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In this episode, we explore five strange fossilized footprints found by Mary Leakey at the site of Laetoli in Tanzania. Decades after their original discovery, these footprints have revealed a new story about our ancient ancestors that expands our understanding of how hominins moved and interacted.  ThanksThanks to Dr. Ellison McNutt and Dr. Charles Musiba for sharing their work.  Thanks as well to Jim Carty and Pat Randall for generously sponsoring this episode. Jim is a long-time Leakey Foundation supporter who actually volunteered to work at Laeotli in the 1980s to help figure out a way to preserve the Laetoli footprints.   Learn more Footprint evidence of early hominin locomotor diversity at Laetoli, Tanzania   Charming video of Dr. McNutt coaxing a baby bear to walk upright   Dr. Charles Musiba's website Dr. Ellison McNutt's website The Kilham Bear Center   Conservation of the Laetoli Footprints - a talk by Dr. Charles Musiba   The Ngorongoro Conservation Area Unesco World Heritage Site   Survey and Discovering Us giveaway Click here to take our short audience survey, and you could win one of three free copies of Discovering Us: 50 Great Discoveries in Human Origins by Evan Hadingham. Origin Stories is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding human origins research and educational outreach. Support this show and the science we talk about. Your donations will be matched by the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation. leakeyfoundation.org/donate  Lunch Break Science is The Leakey Foundation's web series featuring short talks and interviews with Leakey Foundation grantees. Episodes stream on the first and third Thursdays of every month. leakeyfoundation.org/live This episode was produced and sound designed by Ray Pang. Our editor is Audrey Quinn. Theme music by Henry Nagle. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions and Lee Roservere.

In this episode, we talk with Evan Hadingham, senior science editor for the PBS program NOVA. His new book, Discovering Us: 50 Great Discoveries in Human Origins, highlights the thrilling fossil finds, groundbreaking primate behavior observations, and important scientific work of Leakey Foundation researchers. Want to win your own copy of the book? Take our listener survey for a chance to win one of three giveaway copies! Discovering Us is also available for sale anywhere you buy books, but when you buy it through bookshop.org, 10% of the proceeds go to support our work. Origin Stories is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding human origins research and outreach. Support this show and the science we talk about. Your donations will be matched by the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation. leakeyfoundation.org/donate  Lunch Break Science is The Leakey Foundation's web series featuring short talks and interviews with Leakey Foundation grantees. Episodes stream on the first and third Thursday of every month. leakeyfoundation.org/live This episode was produced by Ray Pang. Our editor is Audrey Quinn. Theme music by Henry Nagle. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions and Lee Roservere.

2021 was a big year in science! Fossil discoveries introduced new relatives to our family tree, new findings added fascinating twists to the human story, and breakthroughs in research methods opened new worlds to explore. In this episode, five scientists discuss their favorite human origins discoveries of 2021. Click here for a transcript of this episode. Our guests: Scott A. Williams, New York UniversityJessica Thompson, Yale UniversityGiulia Gallo, University of California at DavisFernando Villanea, University of Colorado at BoulderErin Kane, Boston University Read more about their top discoveries: Dragon Man Late Middle Pleistocene Harbin cranium represents a new Homo species  Stunning ‘Dragon Man' skull may be an elusive Denisovan—or a new species of human 'Dragon man' claimed as new species of ancient human but doubts remain  SedaDNA Unearthing Neanderthal population history using nuclear and mitochondrial DNA from cave sediments Bacho Kiro Initial Upper Palaeolithic humans in Europe had recent Neanderthal ancestry Early Homo sapiens groups in Europe faced subarctic climates Like Neanderthals, Early Humans Endured a Frigid Europe White Sands footprints Evidence of humans in North America during the Last Glacial Maximum Ancient Footprints Push Back Date of Human Arrival in the Americas National Park Services White Sands Website Camera trap research on Dryas monkeys A natural history of Chlorocebus dryas from camera traps in Lomami National Park and its buffer zone, Democratic Republic of the Congo, with notes on the species status of Cercopithecus salongo  Using local knowledge and camera traps to investigate occurrence and habitat preference of an Endangered primate: the endemic dryas monkey in the Democratic Republic of the Congo- Picture Perfect: Camera Traps Find Endangered Dryas Monkeys  The Leakey Foundation Origin Stories is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding human origins research and outreach. This month, thanks to Jorge and Ann Leis and the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, all donations will be quadruple-matched. Click here to make a donation! Credits This episode was hosted and produced by Meredith Johnson and Ray Pang. Our editor is Audrey Quinn.  Music by Henry Nagle and Lee Roservere. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions. Please send us your questions! Have a question about human evolution? Something you've always wondered about? We will find a scientist to answer it on a special episode of Origin Stories! There are three ways to submit your question: Leave a voicemail at +1(707)788-8582 Visit speakpipe.com/originstories and leave a message Record a voice memo on your phone and email it to us at originstories@leakeyfoundation.org Lunch Break Science Lunch Break Science is The Leakey Foundation's web series featuring short talks and interviews with Leakey Foundation grantees. Episodes stream live on the first and third Thursdays of every month. Sign up for event reminders and watch past episodes at leakeyfoundation.org/live

