Best Ilari Makela Podcasts (2024)

1
41 | What Can Moral Dilemmas Tell Us About Ourselves? ~ Peter Railton 1:11:39

13d ago1:11:39

1:11:39

You are driving a car. The brakes stop working. To your horror, you are approaching a busy street market. Many people might be killed if you run into them. The only way to prevent a catastrophe is by turning fast to the right. Unfortunately, a lonely pedestrian might be killed if you do so. Should you turn? Many people say you should. After all, ki…

1
The Birth of Modern Prosperity, Part 4 | Grasping Towards Equality (with Branko Milanovic) 36:26

26d ago36:26

36:26

The Industrial Revolution played in the hands of the rich. A century after James Watt revealed his steam engine in 1776, the richest 1% owned a whopping 70% of British wealth. Then things changed. Across rich countries, inequality plummeted for decades. Join Branko Milanovic on this quest to understand the evolution of inequality during the buildin…

1
The Birth of Modern Prosperity, Part 3 | Power to the People (with Daron Acemoglu) 36:09

1M ago36:09

36:09

The Industrial Revolution did not create modern prosperity. Indeed, the British workers saw little or no improvements in their wages between 1750 and 1850. They did, however, experience ever-worsening working conditions. Then things changed. Britain became a democracy. And with democracy, the economy changed, too. Or so argues Daron Acemoglu, one o…

1
The Birth of Modern Prosperity, Part 2 | Laboratories of the New Era (with Brad DeLong) 35:25

1M ago35:25

35:25

For millenia, patriarchy, population growth, and extractive elites made the world a bleak place for most humans. But there are good news, too: everything changed around 1870. And the changed happened due to the taming of the genius of people like Nikolai Tesla. So runs the argument my guest today, Brad DeLong. I will let him explain it to you. You …

1
The Birth of Modern Prosperity, Part 1 | Educating a New Generation (with Oded Galor) 29:39

2M ago29:39

29:39

We live longer and grow taller than ever before. We are healthier and wealthier. Our ancestors could hardly have imagined a life of such prosperity. A future archaeologist would be equally puzzled. How did we become so rich so fast? What changes could have been so dramatic as to literally change the height of our species? Our modern prosperity is n…

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40 | Mothers, Fathers, And The Many Myths We Have Held ~ Sarah Blaffer Hrdy 59:12

2M ago59:12

59:12

Over half a century, Sarah Blaffer Hrdy has challenged many of our myths about parenting, attachment, and "human nature". In this conversation, we dive into her remarkable career, culminating in her new book, Father Time. [You can now order Father Time via Amazon or Princeton Uni Press] We discuss a variety of topics, from hunter-gatherer parenting…

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39 | Did Humans Evolve In Small Groups? ~ Cecilia Padilla-Iglesias 48:21

3M ago48:21

48:21

Modern cities are unique. Never before have so many people lived so close to each other. But just how unique is our modern cosmopolitanism? Completely unique, says a traditional theory. Humans evolved in groups. These groups were not only smaller than modern cities. They were smaller than medieval towns. Indeed, hunter-gatherers often move in bands…

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38 | Can We Understand Infinity? ~ Adrian Moore 1:17:31

4M ago1:17:31

1:17:31

Infinity is a puzzling idea. Even young children ponder its various manifestations: What is the biggest number? Does the universe have an edge? Does time have a beginning? Philosophers have tried to answer these questions since time immemorial. More recently, they have been joined by scientists and mathematicians. So what have we learned? Can we fi…

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37 | How Did Humans Evolve? Why Did We? ~ Ian Tattersall 1:09:37

4M ago1:09:37

1:09:37

Why are we furless? Why do we cook our food and use spoken language? And how does climate change, sashimi, or the banks of Central America relate to human origins? Human evolution is a deeply puzzling topic. But behind this dense mist lies many keys to our self-understanding. To guide us through the foggy territory, I am joined by Dr Ian Tattersall…

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36 | How Did Consciousness Evolve? Did It? ~ Eva Jablonka 55:14

5M ago55:14

55:14

We are conscious creatures. But why? Why did consciousness evolve? Can we use biology to explain the origins of feeling and meaning? Or will consciousness forever escape the grip of the scientific method? Eva Jablonka has thought hard about these issues. An eminent evolutionary biologist, she became famous for her pioneering work on epigenetic inhe…

