Episodios

  • Dr. Henry Erlich - Genetic Reconstruction of the Past

    Dr. Henry Erlich - Genetic Reconstruction of the Past
    May 28 2025

    Dr. Henry Erlich, Researcher Emeritus at Benioff UCSF Children's Hospital, joins the show to discuss his book, Genetic Reconstruction of the Past: DNA Analysis in Forensics and Human Evolution. We chatted about what it was like to pioneer PCR tests along with how PCR testing works, its applications (including medicine, understanding human evolution, and forensics), and some of the ethical dilemmas around DNA testing more generally.

    Books, articles, and media mentioned in this episode + helpful sites and articles:

    • Dr. Erlich's personal website
    • Dr. Erlich's Medium profile
    • Erlich, H. (2023). Genetic Reconstruction of the Past: DNA Analysis in Forensics and Human Evolution. Oxford University Press.
    • Ed. H Erlich, E Stover, TJ White. (2020). Silent Witness: Forensic DNA Evidence in Criminal Investigations and Humanitarian Disasters. Oxford University Press.
    • Wulf, A. (2016). The Invention of Nature: Alexander Von Humboldt's New World. Knopf - Vintage.
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    1 h y 12 m
  • Dr. Christopher Schmitt - Vervets and woolly monkeys

    Dr. Christopher Schmitt - Vervets and woolly monkeys
    Apr 30 2025

    Dr. Christopher Schmitt of Boston University joins the show to talk about how he uses life history theory and epigenetics as a lens for his work with vervets and woolly monkeys. We also chatted about the highs of fieldwork, along with understanding how identity can affect an individual's experience of the field.

    Books, articles, and media mentioned in this episode + helpful sites and articles:

    • Dr. Schmitt's personal website
    • Dr. Schmitt's faculty profile at Boston University
    • Schmitt, C., Service, S., Jasinska, A. et al. Obesity and obesogenic growth are both highly heritable and modified by diet in a nonhuman primate model, the African green monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus). Int J Obes 42, 765–774 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2017.301
    • Carrey, N. (2011). The Epigenetics Revolution: How Modern Biology Is Rewriting Our Understanding of Genetics, Disease, and Inheritance.
    • Stearns, S.C. (1992). The Evolution of Life Histories. Oxford University Press.
    • Turner, T. R., Schmitt, C. A., & Cramer, J. D. (2019). Savanna Monkeys: The Genus Chlorocebus. Cambridge University Press.
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    56 m
  • Dr. Kate Clancy - Period: The Real Story of Menstruation

    Dr. Kate Clancy - Period: The Real Story of Menstruation
    Mar 27 2025

    Dr. Kate Clancy of Illinois State University Urbana-Champaign joins the show to talk about her book, Period: The Real Story of Menstruation. We touch on what periods are, why humans might menstruate, factors that affect menstruation, the study of women's health in general, and a few things to keep in when doing research.

    Books, articles, and media mentioned in this episode + helpful sites and articles:

    • Clancy, K. (2023). Period: The Real Story of Menstruation. Princeton University Press. (Audiobook version)
    • Dr. Clancy's website
    • Dr. Clancy's faculty profile at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
    • Dr. Clancy's Bluesky profile
    • Dr. Clancy's Buttondown profile
    • Ellison, P.T. (2003). On Fertile Ground: A Natural History of Human Reproduction. Harvard University Press.
    • Van Der Sijpt, E. (2018). Wasted Wombs: Navigating Reproductive Interruptions in Cameroon. Vanderbilt University Press.
    • Nguyen, M. (2024). The Promise of Beauty. Duke University Press.
    • Gladstone, M. (2012). Three Parts Dead. Tor Books.
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    45 m
  • Dr. Rebecca Gilmour - Roman bioarchaeology

