There is absolutely no need for music—speaking in terms of evolution, anyway…
As far as scientists can tell, there’s no compelling reason for humans to make and enjoy music…neurologically, we could get along quite well without it…sure, our world would be very dull, but we’d be fine as a species…
Yet for some reason, the human brain seems to be hardwired fo ... Show More
Nov 19
Tales of Weird Rock’n’Roll Sex
If there’s an official mission statement for the kind of music we all love, it’s “sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll” …these are the three main food groups in this world…
All three of these things affect the same portions of the brain: the amygdala, the nucleus accumbens, and the cere ... Show More
30m 44s
Nov 12
The Backstage Rider
Going on tour is hard…you’re away from home for months at a time…there’s little sleep, bad food, too many drugs, a surfeit of alcohol, late nights, temptations into bad behavior, crazy people, and that bass player who refuses to wash his feet, probably because he’s on his phone m ... Show More
31m 38s
Nov 5
Medical Mysteries of Music - The Sixth Edition
Why does music move us so deeply...even when we don’t hear it? From brain scans lighting up with musical memories to how songs can fight loneliness, boost productivity, and even repel mosquitoes, this episode dives into the strange science behind sound with another exploration in ... Show More
31m 4s
Apr 2024
Miriam Piilonen, "Theorizing Music Evolution: Darwin, Spencer, and the Limits of the Human" (Oxford UP, 2024)
What did historical evolutionists such as Charles Darwin and Herbert Spencer have to say about music? What role did music play in their evolutionary theories? What were the values and limits of these evolutionist turns of thought, and in what ways have they endured in present-day ... Show More
1h 17m