As a young girl, Biruté Mary Galdikas dreamed of going to the forests of Southeast Asia to study the least-known of all the great apes, the elusive orangutan. People told her it would be impossible. But, in 1971, she traveled to Borneo and started what is now the longest ongoing study of orangutans in the history of science. This is her story. She was the third in the group of now world-famous scientists known as the Trimates—Jane Goodall in Tanzania, Dian Fossey in Rwanda, and Biruté Mary Galdikas in Borneo. The Trimates were the first women to establish long-term studies of great apes in the wild. They were all mentored by Louis Leakey. Their work formed the basis of everything science now knows about chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans. And they've inspired generations of researchers and conservationists to follow in their footsteps. Today's episode celebrates Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas and her half-century of field research and orangutan conservation work. About our guest Dr. Galdikas is the founder and president of Orangutan Foundation International. She's a research professor at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver and Professor Extraordinaire at the Universitas Nasional in Jakarta. She's a 19-time Leakey Foundation grantee, and she was one of Louis Leakey's last proteges in his lifetime. Links Orangutan Foundation International Ways to get involved Learn about palm oil Credits Ray Pang produced this episode. Sound design by Ray Pang. Our editor is Audrey Quinn. Meredith Johnson is the host and executive producer of Origin Stories. Thanks to Talain Blanchon for audio of Dr. Galdikas in the field and for recording our interview with Dr. Galdikas in his studio. And special thanks to Marcus Foley and Emily Patton for all their help. Archival lecture audio is from The Leakey Foundation archive. Music by Henry Nagle and Lee Roservere. Please send us your questions! Have a question about human evolution? Something you've always wondered about? We will find a scientist to answer it on a special episode of Origin Stories! There are three ways to submit your question: Leave a voicemail at +1(707)788-8582 Visit speakpipe.com/originstories and leave a message Record a voice memo on your phone and email it to us at originstories@leakeyfoundation.org The Leakey Foundation Origin Stories is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding human origins research and outreach. Thanks to Jeanne Newman and the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, all donations to support the podcast will be quadruple-matched. Visit leakeyfoundation.org/donate and use the notes field to let us know your donation is for Origin Stories. Lunch Break Science Lunch Break Science is The Leakey Foundation's web series featuring short talks and interviews with Leakey Foundation grantees. Episodes stream live on the first and third Thursdays of every month. Sign up for event reminders and watch past episodes at leakeyfoundation.org/live

