Origin Stories
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What makes us human? How are we different from chimpanzees? Who are our earliest ancestors and how do we know? Origin Stories is The Leakey Foundation's podcast about how we became human. This award-winning show combines science and narrative to explore our human story and explain why we are the way we are. Listen and explore human evolution one story at a time.
Origin Stories
3w ago
Music is universal in all human cultures, but why? What gives us the ability to hear sound as music? Are we the only musical species–or was Darwin right when he said every animal with a backbone should be able to perceive, if not enjoy music? Professor Henkjan Honing is on a mission to find out.
Learn more
Henkjan Honing's website
Music Cognition Group Blog
The Evolving Animal Orchestra - Henkjan Honing
What makes us musical animals - Henkjan Honing lecture
Henkjan Honing TedX Amsterdam
Snowball dancing to the Backstreet Boys
Ronan the sea lion
Songs to make the forest happy
It turns out we w ..read more
Origin Stories
2M ago
What is it like to be responsible for the safekeeping of the ancestors of everyone in the world? In this episode, we travel to the National Museum of Ethiopia to see our most famous fossil relative – Lucy – and meet Yared Assefa, the person who takes care of her and all of our Ethiopian fossil ancestors and relatives.
If you love fossils, you won't want to miss this episode!
Special thanks
Thanks to Yared Assefa, Dr. Berhane Asfaw, and Dr. Mulugeta Feseha, who hosted The Leakey Foundation at the National Museum of Ethiopia.
Quadruple your impact!
Support the show! Your donation will be q ..read more
Origin Stories
2M ago
Sleep is one of the defining traits of human life. It's also one of the most mysterious. Dr. Horacio de la Iglesia is a neurobiologist who's on a quest to understand how patterns of human sleep evolved. His new research shows an unexpected connection between sleep and the cycles of the moon.
Links
de la Iglesia Lab Moonstruck Sleep It's not just the pandemic. The moon may be messing with your sleep, too The de la Iglesia Lab Sleep and Homelessness Project Science and Evolution of Sleep | Ask a Biologist
Podcast Recommendation: Our Opinions Are Correct
The Leakey Foundation
Origin Stories ..read more
Origin Stories
2M ago
What is it like to be responsible for the safekeeping of the ancestors of everyone in the world? In this episode, we travel to the National Museum of Ethiopia to see our most famous fossil relative – Lucy, and meet Yared Assefa, the person who takes care of her and all of our Ethiopian fossil ancestors and relatives.
If you love fossils, you won't want to miss this episode!
Special thanks
Thanks to Yared Assefa, Dr. Berhane Asfaw, and Dr. Mulugeta Feseha, who hosted The Leakey Foundation at the National Museum of Ethiopia.
Links to learn more
President Obama's speech to the African Union ..read more
Origin Stories
3M ago
Travel through 50,000 years of human history following clues hidden inside beads made from ostrich eggshells. In this episode, researchers Jennifer Miller and Yiming Wang share how these tiny artifacts reveal a sweeping story of ancient social networks, cultural connections, and human adaptability.
Support the show
Help us make more episodes! All tax-deductible donations to Origin Stories will be quadruple-matched!
>>>> Please click here to make a one-time or monthly donation.
Guests
Dr. Jennifer Miller
Dr. Yiming Wang
Links to learn more
Ostrich eggshell beads reveal 50,0 ..read more
Origin Stories
4M ago
2023 was another exciting year in human origins research! Fossil discoveries and long-term primate studies expanded our understanding of what makes us human. In this episode, four Leakey Foundation scientists shared their favorite human evolution discoveries from the past year.
Help us make more episodes! All tax-deductible donations to Origin Stories will be quadruple-matched!
>>>> Please click here to make a one-time or monthly donation.
Guests
Briana Pobiner
Emma Finestone
Nasser Malit
Risa Luther
Links to learn more
Hunting and processing of straight-tusked eleph ..read more
Origin Stories
6M ago
Sibling relationships can include everything from love and support–to tension, competition, and conflict. They might also play a fundamental role in the evolution of our species. In the final installment of our three-part series on family relationships, researchers Karen Kramer, Cat Hobaiter, and Rachna Reddy explore surprising new science about the role of siblings in primate and human evolution.
Links to learn more:
Why are there so many humans?
Children and social learning
Karen Kramer
Cat Hobaiter
Rachna Reddy
Support Origin Stories and help us explore human evolution one story at a time ..read more
Origin Stories
7M ago
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 second in a three-part series on family relationships, researchers Lee Gettler, Stacy Rosenbaum, and Sonny Bechayda explore how our species' approach to fatherhood may have shaped some of the most important traits that set us apart from other mammals. Leo Hornak produced this episode. Sound design by Ray Pang. Host and executive producer, Meredith Johnson. Our editor is Audrey Quinn. Theme music by Henry ..read more
Origin Stories
9M ago
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 Afri ..read more
Origin Stories
10M ago
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:
Justin Pargeter, NYU
Drone tour of the Boomplaas Cave area
Human Origins Migration and Evolution Research Gro ..read more