The Indo-European Enigma

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The Indo-European Enigma

FromThe Insight

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Length:

28 minutes

Released:

Jan 17, 2018

Format:

Podcast episode

Description

Razib and Spencer discuss the genetic evidence for the migration of Bronze Age Indo-Aryan steppe nomads across Eurasia, including the political issues surrounding their impact on the Indian subcontinent.

Released:

Jan 17, 2018

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

Where did we come from? One of humanity's most basic questions, the answer is fascinating. Weaving together insights from the fields of genetics, archaeology, linguistics, and paleoanthropology, hosts Spencer Wells and Razib Khan take us on a grand tour of human history. Scientific storytelling at its best.

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Neolithic Massacre: This week Razib talks to two researchers who have published a paper that reconstructs the relationships between a group of people who seem to have been killed in a conflict during the Neolithic in Poland. Show notes by The Insight
71 min listen
Ancestry Deconvoluted: Spencer and Razib discuss how geneticists infer ancestry from genomic data, with guest Joe Pickrell - geneticist, founder & CEO of consumer genomics startup Gencove. Find out why telling you you’re 6% Greek is harder than it seems… by The Insight
42 min listen
Neander-Me, Part 1: Today, humans are the only species of hominin in the world. 50,000 years ago, however, we were not alone - our cousins, the Neanderthals and Denisovans, walked the Earth with us. Their legacy lives on in our genomes today. Razib and Spencer take us on... by The Insight
42 min listen
Multiregionalism is Dead...Long Live Multiregionalism!: This week, Razib talks with renowned paleoanthropologist Milford Wolpoff about how he was both wrong and right about human evolution. by The Insight
49 min listen
Neander-Me Part 2: Today, humans are the only species of hominin in the world. 50,000 years ago, however, we were not alone - our cousins, the Neanderthals and Denisovans, walked the Earth with us. Their legacy lives on in our genomes today. Razib and Spencer take us on... by The Insight
41 min listen
The Golden State Killer and the Genetic Panopticon: This week, Spencer and Razib talk to genetic genealogist Roberta Estes about the Golden State Killer case and how the rise of genetic genealogy and citizen science databases helped to track down the suspect. by The Insight
58 min listen
Consumer Genomics Goes Mainstream: Spencer, Razib and Gareth discuss the past, present and future of consumer genomics, from its early days as a cottage industry to where it goes in 2018 - and beyond. by The Insight
34 min listen
Cheddar: More Than A Cheese: This week, Spencer and Razib do a deep dive into the early history of the British Isles, focusing specifically on the famous "Cheddar Man." Who were the first Brits, and what did they really look like? by The Insight
40 min listen
Journey of Man Redux: 15 years after the premiere of the PBS/National Geographic documentary ‘Journey of Man’ and the publication of Spencer’s book, Spencer and Razib talk about the impact they have had on the public’s understanding of genetics and human... by The Insight
64 min listen
The Indo-European Enigma: Razib and Spencer discuss the genetic evidence for the migration of Bronze Age Indo-Aryan steppe nomads across Eurasia, including the political issues surrounding their impact on the Indian subcontinent. by The Insight
28 min listen
Isolated Populations: This week Spencer and Razib discuss the genetic and cultural importance of isolated and unique populations. by The Insight
44 min listen
Chris Stringer and The Human Revolution: This week Spencer and Razib discuss the Out of Africa theory, Neanderthal admixture, and The Human Revolution with Chris Stringer, Head of Human Origins Research at London's Natural History Museum. by The Insight