Scientists agree that dogs evolved from wolves, but exactly how and when that happened is hotly contested. In this episode, Origin Stories contributor Neil Sandell examines the evolution of the relationship between dogs and humans, and explores the journey from wolf to dog. This story was originally produced for the CBC program IDEAS.  Click here for a transcript of this episode. Guests in this episode: (in order of appearance) Angela Perri is an archaeologist at Durham University, U.K. Sebastian Dicenaire is a French playwright and audio producer living in Brussels Greger Larson is director of the Palaeogenomics & Bio-Archaeology Research Network at the University of Oxford, U.K. Kathryn Lord is an evolutionary biologist at the Karlsson Lab of the University of Massachusetts Medical School and the Broad Institute. Mietje Germonpré is a palaeontologist at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels. Sarah Marshall-Pescini is a behavioural scientist at the Wolf Science Center in Austria, and the Domestication Lab at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna. Friederike Range is a biologist and co-founder of the Wolf Science Center. She is a research professor at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna. Giulia Cimarelli is a biologist at the Wolf Science Center, and a postdoctoral fellow at the Domestication Lab at University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna.  Credits This episode was produced by Neil Sandell. Find him on Twitter. Send us your questions! Have a question about human evolution? Something you've always wondered about? We will find a scientist to answer it on a special episode of Origin Stories! There are three ways to submit your question: Leave a voicemail at (707) 788-8582 Visit speakpipe.com/originstories and leave a message Record a voice memo on your phone and email it to us at originstories@leakeyfoundation.org The Leakey Foundation Origin Stories is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding human origins research and outreach. All donations to support the podcast will be quadruple-matched thanks to Jeanne Newman and the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation. Visit leakeyfoundation.org/donate and use the notes field to let us know your donation is in support of Origin Stories. Lunch Break Science Lunch Break Science is The Leakey Foundation's web series featuring short talks and interviews with Leakey Foundation grantees. Episodes stream live on the first and third Thursdays of every month. Sign up for event reminders and watch past episodes at leakeyfoundation.org/live

Learn about the evolution of our extraordinary ability to cool ourselves down. Biological anthropologist Andrew Best discusses the past, present, and future of sweat in this special bonus episode. About our guest Dr. Andrew Best is a biological anthropologist at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts who studies metabolism, endurance, and the evolution of sweat. Visit his website to learn more about him and his research. Click here for a one-minute video about his Leakey Foundation-supported research project on the evolution of sweat glands. Episode Transcript Google Doc Transcript PDF Transcript Links to more sweaty science  The science of sweat Giving sweat the respect it deserves  The weird science of how sweat attracts  Open access research papers of interest Human Locomotion and Heat Loss: An Evolutionary Perspective Repeated mutation of a developmental enhancercontributed to human thermoregulatory evolution Credits This episode was produced by Ray Pang. To keep up with and learn more about his work, follow Ray at @PangRay on Twitter.  Our editor is Audrey Quinn. Meredith Johnson is the host and executive producer of Origin Stories. Music by Henry Nagle and Lee Roservere. Send us your questions! Have a question about human evolution? Something you've always wondered about? We will find a scientist to answer it on a special episode of Origin Stories! There are three ways to submit your question: Leave a voicemail at +1(707) 788-8582 Visit speakpipe.com/originstories and leave a message Record a voice memo on your phone and email it to us at originstories@leakeyfoundation.org The Leakey Foundation Origin Stories is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding human origins research and outreach. All donations to support the podcast will be quadruple-matched thanks to Jeanne Newman and the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation. Visit leakeyfoundation.org/donate and use the notes field to let us know your donation is in support of Origin Stories. Lunch Break Science Lunch Break Science is The Leakey Foundation's web series featuring short talks and interviews with Leakey Foundation grantees. Episodes stream live on the first and third Thursdays of every month. Sign up for event reminders and watch past episodes at leakeyfoundation.org/live!

Producer and scientist Kevin McLean travels to an island off the coast of Panama where researchers have found an isolated group of monkeys with a creative approach to surviving in a challenging environment. Links These tiny monkeys have entered their Stone Age with a bang First report of habitual stone tool use by Cebus monkeys Habitual Stone-Tool Aided Extractive Foraging in White-Faced Capuchins, Cebus Capucinus Video of capuchins using tools Research presentation on social learning by Leakey Foundation grantee Brendan Barrett Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies Claudio Montezo Moreno's biodiversity research website Send us your questions! Have a question about human evolution? Something you've always wondered about? We will find a scientist to answer it on a special episode of Origin Stories! There are three ways to submit your question: Leave a voicemail at (707) 788-8582 Visit speakpipe.com/originstories and leave a message Record a voice memo on your phone and email it to us at originstories@leakeyfoundation.org The Leakey Foundation Origin Stories is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding human origins research and outreach. All donations to support the podcast will be quadruple-matched thanks to Jeanne Newman and the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation. Visit leakeyfoundation.org/donate and use the notes field to let us know your donation is in support of Origin Stories. Lunch Break Science Lunch Break Science is The Leakey Foundation's web series featuring short talks and interviews with Leakey Foundation grantees. Episodes stream live on the first and third Thursdays of every month. Sign up for event reminders and watch past episodes at leakeyfoundation.org/live

