Evolution Soup

THE EVOLUTION OF CLOTHING - from Nakedness to Coverings ~ with PROFESSOR NINA JABLONSKI

49K views · 1mo ago · 34:53

NINA JABLONSKI is Professor Emerita of Anthropology at Pennsylvania State University, and the author of the books Skin: A Natural History and Living Color, which explore the evolution of human skin and skin pigmentation. Her studies include primate and human evolution, focusing on their adaptations to the environment.

Topics: Nina's background · The skin/clothing relationship · Nakedness to coverings · Neanderthals & Early Modern Humans · Culture & clothing · Upcoming projects

The Two-Million-Year Growth Spurt ~ DR JACOB GARDNER

10K views · 3mo ago · 38:30

DR JACOB GARDNER is an evolutionary biologist as well as a Post-doctoral Research Associate at the University of Reading, using the fossil record, ancient human DNA, and advanced statistical modeling to explore how species evolve, disperse, and adapt to climate change.

Topics: Jacob's background · Hominin body mass over time · Why did the growth spurt happen? · Determining hominin body sizes · What about hominin anomalies? · Future projects

WHEN LIFE FROZE - Secrets of Snowball Earth ~ DR MAXWELL LECHTE

5.6K views · 5mo ago · 37:18

DR MAXWELL LECHTE is a Research Fellow in Sedimentary Geology and Critical Minerals at the University of Sydney, Australia. His research focuses on the study of the ancient rock record to figure out what Earth was like billions of years ago, and how changes in the environment helped early complex life to evolve.

Topics: Dr Lechte's background · Dr Lechte's work · The Cryogenian period · Climate & controversy · Life below the snowball · Upcoming projects

The Dinosaurs That Live Among Us - THE STORY OF BIRDS ~ with PROFESSOR STEVE BRUSATTE

11K views · 6mo ago · 45:52

Thumbnail art of species Yi qi by paleo artist @Paleorex. Yi qi (meaning "strange wing") was a small Jurassic dinosaur that had membranous wings very similar to those of modern bats. PROFESSOR STEVE BRUSATTE is a vertebrate palaeontologist and evolutionary biologist at University of Edinburgh, Scotland - specializing in the anatomy, genealogy, and evolution of dinosaurs and other fossil organisms.

Topics: Bird evolution overview · The evolution of feathers · The evolution of flight · Surviving extinction · The China fossils · Upcoming projects

ANCESTOR OF THE APES ~ The Masripithecus Discovery ~ with DR ERIK SEIFFERT

16K views · 6mo ago · 1:01:10

PROFESSOR ERIK SEIFFERT is an evolutionary biologist and palaeontologist at the University of Southern California, known for his research on mammalian evolution, particularly the early history of primates. His research looks at how early mammals in Africa and Arabia evolved, adapted, and spread over 23 million years ago.

Topics: Erik's background · Erik's research · The Masripithecus discovery · Fossil analysis (Bayesian tip-dating) · Working with Hesham Sallam · Upcoming projects

THE FIRST ASIANS? - Mysteries of the Yunxian Skulls ~ with CHRISTOPHER BAE

10K views · 6mo ago · 35:06

Guest: Christopher Bae

CHRISTOPHER BAE is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Hawaii, and his main interests center around the human evolutionary record in East Asia and all its intriguing species – especially those discovered in recent years.

Topics: Hominid discoveries in China · The story of the Yunxian skulls · Cosmogenic nuclide burial dating · Re-examining Homo erectus & Out of Africa · Upcoming projects · Our artists

A NEW HABILIS SKELETON - Return of the Handyman ~ with DR CARRIE MONGLE

19K views · 7mo ago · 23:23

DR CARRIE MONGLE is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology and Turkana Basin Institute at Stony Brook University, and her research focuses on the discovery and description of new hominin fossils from the Turkana Basin in Kenya.

Topics: Overview of Homo habilis · Habilis - first fossils · Anatomy · Evolutionary implications · Why does it take so long? · Upcoming projects

YOUR DNA'S FATAL FLAW ~ The Mutation Hotspot - with DR DONATE WEGHORN

2.9K views · 8mo ago · 33:51

DR DONATE WEGHORN is group leader at the Centre for Genomic Regulation, Barcelona, Spain, studying mutational processes in human populations. In November 2025, Donate published research on a ‘mutational hotspot’ that her team identified within the human genome – an explosively dangerous area affecting brain function ... as well as the onset of cancer.

