Evolutionary psychologist, Doug Lisle, PhD and social scientist, Jen Howk, PhD discuss the following listener question: Why do people love formulaic media and entertainment? Most of the pop music that dominates the charts is nearly identical. It uses the same four chords in the same progression with similar melodies and lyrical themes. Most of the blockbuster films that gross massive amounts of money tell variations on the same story with similar effects, music, and actors. This seems even more ...
Nov 30, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 321
Evolutionary psychologist, Doug Lisle, PhD, social scientist, Jen Howk, PhD, and Nathan Gershfeld, DC discuss the following listener questions: I am curious about the work of David Sinclair from Harvard about his anti-aging research. He makes some pretty fantastic claims. He does, for example, advocate for a plant-based diet, but then talks quite a bit about supplements, including prescription drugs like Metformin. I also heard him say that although plant-based diets are good, we must avoid food...
Nov 16, 2023•50 min•Season 1Ep. 320
Evolutionary psychologist, Doug Lisle, PhD and social scientist, Jen Howk, PhD discuss the following listener questions: 1. If I am understanding what you have said in the past about decision making and free will, the main thing that changes/influences our behavior is new information. So, we really don't have "free will" in our decision making like we think? If this is true, does it mean that -- if we want to have more control or positive results in our decision making -- rather than "trying har...
Nov 02, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 319
Social scientist, Jen Howk, PhD discuss the following topics: I loved your last podcast about Buddhism and other perspectives in psychology. I'd love to hear more of your perspectives on spirituality such as how you would describe the personality profiles of popular gurus Byron Katie and Eckhart Tolle. They both claim to have been in close to catatonic states of misery/depression, suicidal and then overnight, woke up enlightened. If it's not enlightenment, what are they experiencing? I'd also li...
Oct 19, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 318
Evolutionary psychologist, Doug Lisle, PhD discusses the following listener questions: 1. I have read "Blueprint" many times and am still learning so much from that book. It is obvious to me how much of who we are and what we do is heritable. So, what do you do when no one else gets that? Or knows that? Recently I was having coffee with good friends and they were discussing a mother of one of them who is a serious hoarder. The conversation went on forever while they tried to decide why she is li...
Oct 05, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 317
Evolutionary psychologist, Doug Lisle, PhD and social scientist, Jen Howk, PhD discuss the following listener questions: Do the realizations of Buddhism hold any credibility through an evolutionary psychological lens? Does suffering really come from unfulfilled desires? Why would we evolve to have an unsatiable drive of desires which leaves us suffering? Why is psychology the only field in which evolutionary psychology is controversial? Biologists, computer engineers studying AI and neurologists...
Sep 21, 2023•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 316
Evolutionary psychologist, Doug Lisle, PhD and social scientist, Jen Howk, PhD discuss the following listener questions: A while back, you mentioned that when someone is financially strained, they can behave as though they are 10 IQ points lower than they actually are. Can you expand on that? In addition, if someone is obscenely wealthy, would you expect that they also would behave differently - maybe also lower IQ? I ask this because a close friend of mine has recently started earning a lot of ...
Sep 07, 2023•52 min•Season 1Ep. 315
Evolutionary psychologist, Doug Lisle, PhD and social scientist, Jen Howk, PhD discuss the following listener questions: 1. How does one go about getting an objective personality test? I have a friend that constantly mentions that they are cursed with being highly conscientious and very agreeable. However most others in our friend group find them not very conscientious, and highly disagreeable. How does low intelligence impact distortions in ones own perceptions of their personality, and possibl...
Aug 24, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 314
Evolutionary psychologist, Doug Lisle, PhD discusses the following questions: I find snobbish behavior fascinating (sometimes irritating, sometimes amusing), but I don't really understand the evolutionary basis of it. What are the basic motivations behind and effects of snobbish behavior? Is it insecurity and an attempt to hijack unearned or unwarranted status, a combination of personality traits, or something else? My husband is 56 yrs old obese,smokes all day and eats the SAD diet and does not...
Aug 10, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 313
Evolutionary psychologist, Doug Lisle, PhD and social scientist, Jen Howk, PhD discuss a very misleading graph in a recent paper published in Lancet Journal along with the following listener questions: 1.To what extent would you say children, money and marriage contracts keep sub-par relationships intact today vs. the lesser stickiness of relationships in the stone age. This isn't always a bad thing, right? Parents are raising kids and everyone gets to keep more of their wealth. What's the harm-...