The widely-held idea known as the “obstetrical dilemma” is a hypothesis that explains why babies are so helpless, and why childbirth is so difficult for humans compared to other animals.  The obstetrical dilemma suggests that babies are born early so their big brains can fit through the mother’s pelvis, which can’t get any wider due to our method of bipedal locomotion. This problem, the idea says, is solved by an evolutionary tradeoff that increases risks to pregnant mothers who must struggle to birth bigger and bigger-brained babies through narrow birth canals.   On this episode, Leakey Foundation grantees Dr. Holly Dunsworth and Dr. Anna Warrener describe their search for the evidence behind the obstetrical dilemma and they discuss the importance of the stories we tell about our bodies. Send us your questions! Have a question about human evolution? Something you've always wondered about? We will find a scientist to answer it on a special episode of Origin Stories! There are three ways to submit your question: Leave a voicemail at (707) 788-8582 Visit speakpipe.com/originstories and leave a message Record a voice memo on your phone and email it to us at originstories@leakeyfoundation.org Links The Mermaid's Tale A Most Interesting Problem There is no 'obstetrical dilemma': towards a braver medicine with fewer chilbirth interventions Metabolic hypothesis for human altriciality A Wider Pelvis Does Not Increase Locomotor Cost in Humans, with Implications for the Evolution of Childbirth The obstetrical dilemma hypothesis: there's life in the old dog yet YouTube - Close up video of chimp childbirth The Leakey Foundation Origin Stories is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding human origins research and outreach. All donations to support the podcast will be quadruple-matched thanks to Jeanne Newman and the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation. Visit leakeyfoundation.org/donate and use the notes field let us know your donation is in support of Origin Stories. Thanks Thanks to Lynn and Larry Schafran for sponsoring this episode. We are grateful for their support of The Leakey Foundation and our educational programs. Lunch Break Science Lunch Break Science is The Leakey Foundation's web series featuring short talks and interviews with Leakey Foundation grantees. Episodes stream live on the first and third Thursdays of every month. Sign up for event reminders and watch past episodes at leakeyfoundation.org/live  

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. Send us your questions! Have a question about human evolution? Something you've always wondered about? We will find a scientist to answer it on a special episode of Origin Stories! There are three ways to submit your question: Leave a voicemail at (707) 788-8582 Visit speakpipe.com/originstories and leave a message Record a voice memo on your phone and email it to us at originstories@leakeyfoundation.org 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 is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding human origins research and outreach. All donations to support the podcast will be quadruple-matched thanks to Jeanne Newman and the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation. Visit leakeyfoundation.org/donate and use the notes field let us know your donation is in support of Origin Stories.   Lunch Break Science Lunch Break Science is The Leakey Foundation's web series featuring short talks and interviews with Leakey Foundation grantees. Episodes stream live on the first and third Thursdays of every month. Sign up for event reminders and watch past episodes at leakeyfoundation.org/live    