    Dr. Rebecca Gilmour - Roman bioarchaeology
    Feb 26 2025
    Dr. Rebecca Gilmour of Mount Royal University talks about bones, their mechanics, and how we can use both to understand humans' lives in the past -- especially around her main focus of disability and care in ancient Rome. Books, articles, and media mentioned in this episode + helpful sites and articles: Ed. CS Hirst, RJ Gilmour, FA Cardoso, KA Plomp. (2023). Behaviour in our Bones: How Human Behaviour Influences Skeletal Morphology. Elsevier.Gilmour, Rebecca & Plomp, Kimberly. (2022). The Changing Shape of Palaeopathology: The Contribution of Skeletal Shape Analyses to Investigations of Pathological Conditions. (OPEN ACCESS). Yearbook of Physical Anthropology. 10.1002/ajpa.24475..Battles, Heather & Gilmour, Rebecca. (2022). Beyond Mortality: Survivors of Epidemic Infections and the Bioarchaeology of Impairment and Disability. (OPEN ACCESS). 6. 23–40. 10.5744/bi.2021.0003.Gilmour, Rebecca & Brickley, Megan & Jurriaans, Erik & Prowse, Tracy. (2018). Maintaining mobility after fracture: A biomechanical analysis of fracture consequences at the Roman Sites of Ancaster (UK) and Vagnari (Italy). International Journal of Paleopathology. 24. 10.1016/j.ijpp.2018.09.002..Gilmour, Rebecca & Prowse, Tracy & Jurriaans, Erik & Brickley, Megan. (2017). Well-Trodden Roads: Skeletal Evidence for Sex-Related Mobility at the Roman Site of Vagnari, Italy. Conference presentation: American Association of Physical Anthropologists.Gilmour, Rebecca. (2017). Resilient Romans: Cross-Sectional Evidence for Long-Term Functional Consequences of Extremity Trauma. PhD thesis completed at McMaster University.Cunningham, C., Scheuer, L., Black, S. (2016). Developmental Juvenile Osteology. Academic Press.White, T. & Folken, P. (2005). The Human Bone Manual. Academic Press.Eds. Hirst, C.S., Gilmour, R.J., Cardoso, F.A. (2023). Behaviour in Our Bones: How Human Behaviour Influences Skeletal Morphology. Elsevier Science Publishing.Canci, Alessandro & Marchi, Damiano & Caramella, Davide & Sparacello, Vitale. (2024). A severe case of bilateral humerus varus deformity from the Middle Bronze age necropolis of Olmo di Nogara, Northeast Italy: The contribution of biomechanical analysis to paleopathological study. International journal of paleopathology. 47. 12-20. 10.1016/j.ijpp.2024.07.005.Ed. Laes, C. (2024). A Cultural History of Disability in Antiquity. Bloomsbury Acadamic.Van Pelt, S. (2022). Remarkably Bright Creatures. Ecco Press.Holmes, R. (2024). Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide. Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster.Blum, D. (2011). The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York. Penguin Books.
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    54 m
  • Dr. Jesse Goliath - Forensic anthropology

    Dr. Jesse Goliath - Forensic anthropology
    Jan 15 2025

    Dr. Jesse Goliath of Mississippi State University joins the show to talk about forensic anthropology, including how he ended up in forensic anthropology and how he developed the Mississippi Repository for Missing and Unidentified Persons. We also talk about the complicated relationship between race and forensic anthropology, along with the importance of bringing diverse perspectives to the field.

    Books, articles, and media mentioned in this episode + helpful sites and articles:
    • Dr. Goliath's personal website
    • Dr. Goliath's faculty profile page at MS State
    • Dr. Goliath's ResearchGate profile
    • The Mississippi Repository for Missing and Unidentified Persons
    • Forensic Pioneers of Color
    • Goliath, J.R., Yim, A., & Juarez, J.K. (Eds). (2024). Contemporary Concerns and Considations in Forensic Anthropology. [Special issue]. Humans, 4(1).
    • Hagerman, M.A. (2024). Children of a Troubled Time: Growing Up with Racism in Trump's America. New York University Press.
    • Barber, W.J & Wilson-Hartgrove, J. (2024). White Poverty: How Exposing Myths about Race and Class Can Reconstruct American Democracy. Liveright Publishing Corporation.
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    56 m
  • Dr. Christine Drea – Mechanisms of female dominance (hyenas, lemurs, meerkats)

