Explore every episode of the podcast The Insight
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Hare and Survival of the Friendliest: Understanding Our Origins and Rediscovering Our Common Humanity | 15 Sep 2020 | 01:04:10 | |
Razib discusses the new book Survival of the Friendliest: Understanding Our Origins and Rediscovering Our Common Humanity with one of the authors. https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B07ZC6XGGX/geneexpressio-20 | |||
| Why Western Europeans are so WEIRD and why that matters! | 08 Sep 2020 | 00:50:21 | |
Razib talks to evolutionary anthropologist Joe Henrich about his new book, The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous, https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B07RZFCPMD/geneexpressio-20 | |||
| Psychiatry and genes | 11 Jun 2020 | 00:48:48 | |
Razib talks to Dr. Emily Deans on what's like to work in psychiatry today in a world with personal genomics. https://twitter.com/evolutionarypsy | |||
| American Downfall: Cultural evolution, Peter Turchin, and the return of history | 03 Jun 2020 | 01:24:33 | |
Spencer and Razib discuss current events in the context of cultural evolution. The history of decline, the American "Empire", and Peter Turchin's thoughts on social disorder http://peterturchin.com/cliodynamica/the_2020/ | |||
| The genetic basis of facial variation | 28 May 2020 | 00:58:06 | |
This week Razib talks to Dan Crouch about what we know about the genetics of the variation shape and features. https://www.pnas.org/content/115/4/E676.short | |||
| Ancient DNA and China | 21 May 2020 | 00:53:30 | |
Spencer and Razib discuss the latest ancient DNA work that sheds light on East Asian prehistory (and also some coronavirus status update) https://reich.hms.harvard.edu/sites/reich.hms.harvard.edu/files/inline-files/YangSciecne2020.pdf (excuse the "sound effects" early in the podcast!) | |||
| Chris Stringer on paleoanthropology in 2020 | 14 May 2020 | 01:04:30 | |
Razib catches up with Chris Stinger on the state of paleoanthropology in 2020 and the ramifications of what genetics has taught us about the diversity in Denisovans in the past few years! | |||
| Genetically Modified Organisms | 07 May 2020 | 00:50:37 | |
Razib talks to Chad Niederhuth at Michigan State on the promise of GMO agriculture! http://niederhuthlab.com/ | |||
| Coronavirus 2020: vaccination and the specter of revolution | 01 May 2020 | 01:04:32 | |
Spencer and Razib discuss the state of the pandemic, why Spencer is skeptical of rapid vaccine development, and the political and cultural fallout of COVID-19. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/04/29/847755751/compared-to-china-u-s-stay-at-home-has-been-a-giant-garden-party-journalist-says | |||
| Alfred Russel Wallace and the Prehistory of the Indo-Malaysian Archipelago | 25 Apr 2020 | 00:26:38 | |
Spencer describes Wallace's encounter with Indonesia and his insight into evolution by natural selection. | |||
| Genetics, genealogy, and secrets unknown | 22 Apr 2020 | 00:54:15 | |
Razib talks to Libby Copeland about her new book, The Lost Family: How DNA Testing is Upending Who We Are https://www.abramsbooks.com/product/lost-family_9781419743009/ | |||
| Coronavirus 2020: preamble to Weimar? | 16 Apr 2020 | 01:17:47 | |
Spencer and Razib discuss the updates to the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 as of mid-April. Spencer delves into the possible social and cultural ramifications, and they both discuss the trajectory internationally and into the future. | |||
| Why much of science is fiction | 03 Sep 2020 | 01:20:04 | |
Razib talks to Stuart Ritchie about his new book, Science Fictions: How Fraud, Bias, Negligence, and Hype Undermine the Search for Truth https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1250222699/geneexpressio-20 | |||
| Paleogenetics of East Asia | 09 Apr 2020 | 00:52:38 | |
This week Spencer and Razib discuss the latest discoveries about the paleogenetic history of East Asia. Where did the Tibetans, Han, and Japanese come from? https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.25.004606v1 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.25.008078v1 | |||
| Coronavirus pandemic of 2020 | 31 Mar 2020 | 01:35:32 | |