52 min listen
Jewish Genetics: The Exodus Comes Full Circle: This week, Spencer and Razib discuss the genetics of Jewish populations. From an origin in the Fertile Crescent thousands of years ago to a worldwide diaspora, it's a fascinating story of faith, migration and admixture. by The Insight
46 min listen
The Evolutionary Importance of Mothers and Grandmothers: Spencer and Razib talk to Kristen Hawkes, proponent of "The Grandmother Hypothesis," about the importance of mothers and grandmothers in human evolutionary history. by The Insight
56 min listen
Molecular Population Genetics: Razib talks to professor Matthew Hahn of Indiana University about population and molecular genetics, and how the two have combined to form one field. by The Insight
49 min listen
Lee Berger and the Dawn of "Big Data" in Paleoanthropology: Lee Berger sits down with Razib and Spencer to discuss his work in paleoanthropology, the discovery of Australopithecus sediba and Homo naledi, and the new era of "big data" in a field previously characterized by relatively few well-studied hominin... by The Insight
82 min listen
Paradise Lost: This week Spencer and Razib discuss the three great "Pleistocene Paradises" lost to rising sea levels at the end of the last Ice Age: Doggerland, Beringia and Sundaland. by The Insight
47 min listen
The Genetics of Human Behavior: This week Spencer and Razib talk to Stuart Ritchie, a leading behavioral geneticist, about the genetics of intelligence and personality. by The Insight
70 min listen
Inside Helix: This week Spencer and Razib talk to James Lu, co-founder of Helix, about the past, present and future of the "app store for personal genomics." by The Insight
33 min listen
23andMe, the FDA, and Our Genomic Future: Spencer, Razib and Gareth discuss the recent launch of breast cancer susceptibility (BRCA) testing by 23andMe, including the science behind the test and the policy challenges surrounding direct-to-consumer medical testing. by The Insight
36 min listen
Coffee, Milk & Booze: This week Spencer and Razib dive into three of the most important beverages in human history: coffee, milk and alcohol. by The Insight
54 min listen
Darwin Day Special: Do Gentlemen Really Prefer Blondes?: Spencer and Razib discuss Charles Darwin's scientific impact on our understanding of evolution, and delve into the mechanism by which selection - both natural and sexual - produces biological change. by The Insight
48 min listen
Y-chromosomes and the Ascent of Man: This week Spencer and Razib discuss the Y-chromosome as tool for studying human history, from early migrations out of Africa to Genghis Khan and Bronze Age bottlenecks. by The Insight
52 min listen
2018 in genomics: This week, Spencer and Razib discuss the stories which defined 2018 in genomics. Show notes: by The Insight
54 min listen
Violence and Warfare!: Spencer and Razib discuss the history, psychology, and biology of violence and warfare, from Rousseau to Hobbes. by The Insight
53 min listen
She Has Her Mother's Laugh: This week Spencer and Razib talk to renowned science journalist Carl Zimmer about his new book, She Has Her Mother's Laugh. by The Insight
75 min listen
African Genetics: This week Razib and Spencer discuss the changes occurring in the genetics of Africa, and the ramifications for all of us. Show notes: by The Insight
53 min listen
Polygenic risk scores and diversity: This week, medical genetics and diversity by The Insight
49 min listen
The Greatest Human Journey: This week, Razib and Spencer discuss the genetics and peopling of Hawaii Show notes: by The Insight
59 min listen
ANI, ASI, IVC and The Genetics of India: This week, Razib and Spencer discuss the history, genetics and anthropology of India. Show notes: by The Insight
56 min listen