What is it like to study an endangered species like chimpanzees, knowing they may go extinct within your lifetime? Leakey Foundation grantee Dr. Zarin Machanda is a co-director of the Kibale Chimpanzee Project, a long-term field study in Uganda. This study was started by primatologist Richard Wrangham in 1987, and project members have collected daily records of the chimps there ever since. These notes hold the life stories of around 150 chimpanzees, and this long-term data is a powerful way for scientists to understand chimpanzees–and ourselves. The Leakey Foundation Origin Stories is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding human origins research and outreach. Support Long-Term Field Research The Leakey Foundation’s Primate Research Fund helps keep long-term primate studies going no matter what. We provide emergency funding to projects facing a gap in their usual funding - or other emergencies that threaten their ability to collect data. During the pandemic we have had more applications than ever so we need your help. We are trying to raise a total of $25,000 for this fund. Every donation up to that total amount will be quadruple-matched. Any amount helps! Click here to learn more and donate. Register for Free Lecture April 7, 2021 7:00 pm Eastern Why are humans the way we are? One way to answer this question is to look to our closest cousins, the chimpanzees. Join Assistant Professor of Psychology and Anthropology Alexandra Rosati of the University of Michigan and Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Biology Zarin Machanda of Tufts University as they examine the world of chimpanzees, including chimpanzee social lives, ecological context, and how they think and solve problems. Click to register for free! Lunch Break Science Lunch Break Science is The Leakey Foundation's web series featuring short talks and interviews with Leakey Foundation grantees. Episodes stream live on the first and third Thursdays of every month. Sign up for event reminders and watch past episodes at leakeyfoundation.org/live Links Kibale Chimpanzee Project Dr. Zarin Machanda First Molar Eruption, Weaning, and Life History in Wild Chimpanzees No Grumpy Old Men in the World of Chimps Social selectivity in aging chimpanzees The Kasisi Project Primates and social media   Ku0axA3wNaEL2utrbZjy

Your life story is hidden in your teeth. The days, weeks, years, and stressful events of your life are recorded in tiny timelines that can be read by scientists like Leakey Foundation grantee Dr. Tanya Smith. She and her colleagues used fossil teeth to tell a detailed and intimate story about the lives of two Neanderthal children and the changing world they lived in. Links The Tales Teeth Tell  What teeth can tell about the lives and environments of ancient humans and Neanderthals Wintertime stress, nursing, and lead exposure in Neanderthal children Reconstructing hominin life history Dr. Tanya Smith's website The Leakey Foundation Origin Stories is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding human origins research and outreach. Support The Leakey Foundation Support this show and the science we talk about. Become a monthly donor and your donations will be matched by the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation. leakeyfoundation.org/donate  Lunch Break Science Lunch Break Science is The Leakey Foundation's web series featuring short talks and interviews with Leakey Foundation grantees. Episodes stream live on the first and third Thursdays of every month. leakeyfoundation.org/live

Early prehistorians had little more than stones and bones to work with as they tried to piece together the story of the Neanderthals, but today’s researchers work in ways that early prehistorians could never have imagined. Archaeologist and author Rebecca Wragg Sykes' new book Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Art, and Death synthesizes more than a century of research on Neanderthals – from the first Neanderthal fossil discovered, to the most up to date and cutting edge research - revealing a vivid portrait of one of our most intriguing and misunderstood relatives. Links Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death, and Art by Rebecca Wragg Sykes Rebecca Wragg Sykes' website Kindred bibliography with 61 pages of Neanderthal research papers Leakey Foundation grantee Carolina Mallol's Neanderthal Fire Project The Leakey Foundation Origin Stories is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding human origins research and outreach. Support The Leakey Foundation Support this show and the science we talk about. For the month of February, we are running a campaign in celebration of Charles Darwin’s birthday. 100% of the money we raise will go towards funding research grants, and all donations up to a total of $2,500 will be matched by Leakey Foundation trustee Mike Smith and matched again by the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation. leakeyfoundation.org/donate  A Most Interesting Problem As part of our Darwin celebration, we’re having a virtual event on Saturday, February 13. “A Most Interesting Problem” celebrates Charles Darwin's contributions to science and explores what Darwin got right and wrong about human evolution - 150 years after the publication of his book The Descent of Man. The speakers will be Jeremey DeSilva, Darwin historian Janet Browne, Brian Hare, Yohannes Haile-Selassie, Augustin Fuentes, Holly Dunsworth, and Ann Gibbons. Visit bit.ly/originsdarwin to get your free tickets. Lunch Break Science Lunch Break Science is The Leakey Foundation's web series featuring short talks and interviews with Leakey Foundation grantees. Episodes stream live on the first and third Thursdays of every month. leakeyfoundation.org/live.

