Helena Miton is a cognitive anthropologist and complexity postdoctoral fellow at the Santa Fe Institute. She investigates how culture is maintained through time and what determines the shapes traditions take. She holds her Ph.D. in cognitive science from Central European University and previously was a member of the Minds & Traditions research group at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. Follow her on Twitter @HelenaMiton. Helena and I discuss cultural evolution, the b...
Apr 28, 2022•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 382
Today I'm speaking with Dr. Christopher Kavanagh, who is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Cognitive & Evolutionary Anthropology. Chris is also the cohost of the Decoding the Gurus Podcast. We talk about the effect that internet gurus and thought leaders have on public perception of science and politics. Chris’ research focuses broadly on collective rituals and their impact on social identity and group orientated behaviors, using a combination of field and lab based experiments, ...
Apr 20, 2022•1 hr 36 min•Ep. 381
Today I am speaking with Cecilea Mun, who is a Visiting Assistant Professor of the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics program, with the Department of Philosophy, at the University of Louisville, KY, and the founding director of the Society for Philosophy of Emotion, and the founding editor-in-chief of the Journal of Philosophy of Emotion. We talk about how money shifts the way we think about our ethical principles, Realism emotional theory and Instrumentalism emotional theory, how people on the...
Apr 13, 2022•1 hr 56 min•Ep. 380
This week I’m talking with Dave Ader, an interdisciplinary scholar in the fields of sustainable agriculture and rural development. He currently works as the Assistant Director and Research Assistant Professor in the Smith Center for International Sustainable Agriculture at the University of Tennessee. Joining me as a part of the One Health Initiative, we discuss how agricultural issues in one area can end up affecting communities on the other side of the globe and how very niche scientific resea...
Mar 31, 2022•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 379
This week I am talking with Itai Yanai, Director of the Institute for Computational Medicine and Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at NYU. We discuss Richard Dawkin’s book: The Selfish Gene, Darwin’s work with Evolution and Itai’s Podcast: The Night Science Podcast. Throughout the conversation we dive into extended phenotypes, spandrels in genetics, and evolution of things like facial hair and tails. Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being. https://night-science....
Mar 23, 2022•1 hr 51 min•Ep. 378
This week I’m talking all about science communication with Susanna L Harris. Susanna earned her PhD in microbiology at UNC-Chapel Hill and is now working to build better communication in Biotech. We chat about how to more effectively communicate scientific information by guiding conversations, getting other people’s individual contexts, and the best way to present new information. We also explore ideas like celebrating being wrong, enjoying boredom and how covid has affected scientific thinking....
Mar 17, 2022•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 377
My biggest hero Robert Sapolsky returns to the show for an exceptionally important conversation about stress during a time where many of us have experienced the most in our life. This is an important conversation about how lack of predictability and control can lead to learned helplessness. This recipient of the MacArthur Foundation genius grant is a Professor at Stanford University holding joint appointments in several departments, including Biological Sciences, Neurology & Neurological Sci...
Mar 09, 2022•1 hr 17 min
This week I am talking with Sophia Rokhlin, co-author of the book “When Plants Dream”. Sophia Rokhlin is an author, speaker and nonprofit organizer dedicated to supporting the conservation of Indigenous wisdom and territories. She currently serves as Technical Secretariat of the Amazon Emergency Fund We discuss ayahuasca, work in the amazon rainforest, and the role of indigenous peoples in our environmental future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 03, 2022•1 hr 10 min
This week I’m talking with Matthew Gray, associate director of the University of Tennessee Knoxville, Center for Wildlife Health about amphibians. He is also a part of the One Health Initiative. Dr. Gray specializes in disease ecology. His interests include transmission dynamics of emerging infectious disease and identifying management strategies that can thwart or eradicate outbreaks. We discuss the amphibian trade, reproductive strategies across the species and the spread of disease. Matt also...
Feb 23, 2022•1 hr 40 min
This week Shane is talking with Graham Walker, an Emergency Room Physician in San Francisco, CA. They discuss how Covid has effected hospitals and staff over the last 2 years. Graham runs down hospital checklists, decision making in the ER setting, and what he’s seen while working. They also go into the spread of misinformation through the media, and what could possibly be done in the future. References https://twitter.com/grahamwalker/status/1489429245520580608 https://www.nature.com/articles/d...