    Dr. Christine Drea – Mechanisms of female dominance (hyenas, lemurs, meerkats)
    Dec 4 2024
    Dr. Christine Drea of Duke University joined the show to talk about mechanisms of female dominance, which is when females of a species are more dominant in groups than males. Dr. Drea looks at how genetics, hormones, and social dynamics interact with each other to result in female dominance in hyenas, meerkats, and lemurs. Content warning: We talk about animal genitalia and hyenas' traumatic birthing process. Books, articles, and media mentioned in this episode + helpful sites and articles: Dr. Drea’s faculty page at Duke UniversityDr. Drea’s websiteDr. Drea’s ResearchGate profileDixons, A. (2012). Primate Sexuality: Comparative Studies of the Prosimians, Monkeys, Apes, and Humans. Oxford University Press.Ellison, P. (2003). On Fertile Ground: A Natural History of Human Reproduction. Harvard University Press.Grebe, Nicholas & Sheikh, Alizeh & Ohannessian, Laury & Drea, Christine. (2023). Effects of Oxytocin Receptor Blockade on Dyadic Social Behavior in Monogamous and Non-Monogamous Eulemur. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 150. 106044. 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106044.Bornbusch, Sally & Clarke, Tara & Hobilalaina, Sylvia & Reseva, Honore & LaFleur, Marni & Drea, Christine. (2022). Microbial rewilding in the gut microbiomes of captive ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) in Madagascar. Scientific Reports. 12. 10.1038/s41598-022-26861-0.Drea, Christine & Grebe, Nicholas. (2022). Intraspecific Aggression and Social Dominance. (chapter in The Routledge International Handbook of Comparative Psychology, ed. by Freeberg, Ridley, and d'Ettorre)Bornbusch, Sally & Greene, Lydia & Rahobilalaina, Sylvia & Calkins, Samantha & Rothman, Ryan & Clarke, Tara & LaFleur, Marni & Drea, Christine. (2022). Gut microbiota of ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) vary across natural and captive populations and correlate with environmental microbiota. Animal Microbiome. 4. 10.1186/s42523-022-00176-x.Grebe, Nicholas & Sheikh, Alizeh & Drea, Christine. (2022). Integrating the female masculinization and challenge hypotheses: Female dominance, male deference, and seasonal hormone fluctuations in adult blue-eyed black lemurs (Eulemur flavifrons). Hormones and Behavior. 139. 105108. 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2022.105108.Drea, Christine & Davies, Charli & Greene, Lydia & Mitchell, Jessica & Blondel, Dimitri & Shearer, Caroline & Feldblum, Joseph & Dimac-Stohl, Kristin & Smyth-Kabay, Kendra & Clutton-Brock, Tim. (2021). An intergenerational androgenic mechanism of female intrasexual competition in the cooperatively breeding meerkat. Nature Communications. 12. 10.1038/s41467-021-27496-x.Conley, Alan & Place, Ned & Legacki, Erin & Hammond, Geoffrey & Cunha, Gerald & Drea, Christine & Weldele, Mary & Glickman, Stephen. (2020). Spotted hyaenas and the sexual spectrum: reproductive endocrinology and development. Journal of Endocrinology. 247. 10.1530/JOE-20-0252.Smyth, Kendra & Caruso, Nicholas & Davies, Charli & Clutton-Brock, Tim & Drea, Christine. (2018). Social and endocrine correlates of immune function in meerkats: Implications for the immunocompetence handicap hypothesis. Royal Society Open Science. 5. 180435. 10.1098/rsos.180435.Drea, Christine & Coscia, Elizabeth & Glickman, Stephen. (2018). Hyenas. (chapter in The Encyclopedia of Reproduction from Academic Press, ed. Michael Skinner)
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    55 m
  • Dr. Lauren Butaric - Sinuses

    Dr. Lauren Butaric - Sinuses
    Oct 16 2024

    Dr. Lauren Butaric of University of Florida joined the show to talk about sinuses - what they are, why we have them, how they can be used in forensic contexts, and what they can tell us about people.