1
35 | Why Do We Love? ~ Arthur Aron 38:53

5M ago38:53

38:53

Why do we love? What brings us together? How to heal ethnic hatred? According to my guest, the answer to all these questions lies in the human desire to grow ourselves through connecting with others. Arthur Aron is a psychologist who studies human bonding in all its forms. A pioneer in the field, he has studied topics from connecting with strangers…

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Mental Health Bonus | The Origins of ADHD, Anxiety, and Depression ~ Nikhil Chaudhary 14:28

6M ago14:28

14:28

Can evolution shed light on our mental health? Nikhil Chaudhary thinks so. He is an anthropologist at the University of Cambridge who specialises in the links between evolution and psychiatry. In this clip, Dr Chaudhary explores the evolutionary origins of ADHD, depression, and anxiety. For our longer conversation on parenting and family life, see …

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34 | Family Lessons From Hunter-Gatherers ~ Nikhil Chaudhary 1:04:59

6M ago1:04:59

1:04:59

We expect a lot from parents, especially from mothers. “Maternal instincts” are such, we are told, that mothers should gain almost literal superpowers from the joy of parenting. Unfortunately, many parents face a different reality. Having children can be one of the most stressful times of life, amplified by feelings of guilt and inadequacy. Why is …

1
Encore | This Conversation Touched The Most Hearts in 2023 ~ Helen Fisher 1:38:01

6M ago1:38:01

1:38:01

Happy New Year 2024! To celebrate the new year, Spotify sent me a bunch of data points about 2023. I was particularly interested in one question: which conversation moved people the most? I already knew which episode people played the most. (That's episode 17 with Bernardo Kastrup.) But to listen is one thing. To share with friends and family is an…

1
33 | Could Homo Floresiensis Be Alive Today? ~ Gregory Forth 1:02:03

7M ago1:02:03

1:02:03

This is the final episode of 2023. And it is an odd episode. My guest is Gregory Forth. He is an anthropologist who specializes in the biological theories of indigenous peoples. Forth was doing this work on the Flores Island, Indonesia, during the 2003 discovery of a new hominin species: Homo floresiensis. This was an exciting discovery for many. B…

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32 | The Evolution of Inequality Under Capitalism ~ Branko Milanović 1:00:13

7M ago1:00:13

1:00:13

Capitalism can cause massive economic inequalities. Indeed, a century after Adam Smith wrote the Wealth of Nations, the richest 1% owned a record-breaking 70% of England’s wealth. Not surprisingly, this era saw the rise of a very different economic theorist: Karl Marx. [You can see this and many other graphs here.] But does capitalism have to incre…

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31 | Meaning of Life Beyond Space and Time ~ Donald Hoffman 33:22

8M ago33:22

33:22

The tension between science and religion is perhaps the greatest tension of our age. Is the world fundamentally made of atoms, quarks, and quantum fields? Or is the material world but a secondary realm, lesser in meaning to the kingdom of God? There are many iterations of this tension. But there are also bridge-builders; thinkers who want to bridge…

1
30 | Could Consciousness Explain The Laws Of Physics? ~ Donald Hoffman 1:03:28

8M ago1:03:28

1:03:28

The world is governed by objective laws of physics. They explain the movements of planets, oceans, and cells in our bodies. But can they ever explain the feelings and meanings of our mental lives? This problem, called the hard problem of consciousness, runs very deep. No satisfactory explanation exists. But many think that there must, in principle,…

1
29 | Did Men Hunt and Women Gather? ~ Cara Ocobock 1:28:36

8M ago1:28:36

1:28:36

How natural is a sexual division of labour? Very natural, claims a popular theory. Indeed, it was the secret to our success: men evolved to hunt, women to forage. This allowed women to focus on childcare while staying economically productive; after all, one can gather food with children. Men, on the other hand, could focus on high-risk hunting. At …

1
28 | A Natural History of Equality ~ Sarah Brosnan 1:10:14

9M ago1:10:14

1:10:14

“Why do we care about equality? Is it an invention of the European Enlightenment? Or is it something rooted in human nature?” These questions launched episode 15 with philosopher Elizabeth Anderson. Titled “A Deep History of Equality”, our conversation ranged from Pleistocene hunter-gatherers to Chinese communism. Today’s episode continues the ques…

