Being human entails an astonishingly complex interplay of biology and culture, and while there are important differences between women and men, there is a lot more variation and overlap than we may realize. Sex Is a Spectrum offers a bold new paradigm for understanding the biology of sex, drawing on the latest science to explain why the binary view of the se ... Show More
Apr 2025
Amy Zhang, "Circular Ecologies: Environmentalism and Waste Politics in Urban China" (Stanford UP, 2024)
After four decades of reform and development, China is confronting a domestic waste crisis. As the world's largest waste-generating nation, the World Economic Forum projects that by 2030, the volume of household waste in China will be double that of the United States. Starting in ... Show More
1h 7m
Today
Sarah Hoiland, "Righteous Sisterhood: The Politics and Power of an All-Women's Motorcycle Club" (Temple UP, 2025)
A righteous sister identifies herself as a biker. She might wrench, or maintain, her own bike, and she prefers to ride with other righteous sisters. Righteous Sisterhood: The Politics and Power of an All-Women's Motorcycle Club (Temple UP, 2025) is Dr. Sarah Hoiland’s insightful ... Show More
44m 53s
Nov 19
Christina Jerne, "Opposition by Imitation: The Economics of Italian Anti-Mafia Activism" (U Minnesota Press, 2025)
For more than 150 years, Italy has been home to a resilient and evolving resistance against the pervasive influence of mafias. While these criminal organizations are renowned for their vast international business enterprises, the collective actions taken to oppose them are less k ... Show More
56m 40s
Aug 20
Nature’s Sexual Spectrum Breaks the Binary
Biologist Nathan Lents joins Science Quickly to explore the vast sexual diversity found across the animal kingdom. His new book, The Sexual Evolution: How 500 Million Years of Sex, Gender, and Mating Shape Modern Relationships, challenges the binary framework that has long shaped ... Show More
12m 27s
Aug 2024
Joanna Wuest, "Born This Way: Science, Citizenship, and Inequality in the American LGBTQ+ Movement" (U Chicago Press, 2023)
Scholars often narrate the legal cases confirming LGBTQ+ rights as a huge success story. While it took 100 years to confirm the rights of Black Americans, it took far less time for courts to recognize marriage and adoption rights or workplace discrimination protections for queer ... Show More
55m 20s
Mar 2025
Special Episode: Rachel Gross & Vagina Obscura
For much of history, female reproductive anatomy has been studied only in the context of or in comparison to male reproductive anatomy. This shows in clinical trial design, in healthcare disparities, in the research questions we ask (or fail to ask), it’s even apparent in our lan ... Show More
48m 48s
Jul 2024
The ‘alpha male’ myth, debunked | Frans de Waal
Primatologist Frans de Waal inadvertently popularized the term ‘alpha male.’ Now, he’s debunking common stereotypes to explain what an ‘alpha male’ really is – empathetic and protective. All social animals establish hierarchies, but being an “alpha male” is not merely about stren ... Show More
8m 22s
Aug 2024
Sex is Weird: Ep 3- Sexy females fight back
<p>The energy required to grow, birth and raise young is intense, so it's only fair that the female body has some tricks to make sure reproducing is worth it.</p><p>From cryptic choice to immune system sperm blockers, the female reproductive system can be a literal maze for those ... Show More
25m 56s
Oct 2023
The Iceman, Y Chromosome Puzzle, Planets
Today, you’ll hear the truth about the chromosome that determines the male sex, new secrets from an old iceman, and an exoplanet denser than steel. Y Chromosome Puzzle “The Y Chromosome’s genetic puzzle is finally complete.” by Tina Hesman Saey. 2023. “Chromosomal Sex Determinati ... Show More
13m 20s
May 2025
I Sympathize with Trans People, but... | Richard Dawkins in Conversation with Colin Wright
In this episode of The Poetry of Reality, Richard Dawkins joins Colin Wright for an insightful conversation touching on evolution, gender, science, and culture - They explore Richard's latest book, The Genetic Book of the Dead along with a wide array of topics including the natur ... Show More
1h 33m
Aug 24
Nick Spencer, "The Landscapes of Science and Religion: What Are We Disagreeing About?" (Oxford UP, 2025)
The relationship between science and religion has long been a heated debate and is becoming an ever more popular topic. The scientific capacity to manipulate and change humans and their environment through genetic engineering, life extension, and AI is going to take a huge leap f ... Show More
38m 48s