Jul 27, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 312
Evolutionary Psychologist, Doug Lisle, PhD, and Harvard social scientist, Jen Howk, PhD. discuss physical attractiveness & general health, whether a relationship can fall apart from a simple misunderstanding, choosing one passion from many, and finding the courage to make hard decisions about a relationship. Study mentioned: "Physical Attractiveness & CardioMetabolic Risk" https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.23895 Q1: Do physically attractive people have an easier time developing attractive ski...
Jul 13, 2023•45 min•Season 1Ep. 311
In today's episode, Dr. Lisle & Howk discuss: You talk about Tears, Anger, Force, Fraud and Free Trade RA strategies. Why did you exclude sex from this list? And in particular, women dangling sex to get men to do stuff. I guess we can ideally put this in the FREE TRADE category, but sex can be gotten by using any of these other RA strategies too I suppose. Anything more to add here? Do the doctors have any thoughts on the ability of people in different socioeconomic situations to be friends,...
Jun 29, 2023•48 min•Season 1Ep. 310
In today's episode, Dr. Lisle and Howk discuss the following questions: I listened to your talk discussing whether humans actually have Free Will: If we, as an organism are just doing what we perceive is optimal for the species in survival and reproduction, does that mean that I should not be very angry at my father who cheated on my Mom repeatedly, divorced her, and spent the rest of his life hitting on women whenever one seemed available in front of him? It has bothered me my whole life and as...
Jun 15, 2023•49 min•Season 1Ep. 309
In today's show, Dr. Lisle & Howk review the following questions: How do you reconcile Dr. Jen's potted plant theory with Dr. Lisle's ego trap? As someone that is over 90th percentile introverted and emotionally unstable I find I prefer to keep my world very small and do not have energy for much socializing outside of working full time in an office full of people. Sometimes people encourage me to push myself to socialize more but I'm content spending time at home with my spouse and animals -...
Jun 01, 2023•50 min•Season 1Ep. 308
In today's show, Dr. Lisle discusses in detail "Where does the evidence for evolutionary psychology come from?" Our first question from a listener begins, " I am incredibly fascinated by EP and feel that I have learned so much from the show. I do wonder sometimes though when the questions get answered, what evidence/research is it based on? Assuming the conclusions are inferred... there obviously isn't a set of randomized control trial which provides the answers. I ask for my own interest but al...
May 18, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 307
Why do women fall in love with villains in romance novels? I was reading through my girlfriend's provocative novels and the men in these books are not noble or kind, they are dark, twisted, cruel, violent criminals, stalkers, vampires, demons or devils. The sex scenes are aggressive and violent. An example I will never forget is the love interest, who is a stalker, violating the woman with a loaded gun and knife. Is there an evolutionary reason why women would like this? If this is what my girlf...
May 04, 2023•56 min•Season 1Ep. 306
In today's episode, Dr. Lisle & Dr. Howk discuss artifical intelligence and some of their fears for the future. Then at 26:15, the discussion turns to answering these listener questions: 1. I am a frustrated serial monogamist female looking for my magic 10%. For the past six years, I've been in several long-term relationships. I enter every relationship with the hope that he is the one and the desire and dedication to make it last. However, after a year or so, I gradually realize that the pe...
Apr 20, 2023•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 305
In today's show, Dr. Lisle and Howk discuss the following questions: 1. Has the team discussed how information overload impedes progress and making changes to one's health? I'd assume one can overdo information gathering, whether it's from podcasts, books, or blogs. As a clinician, how can we help clients get out of this stagnant, noncommittal place? Also, it seems to cause people a lot of stress and anxiety when they have too many thoughts going on in their heads. I have to imagine it gets to a...
Apr 06, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 304
In today's episode, Dr. Lisle & Howk discuss the following questions: 1. Jordan Peterson mentioned briefly in a video that increasing oxytocin can increase agreeableness. He also gives advice that agreeable people can become more disagreeable by "waking the circuit up" if it's laying dormant in you. He thinks we have a wide range of genetic propensities, some that are switched on and it's possible to switch other propensities on. Is there evidence to support either of these theories? 2. Coul...
Mar 23, 2023•58 min•Season 1Ep. 303
In today's episode, Dr. Lisle and Dr. Howk discuss the following listener questions: How do you square the notion that there is "no 1 mate" (or job, friend etc) with the jealousy/abuse/ stalking (and worse) that happens in relationships. What type of general education on this concept could be offered to attempt to mitigate such costly stone age behavior. Related, can u talk about the treatment of battered women in your practice, how they do or don't escape? Buss claims one contributing cause of ...