Topics: Donate's background · Monitoring mutations · Mutational hotspots · Genes most affected · Hotspots and health · Genetic studies impact

The Chimpanzee Metacognition Experiment ~ with PROFESSOR JAN ENGELMANN

4.4K views · 9mo ago · 43:47

JAN ENGELMANN is an Associate Professor of Psychology at University of California, Berkeley, focusing on animal cognition and comparative psychology. Along with an international team of researchers, Jan has released the results of fascinating island-based experiments, observing that chimpanzees can change their minds based on evidence, a key feature of rational thought.

Topics: Jan's background · Comparative psychology · Ngamba island experiments · EXPERIMENT (strong evidence; counter-evidence) · EXPERIMENT (weak evidence; counter-evidence) · EXPERIMENT (evidence vs undermining defeaters)

SHAPE OF ERECTUS - The Gona Bone Puzzle ~ with DR KAREN BAAB

22K views · 9mo ago · 40:22

DR KAREN BAAB is a biological anthropologist and a Professor in the Department of Anatomy at Midwestern University, Arizona, focusing on the extinct relatives of humans and what the shape of hominin skulls can tell us. In our last interviews, we talked about the famous "Hobbits" of Flores Island, followed by a comprehensive overview of Homo erectus.

Topics: Overview of Homo erectus · The Gona fossil discovery · The digital reconstruction · Digital revelations · A new perspective on erectus · Homo naledi similarities

THE BALKAN HOMININ - A Forgotten Ancestor ~ with MIRJANA ROKSANDIC

19K views · 10mo ago · 33:19

Is the fossil jaw found in a Serbian cave in 2006 actually Homo heidelbergensis? Homo bodoensis? Or a totally new species? DR MIRJANA ROKSANDIC is an N.S.E.R.C. Canada Research Chair in Human Evolution and Professor of Anthropology at the University of Winnipeg. Mirjana's interests focus upon Pleistocene hominin evolution in Europe, asking the big questions as to when, how, and why humans have moved across the vast expanses of land and sea.

Topics: The significance of the Balkans · The Mala Balanica cave find · The Pešturina cave · Upcoming projects · Special thanks to · Our artists

How Did Neanderthals Survive 100,000+ Years of Cold? ~ with PROFESSOR TRENTON HOLLIDAY

24K views · 11mo ago · 41:21

TRENTON HOLLIDAY is Professor of Anthropology as well as Interim Associate Dean at Tulane University in New Orleans. Today, he returns to the show to talk about Neanderthals and their incredible adaptations to 100,000 years of cold!

Topics: New findings on Neanderthals · Neanderthals and the Ice Age · Physical adaptations · Technological adaptations · Upcoming projects · Special Thanks To...

RETURN OF THE TOOLMAKER - Hands of Paranthropus ~ with DR CARRIE MONGLE

14K views · 11mo ago · 33:21

DR CARRIE MONGLE is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology and Turkana Basin Institute at Stony Brook University, and her research focuses on the discovery and description of new hominin fossils from the Turkana Basin in Kenya.

Topics: Carrie's background · Paranthropus overview · The Leakeys · Hands of Paranthropus · Feet of Paranthropus · Upcoming projects

NEANDERTHAL BONE HACKERS - The Scladina Discovery ~ with GRÉGORY ABRAMS

7.7K views · 1y ago · 37:48

DR GRÉGORY ABRAMS is an archaeologist and Post-doctoral Researcher at Ghent Archaeological Science Centre, Ghent University, Belgium and his main focus is on the archaeology of Neanderthal sites in Belgium and Northwest Europe.

Topics: Greg's background · Neanderthal cave sites of Northwest Europe · Tools from Cave Lion bones · Proteomics · Changing our view of Neanderthals · Upcoming projects

EDIACARAN ECHOES - Tracing Evolution Across the Cosmos ~ DR EMILY MITCHELL

5.4K views · 1y ago · 24:07

Are Earth's ancient lifeforms a clue to how life might have formed on other worlds? DR EMILY MITCHELL is an Assistant Professor at Cambridge University, researching the ecology and evolution of early animals from the ancient Ediacaran period as well as similar communities of the Antarctic.

Topics: Emily's background · An Ediacaran overview · Why Antarctica is important · New scanning technology · Life on other worlds · New projects