Razib and Spencer discuss the state-of-the-pandemic at the end of March 2020. https://blog.insito.me/the-insight-show-notes-season-3-episode-13-pandemic-c6640de64d6b | |||
| Natural Selection among indigenous Americans | 25 Mar 2020 | 00:41:51 | |
Razib talks to Austin Reynolds about what he's discovered about adaptation in indigenous peoples of the New World. https://www.pnas.org/content/116/19/9312.short | |||
| The Importance of Summer | 23 Mar 2020 | 00:09:43 | |
An excerpt from Spencer's book Pandora's Seed about the eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia in 1815. | |||
| Genomics of Mendelian Conditions | 19 Mar 2020 | 00:43:29 | |
Razib talks to Dr. Jessica Chong of the University of Washington about how genomics has changed how we view and understand rare disorders https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002929719302745 | |||
| Decreasing genetic diversity with distance from Africa | 11 Mar 2020 | 00:36:01 | |
Razib talks to Dr. Sohini Ramachandran of Brown about her classical paper from 2005 which showed decreasing genetic diversity as a function of distance from Africa https://www.pnas.org/content/102/44/15942 | |||
| Ancient Egyptian genetics | 04 Mar 2020 | 00:45:50 | |
Razib and Spencer talk about the history of ancient Egypt, and the insights genetics can shed on the origins of the ancient Egyptians https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms15694 | |||
| Genetics and (pre)history of Southeast Asia | 26 Feb 2020 | 00:51:22 | |
Razib and Spencer talk all things genetic and prehistorical Southeast Asia! https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6476732/ https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-02185511/file/Science%20paper%20ORI.pdf https://insitome.libsyn.com/paradise-lost | |||
| Coronavirus and Zoonoses | 19 Feb 2020 | 00:31:48 | |
Spencer and Razib discuss the evolutionary and historical context of zoonotic diseases, and their relevance to current events. | |||
| Genetics of Fertility | 13 Feb 2020 | 00:56:57 | |
Razib talks to Melinda Mills about the intersection of demographics and genetics. https://www.rsfjournal.org/content/rsfjss/4/4/122.full.pdf | |||
| Siberian paleohistory | 06 Aug 2020 | 01:19:00 | |
Razib and Spencer discuss the geography, prehistory, and genetics, of Siberia. Also, the time Spencer experienced a Siberian winter! | |||
| Genetics of Papuans | 04 Feb 2020 | 01:01:41 | |
Razib talks to Anders Bergstrom of the Crick Institute about the genetic history of New Guinea https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5802383/ | |||
| Paleogenetics of Africa | 29 Jan 2020 | 00:35:22 | |
This week Spencer and Razib discuss the ramifications of a new paper which reports on the ancient DNA of West Africans who lived 8,000 and 3,000 years ago. https://reich.hms.harvard.edu/sites/reich.hms.harvard.edu/files/inline-files/Shum_Laka_published_online_0.pdf | |||
| 3000 years in the Levant | 23 Jan 2020 | 00:56:24 | |
This week Razib discusses the genetics and history of the Levant with Dr. Marc Haber. https://blog.insito.me/3-000-years-in-the-levant-8aba846b18ae | |||
| Predictions for genetics in the 2020s | 15 Jan 2020 | 00:46:15 | |
Spencer and Razib offer up 10 predictions for what genetics will bring in the 2020s, from free sequencing to going beyond "Out of Africa." https://blog.insito.me/top-10-human-genetics-evolution-predictions-for-the-2020s-c93f3ef74b4f | |||
| Ten years of human genetics and evolution | 20 Dec 2019 | 01:53:40 | |
What was big in human evolution and genetics over the last 10 years? https://blog.insito.me/top-10-human-genetics-evolution-developments-of-the-2010s-1a8c5c213d35? | |||
| Scandinavian Genetics | 26 Jun 2019 | 00:52:44 | |
Talking the genetic history of Scandinavians with Torsten Günther. Show notes https://blog.insito.me/the-insight-show-notes-season-2-episode-33-scandinavian-genetics-d4e6e4deeaaf | |||
| Tibetan Denisovans | 19 Jun 2019 | 00:39:02 | |
Razib talks about a Denisovan finding from Tibet with Dr. Frido Welker. Show notes: https://pxlme.me/jcQr2gSy | |||
| Obesity and genetic prediction | 12 Jun 2019 | 00:50:56 | |
Razib talks to a researcher who developed a method to predict extreme obesity looking at genetic profiles. Show notes: https://pxlme.me/76367O2I | |||
| Evolution of Family | 05 Jun 2019 | 00:48:09 | |