If exercise is healthy, why do so many people avoid doing it? If we're born to be active, why is it so hard to keep your New Year's resolutions about exercise? On this episode, learn about the powerful instincts that cause us to avoid exercise even though we know it’s good for us. Dan Lieberman, author of the new book Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Healthy and Rewarding, tells the story of how we never evolved to do voluntary physical activity for the sake of health, and helps us think about exercise in a whole new way.  About our guest Daniel Lieberman is a professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University, a member of The Leakey Foundation’s Scientific Executive Committee, and a pioneering researcher on the evolution of human physical activity. His research is on how and why the human body looks and functions the way it does. He has long been fascinated by the evolution of the human head but his main focus is currently on the evolution of human physical activity. He is especially interested in how evolutionary approaches to activities such as walking and running, as well as changes to our body’s environments (such as wearing shoes and being physically inactive) can help better prevent and treat musculoskeletal diseases. To address these problems, he integrates experimental biomechanics and physiology in both the laboratory and the field with analyses of the human fossil record. Links Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Healthy and Rewarding - pre-order at bookshop.org Register for Dan Lieberman's January 5 Leakey Foundation lecture The Leakey Foundation Origin Stories is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding human origins research and outreach. Support The Leakey Foundation Support this show and the science we talk about. Donate today and your gift will be matched. leakeyfoundation.org/donate Lunch Break Science Lunch Break Science is The Leakey Foundation's web series featuring short talks and interviews with Leakey Foundation grantees. Episodes stream live on the first and third Thursdays of every month. leakeyfoundation.org/live.

In 2017, Dr. Isaiah Nengo announced the discovery of a 13 million-year-old fossil ape found in Kenya. This remarkable fossil, nicknamed Alesi, was from a time period where there’s a big blank spot in the fossil record of our family tree. Alesi tells us something new about the early evolution of apes and shows what the common ancestor of humans and all the other living apes might have looked like. In this episode, Dr. Nengo tells the story behind the discovery. This episode was originally released in 2017. We're revisiting it now because Isaiah Nengo will be featured on our new web series, Lunch Break Science, on December 3 at 11 am Pacific. He will share updates on his research and exclusive footage of his recent field work in the Turkana Basin. Visit leakeyfoundation.org/live and sign up to receive event reminders. Special thanks to Isaiah Nengo of Stony Brook University and the Turkana Basin Institute, and Ellen Miller of Wake Forest University. The Leakey Foundation Origin Stories is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding human origins research and outreach. Support this show and the science we talk about with a tax-deductible donation. Links Click here to see photos of the discovery, along with a 3D animation of the inside of the fossil. New 13 million-year-old infant fossil ape skull sheds light on ape evolution Questions and answers about Alesi Skull secrets of an ancient ape Research article in Nature: New infant cranium from the African Miocene sheds light on ape evolution Credits Produced by: Meredith Johnson and Shuka Kalantari Editor: Julia Barton Sound Design: Katie McMurran Theme Music: Henry Nagle Intern: Yuka Oiwa Additional Music: Tech Toys by Lee Rosevere Can you give us a 5-star rating? If you like the show, please leave us a review or rating on Apple Podcasts. It's the best way to help other people find the show and we really appreciate it.  

Variation in human skin color has fascinated and perplexed people for centuries. As the most visible aspect of human variation, skin color has been used as a basis for classifying people into “races.” In this lecture, Leakey Foundation grantee Dr. Nina Jablonski explains the evolution of human skin color and discusses some of the ways that harmful color-based race concepts have influenced societies and impacted social well-being. Links Nina Jablonski's website Video - "The Evolution and Meaning of Human Skin Color" Skin, A Natural History Skin We Are In Finding Your Roots curriculum and activities Bill Nye's TikTok on Dr. Jablonski's work The American Association of Physical Anthropology's Statement on Race and Racism The Leakey Foundation Origin Stories is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding human origins research and outreach. Support The Leakey Foundation Support this show and the science we talk about. Donate today and your gift will be matched. leakeyfoundation.org/donate Lunch Break Science Lunch Break Science is The Leakey Foundation's web series featuring short talks and interviews with Leakey Foundation grantees. Episodes stream live on the first and third Thursdays of every month. leakeyfoundation.org/live. Learn about the evolution of human hair Join The Leakey Foundation's Young Professionals Group on November 19 for an evening with evolutionary biologists Tina Lasisi and Elizabeth Tapanes to learn all about the evolution of human hair. Visit leakeyfoundation.org/ypg for an invitation to the event.