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27 | Is the Human Brain Special? ~ Suzana Herculano-Houzel 1:10:53

10M ago1:10:53

1:10:53

The human brain is sometimes called the "most complex thing in the universe”. It allows us to study ourselves, other animals, and the cosmos itself. Indeed, we often think of our brain as the pinnacle of animal evolution. But what do we actually know about the human brain? How different is it from the brain of an elephant? A chimpanzee? A raccoon? …

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Encore | How Love Synchronises Our Brains ~ Ruth Feldman 40:22

10M ago40:22

40:22

How literally can we be in "synch" with someone? Very literally, said my guest in episode 3. Originally titled “A Musical Biology of Love”, this was a fascinating episode with jazz musician and neuroscientist Ruth Feldman. We recorded the episode one year ago, almost to the day. I have thought a lot about it ever since. So here it is again, with re…

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26 | Do Machines Improve the Human Condition? ~ Daron Acemoglu 48:28

10M ago48:28

48:28

Machines allow us to do more work with less effort. They sound like an obviously good thing. But there is a tension here. New gadgets and new technologies - new simple “machines” - have been invented throughout history. But it looks like the living standard of the average person did not change for most of that time. So what happened to all the extr…

1
Encore | Is War Natural For Humans? ~ Douglas P. Fry 1:15:19

11M ago1:15:19

1:15:19

To complete a trilogy on the anthropology of war, here is episode 8 from the archives. Enjoy! SUPPORT THE SHOW Please consider becoming a supporter of On Humans. Even small monthly donations can make a huge impact on the long-term sustainability of the program. Visit: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/OnHumans ⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get in touch: ilari@onhumans.org _______ Thomas Hob…

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25 | What Can Chimpanzees Tell Us About War and Peace? ~ Brian Ferguson 1:16:30

11M ago1:16:30

1:16:30

Is war natural for humans? This question launched episode 8 of this podcast. In that episode, anthropologist Douglas Fry argued that war is a new phenomenon. Yes, history is full of wars. But war arrived on stage only 10-15 thousand years ago – or in many areas, much later. And while war is undoubtedly part of human capacity, it is hardly our hardw…

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24 | How War Shapes Our Humanity ~ Greta Uehling 55:32

12M ago55:32

55:32

What does war do to the human psyche? It can traumatise. It can cause grief. It can normalise violence and make demons out of the enemy. But difficult times can also elevate our care and compassion. And while much of the new solidarity is focused on those on “our side”, the helping hand does not always stop at the border. Or so argues anthropologis…

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23 | Walking Towards the Human Condition ~ Jeremy DeSilva 1:22:29

12M ago1:22:29

1:22:29

Humans are odd in many ways. But perhaps the oddest of our features is our upright posture. We walk on two legs. And we are the only mammal to do so. So why do we walk upright? And why does it matter? Jeremy DeSilva is a fossil expert and a professor of paleoanthropology at Dartmouth College. He is also the author of a remarkable book, aptly titled…

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22 | Do Young Children Care About Others? Searching For The Seeds Of Human Morality ~ Amrisha Vaish 1:18:27

1y ago1:18:27

1:18:27

Here is a common view on human development: In the beginning, children can only think about themselves. Slowly, they learn to care about others — or more cynically, they learn to pretend that they care about others. Variations of this view have been promoted by thinkers from Sigmund Freud to Richard Dawkins. This view has then been used to make pre…

1
21 | What Kind of Apes Are We? ~ Richard Wrangham 1:02:23

1y ago1:02:23

1:02:23

What would a Neanderthal think about our species? What about a chimpanzee? When compared to our cousins, how friendly or violent are we? Richard Wrangham is a chimpanzee expert and professor of human biology at Harvard. He is one of the most important evolutionary anthropologists alive and truly one of the dream guests for this podcast. It was a gr…

1
Season Highlights ~ Living With True Egalitarians (with Vivek Venkataraman) 7:55

1y ago7:55

7:55

Season 2 is out this Saturday, 17th of June! In this final highlight from season 1, anthropologist Vivek Venkataraman talks to Ilari about living with Batek hunter-gatherers. The Batek live in the rainforests of Malaysia and are famous for being one of the most egalitarian society ever studied: things are shared, decisions are made together, and me…

1
Season Highlights ~ Was Marx Right About History But Wrong About The Future? (with Brad DeLong) 13:03

1y ago13:03

13:03

Season 2 is kicking off on the 17th of June! In the meanwhile, we have time for a couple of more highlights. This one is from episode 18 with economic historian Brad Delong, author of Slouching Towards Utopia.