Razib discusses the evolutionary and ecological context of human families with Dr. Rebecca Sear. https://blog.insito.me/the-insight-show-notes-season-2-episode-30-evolution-of-family-5f8db79194d9 | |||
| Natural Selection and "Deep Learning" | 29 May 2019 | 01:13:18 | |
Evolutionary biology and computer science don't seem to have much in common. But this week Razib talks to a geneticist who brings both together in his research. https://blog.insito.me/the-insight-show-notes-season-2-episode-29-deep-learning-and-population-genetics-ffebb7278bc8 | |||
| Sundaland: a human evolutionary hearth | 31 Jul 2020 | 01:33:31 | |
Razib and Spencer discuss why the geology and biogeography of Southeast Asia may explain why it is so important in the history of human evolution. Show notes: https://blog.insito.me/humanitys-second-cradle-in-southeast-asia-cbb26244f08a | |||
| Altitude Adaptation and Denisovans | 22 May 2019 | 00:52:39 | |
Razib talks to Emilia Huerta-Sanchez about her finding that altitude adaptation in Tibetans is due to Denisovan admixture. https://pxlme.me/RECg03af | |||
| Neolithic Massacre | 15 May 2019 | 01:10:36 | |
This week Razib talks to two researchers who have published a paper that reconstructs the relationships between a group of people who seem to have been killed in a conflict during the Neolithic in Poland. Show notes https://pxlme.me/Iy2T9T_T
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| The Epigenetics Revolution | 08 May 2019 | 00:49:44 | |
This week Razib talks to Dr. John Greally on what epigenetics really is, and why it is important. Show notes https://pxlme.me/ZoXCz98p | |||
| The $1000 Genome | 01 May 2019 | 01:10:03 | |
Razib talks to Rodrigo Martinez of Veritas Genetics about what the age of "social genomics" will mean to us. https://pxlme.me/uWk0IqrZ | |||
| Deconstructing the Denisovans | 24 Apr 2019 | 01:15:25 | |
Spencer and Razib discuss who the Denisovans were, where they lived, and what it means for us as humans. https://pxlme.me/UPzHwYX6 | |||
| The ape that understood the universe | 16 Apr 2019 | 01:01:27 | |
Razib talks to evolutionary psychologist Steve Stewart-Williams about how the origins of our mind can inform how we interact with the world around us. Show notes: https://pxlme.me/cxm84D_0 | |||
| Solving the Missing Heritability | 10 Apr 2019 | 01:00:40 | |
Razib talks to Alexander Young on whether the missing heritability is solved, and what it is in the first place https://pxlme.me/LgByOD37 | |||
| The genetic history of Ice Age Europe | 02 Apr 2019 | 00:43:31 | |
Razib discusses the genetics of Pleistocene Europeans with Cosimo Posth. https://pxlme.me/Rxv09mQ2 | |||
| This View of Life: Completing the Darwinian Revolution | 27 Mar 2019 | 00:54:57 | |
David Sloan Wilson talks about the application of evolutionary theory to policy and people, and his book, This View of Life: Completing the Darwinian Revolution. https://pxlme.me/PqJs9Qy6 | |||
| Historical Linguistics | 19 Mar 2019 | 00:47:01 | |
Asya Pereltsvaig joins us to talk about historical linguistics, how language evolution relates to genetic evolution (or not), and what sorts of features are important in creating a phylogenetic tree of languages. https://pxlme.me/S7aXK2Bf | |||
| Peopling the Americas 32,000 years ago | 23 Jul 2020 | 00:41:55 | |
Razib discusses revolutionary new work published in Nature that tells us that modern humans were present in the Americas 32,000 years ago with one of the authors, Lorena Becerra-Valdivia. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02190-y | |||
| Irish genetics over the past 10,000 years | 13 Mar 2019 | 01:04:28 | |
This week Razib talks to Dr. Lara Cassidy about what genetics can tell us about Ireland's history. https://pxlme.me/mUUwq7u9 | |||
| Polygenic risk scores and diversity | 07 Mar 2019 | 00:48:36 | |
This week, medical genetics and diversity https://pxlme.me/bmjzWq8R | |||
| Blueprint, a conversation with Robert Plomin | 27 Feb 2019 | 00:59:17 | |
This week we talk about behavior geneticists with one of the doyens of the field, Robert Plomin. Show notes: https://pxlme.me/wv1-WXQK | |||
| The Prehistory of the Arabian Peninsula | 20 Feb 2019 | 01:23:11 | |
Archaeologist Jeff Rose talks about the incredible Paleolithic finds in Oman and their implications for the origins of modern humanity. Show notes: https://pxlme.me/l2uKidYt | |||