    I personally love these anatomy-based discussions. It's just so exciting to do a deep dive into these dark cavities.

    Here are some of the articles I found helpful while prepping for this episode:

    • Campbell, Jessica & Butaric, Lauren. (2022). Technical Modifications for the Application of the Total Difference Method for Frontal Sinus Comparison. Biology. 11. 1075. 10.3390/biology11071075.
    • Butaric, Lauren & Campbell, Jessica & Fischer, Kristine & Garvin, Heather. (2022). Ontogenetic patterns in human frontal sinus shape: A longitudinal study using elliptical Fourier analysis. Journal of Anatomy. 241. 10.1111/joa.13687.
    • Butaric, Lauren & Richman, Allison & Garvin, Heather. (2022). The Effects of Cranial Orientation on Forensic Frontal Sinus Identification as Assessed by Outline Analyses. Biology. 11. 62. 10.3390/biology11010062.
    • Butaric, Lauren & Nicholas, Christina & Kravchuk, Katherine & Maddux, Scott. (2021). Ontogenetic variation in human nasal morphology. The Anatomical Record. 305. 10.1002/ar.24760.
    • Kim, Suhhyun & Ward, Lyndee & Butaric, Lauren & Maddux, Scott. (2021). Ancestry‐based variation in maxillary sinus anatomy: Implications for health disparities in sinonasal disease. The Anatomical Record. 305. 10.1002/ar.24644.

    Books, articles, and media mentioned in this episode + helpful sites:

    • Dr. Lauren Butaric's faculty page at University of Florida
    • Dr. Butaric's website
    • Dr. Butaric's ResearchGate profile
    • Nestor, J. (2020). Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art. Riverhead Books.
    • Lieberman, D. (2011). The Evolution of the Human Head. Harvard University Press.
    • Jemisin, NK. (2015). The Broken Earth Trilogy. Orbit.
    • Jordan, R. (1990-2007). The Wheel of Time series.
    • Stephen King
    • Gaby's fantasy rec: Anything by Ilona Andrews
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    49 m
  • Dr. Gwen Robbins Schug - Bioarchaeology + anthropology in policymaking

    Dr. Gwen Robbins Schug - Bioarchaeology + anthropology in policymaking
    Aug 1 2024

    Dr. Gwen Robbins Schug from the University of North Carolina - Greebsboro discusses some of the projects her lab is working on, including skeletal and dental pathology in past populations and istopic analysis of human remains. She also touches on the importance of integrating biological anthropology into climate change and global health policies.

    These two articles are great examples of how bio anthro could inform policymaking:

    • G. Robbins Schug, S. E. Halcrow, Building a bioarchaeology of pandemic, epidemic, and syndemic diseases: Lessons for understanding COVID-19. Bioarchaeol. Int. 6, 179–200 (2022).
    • G. Robbins Schug et al., Climate change, human health, and resilience in the Holocene. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 120 (2023).

    Honestly, we probably could have done an entire show on just one article. And I might do that in the future. For now, I encourage you to read the articles. They illustrate how answering questions about our past can help us build a better future.

    Books, articles, and media mentioned in this episode:

    • Dr. Robbins Schug's faculty page at UNCG
    • Robbins Schug Human Diversity Lab Website
    • G. Robbins Schug, S. E. Halcrow, Building a bioarchaeology of pandemic, epidemic, and syndemic diseases: Lessons for understanding COVID-19. Bioarchaeol. Int. 6, 179–200 (2022).
    • G. Robbins Schug et al., Climate change, human health, and resilience in the Holocene. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 120 (2023).
    • Grauer, A. (Ed.) (2015). A Companion to Paleopathology. Wiley-Blackwell.
    • Buiktra, J. (Ed.) (2019). Ortner's Identification of Pathological Conditions in Human Skeletal Remains (3rd edition). Academic Press.
    • Resnick, D. (2001). Diagnosis of Bone and Joint Disorders: 5-Volume Set. Saunders.
    • Planetary Health Alliance
    • Sholts, S. (2024). The Human Disease: How We Create Pandemics, from our Bodies to Our Beliefs. MIT Press.
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    51 m
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