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Season Highlights ~ How Geography Shaped Patriarchy, Slavery, and Enlightenment Philosophy (with Oded Galor) 23:52

1y ago23:52

23:52

In this highlight from season 1, Ilari talks with economist Oded Galor about how factors such as soil quality can explain cultural differences, such as variations in the level of patriarchy. For the full episode and show notes, see episode 13. For the first episode with Galor, see episode 12. Season 2 is out in June! Do consider subscribing to stay…

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Season Highlights ~ What Makes Romantic Love Last? Plus: A Cautionary Note on SSRIs (with Helen Fisher) 14:27

1y ago14:27

14:27

In this highlight from season 1, Helen Fisher discusses her research with couples deeply in love after 20 years of marriage. The clip also includes Fisher's 7 science-based tips for fostering romantic relationships, and a cautionary note on SSRI (not SNRI) antidepressants. Dig deeper To read more about the possible effects of SSRIs on sex drive and…

1
Season Highlights ~ How Climate Changes Brought Us Together (with Kristen Hawkes) 7:26

1y ago7:26

7:26

In this highlight from season 1, Kristen Hawkes presents an intriguing hypothesis about the human past. According to Hawkes, ancient climate changes pushed our ancestors away from the rainforests. On the savannas, teamwork was finally rewarded. For more notes and links, see the original episode 6 (Are Grandmothers the Key to Our Evolutionary Succes…

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Season Highlights ~ Why Is It So Difficult To Cure Mental Illness? (with Gregory Berns) 11:55

1y ago11:55

11:55

Season 1 is over. Season 2 is coming. In the meanwhile, please enjoy some highlights from the archives. This highlight revisits episode four, where Ilari talks with psychiatrist and neuroscientist Gregory Berns about his recent book, Self Delusion. In this flashback, Berns explains why he thinks psychiatry has been led astray by "medicine envy" and…

1
20 | Distorting Darwinism, Or Why Evolution Does Not Prove That We Are Selfish ~ SOLO 14:56

1+ y ago14:56

14:56

In the final episode of season 1, Ilari addresses one of the underlying themes in many of the season's episodes: Darwinism. Is Darwinism dangerous? Is Darwinism linked to vicious ideologies? Does Darwinism prove that we are all selfish? These questions have been addressed in many of this season's episodes (most notably episodes 1 and 2, but also 6,…

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19 | How To Build A Free Society ~ Karl Widerquist 1:13:44

1+ y ago1:13:44

1:13:44

The idea of Universal Basic Income (UBI) is simple: Everyone should have an income. And that they should have it whether they work or not. Indeed, its simplicity has made UBI an attractive policy suggestion for many on both the left and the right. But sometimes the practical virtues of UBI can distract us from the deeper significance of this idea. …

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18 | Human Condition in the Long 20th Century; Or How Economics Changed Everything ~ Brad DeLong 1:19:06

1+ y ago1:19:06

1:19:06

Most histories of the 20th century focus on world wars and ideological conflicts. Others focus on the fall of European empires. Yet others focus on the slow but inevitable progress of social justice movements. Important themes. But according to Brad DeLong, the real story of “the long 20th century” (1870-2010) is an economic story. It is the story …

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17 | Could Mind Be More Fundamental Than Matter? ~ Bernardo Kastrup 1:14:48

1+ y ago1:14:48

1:14:48

Our mental lives are full of purpose and feeling. Yet the world is governed by laws of physics which seem to lack a sense of either purpose or feeling. So how do we explain consciousness in terms of matter? The problem of consciousness is at the forefront of many dialogues between philosophy and science. So how deep is it? Dr Bernardo Kastrup argue…

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16 | Does Poverty Make Us Selfish? ~ Jacqueline Mattis 1:16:56

1+ y ago1:16:56

1:16:56

Social science paints a bleak picture of unprivileged life. Poverty is certainly treated as a social problem - as a harsh condition to live in. But it is also painted as a condition which blunts humanity's capacity for altruism and virtue. Jacqueline Mattis is a psychologist who has studied altruism and prosociality in deeply deprived areas, such a…