Mar 09, 2023•52 min•Season 1Ep. 302
In our 300th episode (actually episode 301, but we wanted to save it for Dr. Howk), Dr. Lisle and Dr. Howk take a break from solving listener problems and answering listener questions and instead turn towards answering some fun, personal questions.
Mar 02, 2023•54 min•Season 1Ep. 300
Upcoming seminar Sun, Feb 19: True to Life Seminar - visit www.TrueToLife.us to register. In this show, Dr. Lisle discusses: 1. I am still trying to figure out genetics and evolution (I wasn't taught it), so I might be way oversimplifying this. If you get a set of genes from your parents and they get a set of genes from each of their parents, wouldn't you be able to track a certain genetic trait as being from either one of your parents or one of their parents? 2. You have previously explained bo...
Feb 09, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 301
1. I am curious about an unpopular subject: systematic eugenics. Has "random" selection in the mating market already produced the best possible human genes combinations? Could we generate humans with drastically higher IQ, strength, size, speed, athleticism, beauty, etc? What do you think is the hypothetical limit of human genetic potential for outlier individuals and for the average of a population? This kind of discussion is often obscured by the obvious practical and ethical problems, rather ...
Jan 26, 2023•53 min•Season 1Ep. 299
In today's episode, Dr. Lisle and Dr. Howk discuss the following question: Given that depression is inherently demotivating (because it is failure feedback that tells you to stop what you're doing), how might one 'bootstrap' oneself into more positive, motivated mood states? I wonder what people in the Stone Age village would have done to bounce back from failure feedback; it makes most of us want to curl into a ball and die. How does depression actually end up benefiting and motivating us? Copy...
Jan 12, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 298
In today's show (episode 295), Dr. Lisle discusses the following questions: I am a 35 year old female and I don't know what to do with my life. I have a bachelors degree in biochemistry and doctorate degree in pharmacy. I worked as a clinical pharmacist for a year but I got bored and I quit. Then I worked as a massage therapist, a real estate agent, and a dental hygienist. I got bored of these as well. They just didn't satisfy me, even though I don't even know what I'm looking for or what I want...
Jan 05, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 295
In our final show of 2022, Dr. Howk and Dr. Lisle have a discussion about current events and the year to come. For more information on their upcoming "True to Life" Seminar being held live & virtually on Feb 19th , please visit www.TruetoLife.us Copyright Beat Your Genes Podcast Host: Nathan Gershfeld Interviewee: Doug Lisle, Ph.D. and Jen Howk, Ph.D. Podcast website: www.BeatYourGenes.org True to Life seminars with Dr. Lisle and Dr. Howk : www.TrueToLife.us Intro & outro song: City of H...
Dec 29, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 297
Dr. Lisle & Dr. Howk are having a virtual seminar Sunday Feb 19, 2023. Visit www.TrueToLife.us for details! In today's episode, the Dr's discuss: Could you discuss cultural appropriation? Especially with regards to not sporting wigs etc I for one really admire when people dress up like people from my culture and use the same hair and face accessories even though in the past we were under colonial rule and oppressed. Are men, now, in a world where women also make a lot of money, willing to sl...
Dec 22, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 294
Announcements: -On Feb 19, 2023, Dr. Lisle & Howk are doing a Live Seminar called the True to Life Series. Registration link: www.TrueToLife.us -Episodes 294 & 295 will be released in the coming weeks. In today's show the dr's discuss: Do people feel disgust for themselves when they are a minority in the village? Like you've said, disgust evolved not just out of a sense of right and wrong, but also out of infection and threat. So, my question is, do (racial, sexual, etc) minorities suffe...
Dec 15, 2022•59 min•Season 1Ep. 296
In today's show, Dr. Lisle and Dr. Howk discuss: How well does clinical evolutionary psychology explain and treat behavioural problems of children such as aggression or violence (often in cases even towards their own parents who have a reliable history of being loving and warm and not abusive). Any recommendations for literature/ reading sources/ books on psychology for people interested in dealing with aggressive kids? I have been told often that men retreat from their romantic partner emotiona...
Nov 03, 2022•57 min•Season 1Ep. 293
Why do men seem to be so enraptured by "ditzy" girls? They trip over themselves trying to take care of her. Is it an behavioral manifestation of attractive estrogen levels in the woman? How did gratitude and gratefulness come to evolve in human beings. if one analyses it, it is an extremely complex highly advanced thought process about how bad a situation could have been and the fact that its not one must accept, acknowledge and recalibrate one's esteem cues and status so as to not be sad/depres...
Oct 20, 2022•56 min•Season 1Ep. 292