Feb 16, 2022•2 hr 17 min
Today I'm speaking with Matthew Browne, who is a Professor of Psychology researching gambling in Australia. Matthew also cohosts the podcast "Decoding the Gurus" which examines alternative hot takes on science and politics. We discuss academic politics, the psychology behind conspiratorial reasoning, alternative medicine, and much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 10, 2022•2 hr 7 min
This week I’m talking with Melanie Martin, a biological anthropologist investigating evolutionary and ecological influences on growth and development, and the implications of those relationships for public health. Her research, conducted with two indigenous populations—the Tsimane of Bolivia and the Qom of Argentina—combines field research with laboratory analysis of non-invasive biomarkers and mixed-modeling approaches. We discuss child rearing in remote villages and breast feeding practices ac...
Feb 02, 2022•1 hr 21 min
This week Shane chats with Hollie Raynor, Professor in the Department of Nutrition at The University of Tennessee Knoxville. Hollie is the Director of the Healthy Eating and Activity Laboratory. She has training in the fields of nutrition and clinical psychology. Her research focuses on dietary factors, such as portion size, variety, and energy-density, which influence food consumption. In this full episode we talk about how nutritional information changes over time, the challenges and benefits ...
Jan 27, 2022•1 hr 40 min
Today I'm hanging out with returning guest, Herman Pontzer. Herman is the author of "Burn: New Research Blows the Lid Off How We Really Burn Calories, Lose Weight, and Stay Healthy". He investigates the physiology of humans and apes to understand how ecology, lifestyle, diet, and evolutionary history affect metabolism and health. You can find Herman on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/hermanpontzer Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit mega...
Jan 19, 2022•1 hr 6 min
This week I talk with Associate Professor of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior at The University of Minnesota, Emilie Snell-Rood. Emilie’s lab takes both a basic and applied approach to understanding insect responses to environmental change. Currently, a number of her projects consider roadsides as habitat for insect pollinators, studying interactions between nutrients and roadside stressors in the development of butterflies and bees. We talk about diversity in butterflies, the process of metamorp...
Jan 12, 2022•1 hr 19 min
Jessica Brinkworth returns to Here We Are for her 4th time to give us an update on COVID! We talk about the spread of misinformation, vaccine hesitancy, booster shots, the neurological and cardiac side effects of COVID, the danger in over-exercising while infected with COVID, the new Omicron variant, the naïve guidance from the CDC, and a whole lot more! Jessica is an assistant professor in the department of anthropology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research addresses the ...
Jan 05, 2022•2 hr 39 min
Today I talk to returning guest, Emily J Willingham, about her book "The The Tailored Brain: From Ketamine, to Keto, to Companionship, A User's Guide to Feeling Better and Thinking Smarter". We talk about the neuroscience behind resilience, exercise, mindfulness practice, social interactions, breathing, the uprising in popularity of the wellness community and supplements, and the future of neurotropic research. Check out Emily's work at: http://www.emilywillinghamphd.com/ Don't forget, you can h...
Dec 30, 2021•1 hr 29 min
On a very special episode of Here We Are, I talk with wonderful friend and fellow comedian, Duncan Trussell. Check out Duncan’s Podcast, The Duncan Trussell Family Hour and his psychedelic animated series, The Midnight Gospel on Netflix. We chat about science and mysticism, tradition and rituals, meditation and development over a lifespan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 22, 2021•1 hr 40 min
This week I am speaking with Douglas Noll, author of the book *De-Escalate: How to Calm an Angry Person in 90 Seconds or Less* which was the winner of the Book Excellence Award for 2017. Douglas E. Noll. is a full time peacemaker and mediator, specializing in difficult, complex, and intractable conflicts. He has a Masters Degree in Peacemaking and Conflict Studies. Doug tells me all about the Prison of Peace Project which aims to help inmates develop peacemaking skills to reduce violence and pro...
Dec 15, 2021•1 hr 3 min
This week, Shane is talking with Dr. Zlatan Križan, Professor of Psychology at Iowa State University, and Barrett Klein, Professor of Biology at UW-La Crosse who are meeting for the first time to film this incredible episode that crosses both their fields of research. Dr. Križan directs the Sleep, Self, and Personality Laboratory (SSPeL) that examines how sleep and personality intersect with social behavior and self-regulation. Barrett Klein is the head of The PUPATING LAB is where he studies in...