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Why Western Europeans are so WEIRD and why that matters!: Razib talks to evolutionary anthropologist Joe Henrich about his new book, The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous, by The Insight
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Why much of science is fiction: Razib talks to Stuart Ritchie about his new book, Science Fictions: How Fraud, Bias, Negligence, and Hype Undermine the Search for Truth https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1250222699/geneexpressio-20 by The Insight
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Siberian paleohistory: Razib and Spencer discuss the geography, prehistory, and genetics, of Siberia. Also, the time Spencer experienced a Siberian winter! by The Insight
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Sundaland: a human evolutionary hearth: Razib and Spencer discuss why the geology and biogeography of Southeast Asia may explain why it is so important in the history of human evolution. Show notes: by The Insight
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Peopling the Americas 32,000 years ago: Razib discusses revolutionary new work published in Nature that tells us that modern humans were present in the Americas 32,000 years ago with one of the authors, Lorena Becerra-Valdivia. by The Insight
42 min listen
Ghost in the machine: Spencer and Razib talk about what we mean when we say "ghost population" in human genetics, and why it's so important to understand our origins. by The Insight
54 min listen
Native American admixture into Polynesia!: Razib talks to Alex Ioannidis on the new paper which he is a first author of which argues that there is pre-Columbian Native American ancestry in Eastern Polynesia. Did the Polynesians bring them back from the mainland? Or did they voyage themselves? by The Insight
45 min listen
Will to Power and the Holocene transition: Razib and Spencer talk about what a new ancient DNA paper from Neolithic Ireland suggests about radical inequality and power differentials in early agricultural societies, and what that says about the transition from hunting and gathering more... by The Insight
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Two cultures, humanities and science: Spencer and Razib discuss what the humanities can offer to science with Kerim Yasar, professor of East Asian literature by The Insight
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Psychiatry and genes: Razib talks to Dr. Emily Deans on what's like to work in psychiatry today in a world with personal genomics. https://twitter.com/evolutionarypsy by The Insight
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American Downfall: Cultural evolution, Peter Turchin, and the return of history: Spencer and Razib discuss current events in the context of cultural evolution. The history of decline, the American "Empire", and Peter Turchin's thoughts on social disorder by The Insight
85 min listen
The genetic basis of facial variation: This week Razib talks to Dan Crouch about what we know about the genetics of the variation shape and features. by The Insight
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Ancient DNA and China: Spencer and Razib discuss the latest ancient DNA work that sheds light on East Asian prehistory (and also some coronavirus status update) (excuse the "sound effects" early in the podcast!) by The Insight
54 min listen
Chris Stringer on paleoanthropology in 2020: Razib catches up with Chris Stinger on the state of paleoanthropology in 2020 and the ramifications of what genetics has taught us about the diversity in Denisovans in the past few years! by The Insight
65 min listen
Genetically Modified Organisms: Razib talks to Chad Niederhuth at Michigan State on the promise of GMO agriculture! by The Insight
51 min listen
Coronavirus 2020: vaccination and the specter of revolution: Spencer and Razib discuss the state of the pandemic, why Spencer is skeptical of rapid vaccine development, and the political and cultural fallout of COVID-19. by The Insight
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Alfred Russel Wallace and the Prehistory of the Indo-Malaysian Archipelago: Spencer describes Wallace's encounter with Indonesia and his insight into evolution by natural selection. by The Insight
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Genetics, genealogy, and secrets unknown: Razib talks to Libby Copeland about her new book, The Lost Family: How DNA Testing is Upending Who We Are by The Insight
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Coronavirus 2020: preamble to Weimar?: Spencer and Razib discuss the updates to the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 as of mid-April. Spencer delves into the possible social and cultural ramifications, and they both discuss the trajectory internationally and into the future. by The Insight
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Paleogenetics of East Asia: This week Spencer and Razib discuss the latest discoveries about the paleogenetic history of East Asia. Where did the Tibetans, Han, and Japanese come from? by The Insight
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Coronavirus pandemic of 2020: Razib and Spencer discuss the state-of-the-pandemic at the end of March 2020. by The Insight
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Natural Selection among indigenous Americans: Razib talks to Austin Reynolds about what he's discovered about adaptation in indigenous peoples of the New World. by The Insight
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The Importance of Summer: An excerpt from Spencer's book Pandora's Seed about the eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia in 1815. by The Insight
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Genomics of Mendelian Conditions: Razib talks to Dr. Jessica Chong of the University of Washington about how genomics has changed how we view and understand rare disorders by The Insight
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Decreasing genetic diversity with distance from Africa: Razib talks to Dr. Sohini Ramachandran of Brown about her classical paper from 2005 which showed decreasing genetic diversity as a function of distance from Africa by The Insight
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Ancient Egyptian genetics: Razib and Spencer talk about the history of ancient Egypt, and the insights genetics can shed on the origins of the ancient Egyptians by The Insight
46 min listen
Genetics and (pre)history of Southeast Asia: Razib and Spencer talk all things genetic and prehistorical Southeast Asia! by The Insight
51 min listen
Coronavirus and Zoonoses: Spencer and Razib discuss the evolutionary and historical context of zoonotic diseases, and their relevance to current events. by The Insight
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The Indo-European Enigma

The Indo-European Enigma

Description

Titles in the series (100)

More Episodes from The Insight