September 30 is International Podcast Day and on this episode, we’re handing things over to producer Lucía Benavides, who sat down with Leakey Foundation grantee María Martinón-Torres for an interview about her life and career. This bonus episode is entirely in Spanish. We’ll be back with an English-language episode in October. Special thanks to Dub and Ginny Crook for sponsoring this episode.  Click here for a transcript of this episode.

Atapuerca is a place that holds the mystery of human evolution in Europe from 1.2 million years ago through recent times. You can find, in one place, the oldest human in Europe, the first murder in the archaeological record, and fossils that tell a range of stories from disturbing and grisly to tender and heartwarming. María Martinón-Torres is a Leakey Foundation grantee who is sometimes called a "detective of the dead" because she pieces together clues to learn about the lives and deaths of the people who once inhabited northern Spain. Special thanks Thanks to María Martinón-Torres for sharing her work. Thanks to Dub and Ginny Crook for sponsoring this episode. Links to learn more The Atapuerca website María Martinón-Torres' website Learn about Atapuerca on efossils.org Unesco World Heritage information Sima del Elefante - The First Hominin of Europe Gran Dolina - Human Meat Just Another Meal for Early Europeans? Sima de los Huesos The Leakey Foundation Origin Stories is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding human origins research and outreach. Support The Leakey Foundation We're looking for 20 new monthly "Bedrock Donors." Become a Bedrock Donor today and your monthly gift will be quadruple-matched! Lunch Break Science Lunch Break Science is The Leakey Foundation's online series featuring short talks and interviews with Leakey Foundation grantees. Episodes resume in October but you can watch all of the past episodes on demand at leakeyfoundation.org/live. Credits Host, Writer, Producer: Meredith Johnson Producer: Lucia Benavides Editor: Audrey Quinn Special thanks to Shuka Kalantari Theme Music: Henry Nagle Additional Music: Lee Rosevere "Tech Toys" and music from Blue Dot Sessions. Sponsors Origin Stories is made possible by support from Dub and Virginia Crook, Diana McSherry, Jeanne Newman, Camilla Smith, and donors like you! Get Social We'd love to connect with you on Twitter and Facebook. Please say hi and let us know what you think of the show! If you like the show, please leave us a review or rating on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. It's the best way to help other people find the show and we really appreciate it. Call us! We've set up a voicemail line and we'd love to hear from you! Call us at ‪(707)788-8582‬ to let us know how you're doing and if there is anything you'd like to hear on this podcast.   

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 Lucy: A marvelous specimen Top ten human evolution discoveries in Ethiopia Rare 3.8 million-year-old fossil skull recasts origins of iconic Lucy  Ethiopia is top choice for the cradle of Homo sapiens The Leakey Foundation Origin Stories is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding human origins research and outreach. Funding provided by the Foundation has made many of the fossil hominin discoveries in Ethiopia possible. In addition, Our Baldwin Fellowship program has been building scientific capacity in Ethiopia and other countries since 1978. We also have a new program called the Francis H. Brown African Scholarship Fund that provides up to $25,000 for students or early career researchers in botany and geology from Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Kenya. Learn about all of our grant programs at leakeyfoundation.org/grants Support The Leakey Foundation We're looking for 20 new monthly "Bedrock Donors." Become a Bedrock Donor today and your monthly gift will be quadruple-matched! Lunch Break Science Lunch Break Science is The Leakey Foundation's new online series featuring short talks and interviews with Leakey Foundation grantees. Feed your brain with Lunch Break Science every Thursday at 11 am Pacific on Facebook YouTube, Twitter, and leakeyfoundation.org/live. Credits Host and Producer: Meredith Johnson Editor: Audrey Quinn Theme Music: Henry Nagle Additional Music: Lee Rosevere "Tech Toys" and music from Blue Dot Sessions. Sponsors This season of Origin Stories is made possible by support from Diana McSherry, Jeanne Newman, Camilla Smith, and donors like you! Get Social We'd love to connect with you on Twitter and Facebook. Please say hi and let us know what you think of the show! If you like the show, please leave us a review or rating on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. It's the best way to help other people find the show and we really appreciate it. Call us! We've set up a voicemail line and we'd love to hear from you! Call us at ‪(707)788-8582‬ to let us know how you're doing and if there is anything you'd like to hear on this podcast.   

