logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2024
31m 19s

Where to meet a Neanderthal

Vox
About this episode

We know Neanderthals and early modern humans coupled up. But when did they meet, exactly? And where? Some fossilized smoke and a baby tooth might hold clues.

Guest: Adam Cole of HowTown

For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts

For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable

And please email us! unexplainable@vox.com

We read every email.

Support Unexplainable by becoming a Vox Member today: vox.com/members

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Up next
Aug 18
Nightmare at the end of the universe
Dark energy is the strange stuff that makes up the vast majority of the universe and will ultimately lead to the end of everything. Unless it doesn't exist at all. Guests: Adam Riess, astrophysicist at Johns Hopkins University, and Nathalie Palanque-Delabrouille, director of the ... Show More
26m 9s
Aug 13
Life in plastic — not fantastic?
Much of our modern world is made of plastic, but as more signs point to its dangers to human health, what can we even do about it? Guest: Annie Lowrey, Atlantic writer and author of I fought plastic. Plastic won. For show transcripts, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vox.com/unxtranscripts⁠⁠⁠⁠ ... Show More
29m 35s
Aug 6
When waves go rogue
Towering walls of water sometimes appear in the ocean without warning or apparent cause. What drives their terrifying power? (First published in 2023) Guest: Ton van der Bremer, associate professor of environmental fluid mechanics. For show transcripts, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vox.com ... Show More
28m 26s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2024
Understanding Neanderthals
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 Ki ... Show More
43m 9s
Feb 2025
The Last Neanderthals
For hundreds of thousands of years Neanderthals have roamed the lands of what is today Europe and western Asia. But how did they survive, and what caused their decline? Tristan Hughes delves into the fate of the last Neanderthals and continues our Ice Age mini-series with Profess ... Show More
53m 57s
Dec 2021
Top Human Origins Discoveries of 2021
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 hu ... Show More
31m 16s
Oct 2023
Trenton W. Holliday, "Cro-Magnon: The Story of the Last Ice Age People of Europe" (Columbia UP, 2023)
During the Last Ice Age, Europe was a cold, dry place teeming with mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses, reindeer, bison, cave bears, cave hyenas, and cave lions. It was also the home of people physically indistinguishable from humans today, commonly known as the Cro-Magnons. Our knowle ... Show More
42m 33s
Nov 2018
Teeth: Brushing up on Dentistry
This week, Chris Smith and Izzie Clarke are filling the gaps in their knowledge of teeth; we also meet the microbes in our mouths and test the battle of the toothbrushes. Plus, in the news, researchers grow new spinal discs in a dish, we explore the ghostly galaxy next door, and ... Show More
58m 53s
Jul 27
The Stone Age
The Stone Age is the foundational period of human history, stretching from roughly 3 million to 5,000 years ago, and accounting for over 99% of humanity’s time on earth. It’s the era when modern humans evolved and migrated out of Africa to populate the globe, developed language a ... Show More
56m 42s
Jan 2024
Pourquoi certaines personnes sont-elles matinales ?
Certaines personnes ont l'habitude de se lever plus tôt que d'autres. Une étude datant de 2019 avait déjà identifié plus de 300 gènes supplémentaires, en plus de ceux déjà connus, impliqués dans le fonctionnement de notre horloge interne. Ils régulent des mécanismes comme la sécr ... Show More
1m 55s
Feb 2025
Could You Survive Living With Other Hominin Species?
Today, we Homo sapiens are used to being the only hominin on the planet, but in the Early Pleistocene Epoch, other upright-walking, tool-wielding, large-brained hominins roamed the Earth. In a time when behavior might be the key tool to survival, could you?--Eons is a production ... Show More
1h 11m
Jun 11
What ‘Immortal’ Jellyfish and Famously Old Tortoises Tell Us about Aging
Animals’ lifespans can be far shorter or much longer than those of humans. Scientists are researching creatures such as “immortal” jellyfish and long-lived tortoises and digging deep into genetic codes to figure out why animals age—and what we can do to improve longevity in human ... Show More
14m 27s
Jun 11
What ‘Immortal’ Jellyfish and Famously Old Tortoises Tell Us about Aging
Animals’ lifespans can be far shorter or much longer than those of humans. Scientists are researching creatures such as “immortal” jellyfish and long-lived tortoises and digging deep into genetic codes to figure out why animals age—and what we can do to improve longevity in human ... Show More
14m 27s
Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami