Originally HumanWarm, evidence-led conversations about how humans have parented, eaten, healed, connected, and made meaning across time.
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Curious, rigorous conversations that use the past as a mirror — never a rulebook.
What makes humans so good at learning from one another? And how did cooperation, childhood and culture shape our evolution?In this episode of Originally Human, I speak with philosopher of science and evolutionary theorist Professor Kim Sterelny about how…
What does it actually mean to be human — and what can our evolutionary past teach us about how to live better today?In this episode of Originally Human, I’m joined by anthropologist and author Agustín Fuentes for a wide-ranging conversation about what makes…
Michaeleen Doucleff, PhD, is a science journalist and author of Hunt, Gather, Parent. After struggling with some of the challenges of modern parenting herself, she travelled with her young daughter to Mexico, the Arctic, and Tanzania to learn from Maya, Inuit,…
What if some of the things children need most are also some of the things modern life makes hardest to provide?In this episode of Originally Human, I talk to psychologist and researcher Darcia Narvaez about the Evolved Nest — her framework for understanding…
What happens when we look at modern family life through the lens of evolutionary anthropology?In this episode of Originally Human, I’m joined by Professor Ruth Mace, an evolutionary anthropologist whose work explores human behaviour, family systems,…
Many parts of contemporary life ask us to live against older human needs: parenting without a village, eating industrial food, sitting still, sleeping poorly, and trying to belong in thin communities.
Originally Human brings anthropologists, researchers, writers, doctors, and cultural thinkers into conversation about the modern mismatch — without romanticizing the past or prescribing one “natural” way to live.
How humans have raised children across cultures and time — and what modern parents can learn from less isolated ways of caregiving.
What ancient and traditional lifeways can teach us about eating, moving, sleeping, healing, and chronic disease.
Why humans are wired for interdependence, and what older forms of kinship and care reveal about modern loneliness.
How story, ceremony, art, grief, celebration, and shared rhythms have helped humans make sense of life.
Hosted by Nickilina Herrmann, Originally Human asks practical questions on behalf of listeners: What does the evidence suggest? What should we be careful not to overclaim?
And what might a realistic modern version of this wisdom look like?