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15 | A Deep History of Equality ~ Elizabeth Anderson 1:20:34

1+ y ago1:20:34

1:20:34

Why do we care about equality? Is it an invention of the European Enlightenment? Or is it something rooted in human nature? If so, why does equality require constant fighting for? Elizabeth Anderson is a philosopher at the University of Michigan. She is one of the essential egalitarian theorists of our times. Her essay What's the Point of Equality …

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14 | What Can Hunter-Gatherers Tell Us About Our Origins? Going Beyond the Bestsellers ~ Vivek V. Venkataraman 1:13:00

1+ y ago1:13:00

1:13:00

What was life like before agriculture? Was it "nasty, brutish, and short?" Or was it quite peaceful and relaxing, making agriculture the "worst mistake in human history"? There are plenty of theories about our ancestral lives. And these are not just neutral hypotheses about a past epoch. They are often used as an origin story of our species. They s…

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13 | Tracing the Roots of the Wealth of Nations ~ Oded Galor 1:25:05

1+ y ago1:25:05

1:25:05

Wealth on planet Earth is not evenly distributed. Indeed, our country of birth predicts a huge amount of our access to food and technology. Although such differences have always existed, they have become dramatically accentuated in the past two centuries. During the early 1800s, the average income of a person living in the richest region of the wor…

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12 | An Economic History of Homo Sapiens ~ Oded Galor 43:59

1+ y ago43:59

43:59

If you take a moment to reflect on the economic condition of our species, you are likely to be puzzled over two mysteries. One is the mystery of wealth: How is it that humanity has been able to generate such a dramatic increase in wealth (e.g. in access to food, transportation, and medical technology)? The other is the mystery of inequality: Why is…

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Holiday Highlights ~ Patricia Churchland on Free Will & Neurophilosophy 17:13

1+ y ago17:13

17:13

Ilari is taking some time off for Christmas and New Year. Instead of new episodes, this holiday season features some highlights from this fall's conversations. This highlight revisits episode 1, where Ilari and Patricia Churchland discuss free will and neurophilosophy. For links and references, see the original episode.…

1
Holiday Highlights ~ Ruth Feldman on Empathy, Xenophobia, and Gay Dads 18:06

1+ y ago18:06

18:06

Ilari is taking some time off for Christmas and New Year. Instead of new episodes, this holiday season features some highlights from this fall's conversations. This highlight revisits episode 3, where Ruth Feldman explores the tricky relationship between the neurobiology of love and xenophobia. The discussion also touches upon early attachment as a…

1
Holiday Highlights ~ Philip Kitcher on Secular Humanism & Religion 16:02

1+ y ago16:02

16:02

Ilari is taking some time off for Christmas and New Year. Instead of new episodes, this holiday season features some highlights from this fall's conversations. This highlight revisits episode 2, where Philip Kitcher explores the relationship between secular humanism and religion. For links and references, see the original episode.…

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11 | A Cultural Biology of Sex, Love, and Monogamy ~ Helen Fisher 1:37:25

1+ y ago1:37:25

1:37:25

Why do we love? And how much does our culture shape the way we do so? In this episode, Ilari talks with Helen Fisher about the powers that drive and shape our romantic relationships. Ilari and Professor Fisher discuss: Is romantic love a modern invention? Is monogamy a social invention? Do men care more about sex? Do women care more about romance? …

1
10 | What Can Science Tell Us About Happiness? ~ Anna Alexandrova 1:16:06

1+ y ago1:16:06

1:16:06

In this episode, a philosopher of science from Cambridge offers us a cautiously optimistic guide to the science of happiness. Dr Anna Alexandrova, the author of A Philosophy for the Science of Well-being, and Ilari discuss questions such as: What do happiness questionnaires measure? Are rich countries happier than poorer ones? Should the science of…

1
9 | Do Dogs Feel Love & Other Questions in Animal Neuroscience ~ Gregory Berns 41:20

1+ y ago41:20

41:20

What is it like to be a non-human animal? Can neuroscience tell us the answer? In one of the most famous philosophy essays of the 20th century, Thomas Nagel suggested that we can never use science to know what it is like to be another animal, say, a bat. Neuroscience can describe bat physiology. But it can never tell us “what it is like to be a bat…

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