds–their own and others'–with plants and insects. These discoveries challenge ideas about uniquely human behaviors and offer insights into animal intelligence, empathy, and the evolutionary roots of medicine.

Origin Stories is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding human origins research and outreach. Sign up for our monthly newsletter to learn more about our work!

Videos

Rakus and his wound

Rakus doing a long call after being wounded

Chimp applying insect to wound

Caroline Schuppli on Lunch Break Science

Links to learn more

SUAQ Orangutan Program

Ozouga Chimpanzees (where Alessandra studies chimpanzee behavior)

Research papers

Active self-treatment of a facial wound with a biologically active plant by a male Sumatran orangutan (open access)

Application of insects to wounds of self and others by chimpanzees in the wild (pdf)

Credits

Origin Stories is a listener-supported show. Additional support comes from Jeanne Newman, , Camilla and George Smith, the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, and the Joan and Arnold Travis Education Fund.

Origin Stories is produced by Ray Pang. Our editor is Audrey Quinn. Theme music by Henry Nagle. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions and Lee Roservere.

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The First Story

Episode 83

Friday, August 30, 2024 • Duration 29:23

Over 50,000 years ago on what is now the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, someone climbed a towering rock formation and painted a mysterious image on a cave ceiling. The painting shows three half-human, half-animal figures and a large wild pig. The image, dated to 51,200 years old, is now the oldest known visual story in the world. In this episode, archaeologist Adam Brumm shares the story of this incredible discovery.

Help make more Origin Stories. We're $3,000 short of our quadruple-match fundraising goal and our deadline is August 31! Please donate today and your gift will be quadruple-matched! Click here to 4x your donation!

Origin Stories is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding human origins research and outreach.

Links to learn more:

Episode produced by Meredith Johnson and Ray Pang
Sound design by Ray Pang
Edited by Audrey Quinn

Theme music by Henry Nagle. Ending credit music by Lee Roservere. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions.

Hungry for more science?

Lunch Break Science is The Leakey Foundation's web series featuring short talks and interviews with Leakey Foundation grantees. Episodes stream on the third Thursday of every month.

Motherhood

Episode 74

Tuesday, August 29, 2023 • Duration 29:35

Humans invest enormous amounts of time and energy into bringing up our babies. This unique investment is a fundamental part of what it means to be human. In this episode, the first in a three-part series on family relationships, researchers Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, Stacy Rosenbaum, and Amy Scott explore how our species' approach to motherhood may hold the key to some of the most important traits that set us apart from other mammals.

Links to learn more:

Sarah Blaffer Hrdy - Childrearing in Evolution (video)
Sarah Blaffer Hrdy - Mothers and Others (article)
Citrona Walnut Farm
Grantee Spotlight: Amy Scott
Stacey Rosenbaum - Gorilla group structure
Stacey Rosenbaum - Gorillas, humans, and early life adversity
The Birth Bliss Academy

Support Origin Stories

Origin Stories needs your support. Your donation helps bring the untold stories and latest research in human evolution to thousands of curious minds worldwide. Your gift, no matter the amount, makes a big difference! Click here to support the show.

Credits:

This episode was produced by Leo Hornak. Sound design by Ray Pang. Host and executive producer, Meredith Johnson. Our editor is Audrey Quinn. Recording assistance Catherine Monahon. Theme music by Henry Nagle, additional music by Lee Roservere and Blue Dot Sessions.

Boomplaas Cave - Bonus Interview

Episode 73

Wednesday, August 2, 2023 • Duration 34:08

How did climate change impact ancient human behavior? This is one of the questions Justin Pargeter and his team are investigating at a site called Boomplaas Cave in South Africa. This site has a unique record of human presence over the past 80,000 years or so. Importantly, the site is helping researchers piece together the story of how humans adapted to rapidly shifting climates in the past.

Origin Stories producer Ray Pang interviews Leakey Foundation grantee Justin Pargeter, an archaeologist and professor at NYU about his work at the site, the history and importance of the cave, and why African-led research is critical for the future of science.

Links to learn more:

Field School Diaries

Episode 72

Thursday, July 6, 2023 • Duration 33:13

This special episode takes you inside the world of archaeology students at Boomplaas Cave, one of South Africa’s flagship human evolution research sites. Led by Dr. Justin Pargeter, the students chronicle their field school journey through personal audio diaries, offering a candid look at the joys, thrills, and challenges of archaeological fieldwork.

Thanks to Justin Pargeter, Monique Niekerk, Asi Ntsodwa, Bacara Spruit, and all the students at Boomplaas Cave field school.

Learn more:

Credits:

Produced by Ray Pang, Meredith Johnson, and Taylor Cook. Sound design by Ray Pang. Edited by Audrey Quinn

The Hobbit

Episode 71

Tuesday, May 30, 2023 • Duration 30:14

In this episode, we explore the fascinating tale of the Hobbit, an unexpected fossil find that shook the world's understanding of human evolution. Join researcher Matt Tocheri as he shares how this tiny hominin revolutionized the human story and transformed his life.

Links:

From the Field: Matt Tocheri
Homo floresiensis
Can rat bones solve an island mystery?

Love Origin Stories? Here's your chance to double the impact! Every dollar you donate helps us explore and explain our shared human origins, and right now, every donation will be matched! Click here to donate!

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A Giganto Mystery

Episode 70

Tuesday, March 28, 2023 • Duration 27:21

Dr. Kira Westaway is part of an international research team working to solve the mystery of Gigantopithecus, the largest ape that ever walked the earth. In this episode, we explore how this massive primate lived, why it disappeared, and what it can tell us about extinctions happening now.

Learn more:

Where Giants Roamed

Origin Stories is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding human origins research and outreach.

Click here to support this show and the science we talk about. Your donation will be matched by Jeanne Newman.

This episode was generously sponsored by Jeanne Newman, the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation and the Joan and Arnold Travis Education Fund.

Origin Stories is produced and sound designed by Ray Pang. Our editor is Audrey Quinn. Theme music by Henry Nagle. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions and Lee Roservere.

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The New Metabolism

Episode 69

Wednesday, March 1, 2023 • Duration 27:32

How do human bodies use energy? In this episode, Leakey Foundation grantee Dr. Herman Pontzer shares groundbreaking research that upends our understanding of metabolism, calories, and the history of our species.

Origin Stories is hosted by Meredith Johnson, produced and sound designed by Ray Pang, and edited by Audrey Quinn.

Support this show and the science we talk about. leakeyfoundation.org/donate

Links:

Burn by Herman Pontzer, PhD

Pontzer Lab

The energetics of uniquely human subsistence strategies

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Top Human Origins Discoveries of 2022

Episode 68

Tuesday, January 31, 2023 • Duration 35:05

2022 was another exciting year in human origins research! New fossil discoveries and ancient DNA research expanded our understanding of the past. We learned something surprising about the evolution of human speech, and new methodologies and showed promising potential to improve the future of medicine. In this episode, four Leakey Foundation scientists shared their favorite human evolution discoveries from the past year.

Our guests

Carol Ward, University of Missouri
Sofia Samper Carro, Australian National University
Kevin Hatala, Chatham University
Megan Henriquez, City University of New York

Links to learn more

Origin Stories is back!

Episode 67

Tuesday, January 24, 2023 • Duration 01:49

We've been hard at work on a new season of stories about how we became human. Origin Stories returns on January 31 with monthly episodes!

Origin Stories – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Origin Stories – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Other99+

Youtube29

Twitter8

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Other99+

Youtube29

Twitter8

Apple Podcasts

Spotify