Have you ever considered how profoundly food has shaped who we are as a species? Julie Lesnik is a paleoanthropolgist who studies the evolution of the human diet. Her special focus is on insects as food in the past, present, and the future.  Additional Information Read more about Julie Lesnik's work and check out her book Edible Insects and Human Evolution. Follow her on Twitter: @JulieLesnik Want to try some edible insects? Here are a few places we recommend: Don Bugito Entomo Farms Looking for recipes?  Julie Lesnik's "Insect Bake-Off" recipes Chef-created recipes from the New York Times Recipes from "The Bug Chef" Call us! We've set up a voicemail line and we'd love to hear from you! Call us at ‪(707)788-8582‬ to let us know how you're doing and if there is anything you'd like to hear on this podcast.  The Leakey Foundation Origin Stories is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding human origins research and outreach. Support this show and the science we talk about with a tax-deductible donation.   Visit leakeyfoundation.org/donate to donate today! Every donation will be matched. Credits Host and Producer: Meredith Johnson Editor: Audrey Quinn Theme Music: Henry Nagle Additional Music: Lee Rosevere "Tech Toys" and music from Blue Dot Sessions. Sponsors This season of Origin Stories is made possible by support from Diana McSherry, Jeanne Newman, Camilla Smith, and donors like you! Get Social We'd love to connect with you on Twitter and Facebook. Please say hi and let us know what you think of the show! If you like the show, please leave us a review or rating on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. It's the best way to help other people find the show and we really appreciate it.

Deep in the forests of Borneo, lives a society of hunter-gatherers who speak a language never before shared with outsiders. Until now. The Cave Punan are the last surviving hunter-gatherers in Indonesia and they have reached out for help to save their forest home and their culture. In 2018, Leakey Foundation grantee Steve Lansing was invited by the elected leader of the Punan in Borneo to meet the Cave Punan. He soon learned of the Cave Punan's unique song language and their urgent need to protect their forest from illegal palm oil plantations. They asked for his help to share their story and save their forest.  Steve Lansing and his Indonesian colleagues are now working with local organizations on a plan to support the Cave Punan. Origin Stories is the first media outlet to share their story and their songs. We hope you will share this podcast with your friends to help raise awareness of the Cave Punan and their plight. Additional Information Visit our blog to see photos and videos of the Cave Punan. Read more about Steve Lansing's research on his website. Steve Lansing would like to thank his colleagues at the Eijkman Institute of Molecular Biology in Indonesia. Call us! We've set up a voicemail line and we'd love to hear from you! Call us at ‪(707)788-8582‬ to let us know how you're doing and if there is anything you'd like to hear on this podcast.  The Leakey Foundation Origin Stories is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding human origins research and outreach. Support this show and the science we talk about with a tax-deductible donation. Help us raise money to pay teachers to create lesson plans and activities based on this podcast.  Visit leakeyfoundation.org/donate to donate today! Every donation will be matched. Credits Host and Producer: Meredith Johnson Editor: Audrey Quinn Theme Music: Henry Nagle Additional Music: Lee Rosevere "Tech Toys", and music from Blue Dot Sessions. Sponsors This season of Origin Stories is made possible by support from Diana McSherry, Jeanne Newman, Camilla Smith, and donors like you! Get Social We'd love to connect with you on Twitter and Facebook. Please say hi and let us know what you think of the show! If you like the show, please leave us a review or rating on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. It's the best way to help other people find the show and we really appreciate it.