logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2023
56m 41s

Man Against Horse

Wnyc Studios
About this episode

This is a story about your butt. It’s a story about how you got your butt, why you have your butt, and how your butt might be one of the most important and essential things for you being you, for being human. 

In this episode from 2019, Reporter Heather Radke and Producer Matt Kielty talk to two researchers who followed the butt from our ancient beginnings through millions of years of evolution, all the way to today, out to a valley in Arizona, where our butts are put to the ultimate test.  

Special thanks to Michelle Legro.

EPISODE CREDITS:

Reported by - Heather Radke and Matt KieltyProduced by - Matt Kieltywith help from - Simon Adler and Rachael CusickOriginal music and sound design contributed by - Jeremy BloomFact-checking by - Dorie Chevlen

 

EPISODE CITATIONS:

Books: Butts by Heather Radke

Our newsletter comes out every Wednesday. It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!

Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.

Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing radiolab@wnyc.org

Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Science Sandbox, a Simons Foundation Initiative, and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Up next
Oct 3
Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl
This is the story of a three-year-old girl and the highest court in the land. The Supreme Court case Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl is a legal battle that has entangled a biological father, a heart-broken couple, and the tragic history of Native American children taken from their f ... Show More
45m 29s
Sep 26
Voice
Over the course of millions of years, human voices have evolved to hold startling power. These clouds of vibrating air carry crucial information about who we are–and we rely on them to push ourselves up and out into the physical world.This week, we’re on a journey to understand h ... Show More
1h 6m
Sep 19
The Spark of Life
In the 1920s, a Russian biologist studying onion roots made a surprising discovery: underground, down in the darkness, it seemed like the cells inside the onion roots were making their own … light. The “onion root experiment” went on to become something of a cult classic in scien ... Show More
36m 1s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2022
#113: The Wrong Side of History (Bret Weinstein & Heather Heying DarkHorse Livestream)
In this 113th in a series of live discussions with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying (both PhDs in Biology), we discuss the state of the world through an evolutionary lens. This week, we talk about Omicron, Covid, and how public policy has failed to change in light of this highly ... Show More
1h 26m
Jul 2023
#181: The Slow Creep of Institutional Entropy (Bret Weinstein & Heather Heying DarkHorse Livestream)
*****Watch on Rumble: https://rumble.com/v2y8952-bret-and-heather-181st-darkhorse-podcast-livestream.html***** In this 181st in a series of live discussions with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying (both PhDs in Biology), we discuss the state of the world through an evolutionary le ... Show More
1h 40m
Sep 2021
#96: Finding the Fourth Frontier (Bret Weinstein & Heather Heying DarkHorse Livestream)
In this 96th in a series of live discussions with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying (both PhDs in Biology), we discuss the state of the world through an evolutionary lens. In this episode, we discuss society, and how to have a functional one. Beginning with a discussion of 9/11, ... Show More
1h 10m
Aug 2022
#137 Hostile Work Environments & Folks Who Love Them (Bret Weinstein & Heather Heying DarkHorse Livestream)
In this 137th in a series of live discussions with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying (both PhDs in Biology), we discuss the state of the world through an evolutionary lens.This week, we discuss Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the academy, and ask: does DEI belong in sci ... Show More
2h 1m
Sep 2018
Let's Talk About Sex: Session 60 with Sorah Stein
As promised, Sorah Stein joins me is Session 60 for a much-anticipated discussion of sex and sex education for individuals with developmental disabilities. In this conversation, we discuss the following: The difference between Stranger Danger and Strange Behavior Basic privacy co ... Show More
1h 32m
Jun 2021
COVID, Ivermectin, and the Crime of the Century: DarkHorse Podcast with Pierre Kory & Bret Weinstein
On this very special live broadcast of the DarkHorse podcast, Dr. Bret Weinstein (Ph.D) and Dr. Pierre Kory (M.D.) will discuss the ongoing pandemic, the care of COVID-19 patients, and the incredible story of Ivermectin.  * We will be posting references and links to papers and gr ... Show More
2h 26m
Aug 2018
Me vs. My Brain: Stories about losing your self
This week, we're presenting stories about what happens when our own brains keep us from being fully ourselves. Part 1: When storyteller Sandi Marx begins to develop cognitive symptoms of lupus, she worries she'll lose the aspects of her personality that she values most. Part 2: C ... Show More
38m 27s
Aug 2021
#91: The Fog Machine of War (Bret Weinstein & Heather Heying DarkHorse Livestream)
In this 91st in a series of live discussions with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying (both PhDs in Biology), we discuss the state of the world through an evolutionary lens. In this episode, we discuss co-morbidities that are associated with bad outcomes from Covid (e.g. obesity, a ... Show More
1h 31m
Feb 2023
#163: Making Medicine Modern (Bret Weinstein & Heather Heying DarkHorse Livestream)
In this 163rd in a series of live discussions with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying (both PhDs in Biology), we discuss the state of the world through an evolutionary lens. This week, we discuss individual vs. public health, and whether the failures of the last three years are du ... Show More
1h 41m
Mar 2023
How corporations got all your data
Sean Illing speaks with Matthew Jones, historian of science and technology, and co-author (with data scientist Chris Wiggins) of the new book How Data Happened. They discuss the surprisingly long history of data from the 18th century to today, in service of explaining how we woun ... Show More
54m 50s