Dec 08, 2021•1 hr 43 min
Here We Are turns 8 years old! To celebrate, I decided to do record a solo episode talking about how I got into science and comedy, feeling out of place throughout my childhood/early adulthood, and why I started the Here We Are Podcast. Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 01, 2021•1 hr 20 min
This week I am speaking with Associate Professor of Economics at The University of Tennessee Knoxville, Charles Sims. We discuss the economics of covid-19, climate change, carbon taxes, and the uncertainties that come along with major decision making. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 18, 2021•1 hr 41 min
Today I speak with evolutionary biologist and author, Henry Gee. We discuss the writing process, the replication crisis, the origin of the Universe and life on Earth, and what human extinction might look like. You can purchase Henry's new book, "A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth" and learn more about his work at https://averyshorthistoryoflifeonearth.blogspot.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 10, 2021•1 hr 40 min
On this week's episode of Here We Are, I am talking with Gregory Zuckerman. Greg is a Special Writer at The Wall Street Journal. He's an investigative reporter who writes about business and investing topics. He's also the author of A Shot to Save the World: The Inside Story of the Life-or-Death Race for a COVID-19 Vaccine. We talk about the history of vaccine research, pharmaceutical companies, and conveying information to the public, as well as the next big scientific advances. Thank you for wa...
Nov 04, 2021•1 hr 17 min
This week I'm speaking with authors of The Knowledge Illusion, Steve Sloman and Phil Fernbach. Steven Sloman is a cognitive scientist at Brown University who studies how people think. Phil Fernbach is a cognitive scientist and professor of marketing at the University of Colorado, Boulder. The book explores why we think we know so much more than we do, and the profound implications for individuals and society. Humans have built hugely complex societies and technologies, but most of us don’t even ...
Oct 28, 2021•1 hr 13 min
In celebration of Halloween I'm speaking with Mathias Clasen, a scholar of horror fiction and associate professor in literature and media at Aarhus University in Denmark. Clasen’s research integrates horror study with the natural and social sciences, in particular human behavioral biology and evolutionary and cognitive psychology. In this episode we talk about classic horror tales, why we love feeling scared, and the evolution of classic horror icons. This is the great conversation for those who...
Oct 20, 2021•1 hr 33 min
This week I talk with Nicholas Coles, A research scientist at Stanford University. Nicholas is an experimental psychologist who conducts research in affective science and the emerging field of meta-science. In affective science, Nicholas seeks to understand the social, cognitive, and physiological processes that underlie the conscious experience of emotion. In this episode we talk about what emotions are, cultural differences in emotional experience and why faking a smile is so exhausting. Plus ...
Oct 15, 2021•1 hr 51 min
Today I am speaking with Coltan Scrivner, who is a researcher at The University of Chicago in the Department of Comparative Human Development and a Fellow at the Institute for Mind and Biology. We talk about horror, anxiety, why some people enjoy scaring themselves for fun, and I take Coltan's Morbid Curiosity Test! Find out how morbidly curious you are! https://www.coltanscrivner.com/morbid-curiosity-test Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 12, 2021•1 hr 40 min
Today I'm speaking with Adam Willcox from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His lab focuses on the human dimensions of biodiversity conservation, endangered species management, and protected areas management. Adam also serves with the Smith Center for International Sustainable Agriculture. We discuss changing social and environmental norms, the cost of meat consumption, conserving biodiversity, and how traveling can change your worldview. Explore Adam's research here! https://scholar.googl...
Sep 29, 2021•1 hr 33 min
Today I'm speaking with Sean Doody, who studies reptiles and conservation biology theory! We talk about the evolution of reptiles, the difficulty with studying reptiles' bizarre, yet surprisingly active social lives, and what we could learn from lizards' unique limb regeneration abilities. Sean co-wrote the book "The Secret Social Lives of Reptiles" with Gordon M. Burghardt who was also recently on the show. You can check their book out here: https://amzn.to/3od8ZA Learn more about your ad choic...
Sep 22, 2021•1 hr 38 min
