logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2025
22m 45s

The link between evolution and language ...

TED
About this episode
tail spinning
Up next
Today
Sunday Pick: Unsolicited Advice: How to get your mojo back at work
Are you feeling overwhelmed, uninspired, or burned out at work? In this special Unsolicited Advice episode, Anne and Frances are getting ready for summer by tackling the importance of rest and the power of intention. They offer unexpected tips and tricks for recovering from const ... Show More
37m 14s
Yesterday
How to power the world 24/7 — without oil | Cindy Taff
Deep beneath the Earth sits 50,000 times more energy than all the world's fossil fuel reserves, but accessing it requires using the same controversial technology that oil companies spent trillions to develop: fracking. Cindy Taff left Shell to prove that drilling for geothermal h ... Show More
10m 57s
Jan 23
What I learned from cooking my way across a continent | Dieuveil Malonga
Chef and TED Fellow Dieuveil Malonga traveled to nearly every country in Africa, tasting flavors straight from farms and local kitchens, to learn about the traditions that transform a dish. Today, he runs a center to train the next generation of top chefs from across the continen ... Show More
24m 17s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2025
The link between evolution and language | Richard Dawkins
Languages drift, adapt and evolve much like living species. In this wide-ranging conversation, evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and linguist John McWhorter trace the parallels between biology and speech, from random mutations to cultural selection. They show how both genes ... Show More
22m 45s
Nov 2024
296 | Brandon Ogbunu on Fitness Seascapes and the Course of Evolution
<p>Biological evolution via natural selection is a simple idea that becomes enormously complicated in its realization. Populations of organisms are driven toward increased "fitness," a measure of how successfully we reproduce our genetic information. But fitness is a subtle conce ... Show More
1h 15m
Mar 2025
Exploring AI, Evolution & the Universe ft. Taryn Southern
Richard Dawkins and Taryn Southern are back for another thought-provoking Q&A session, tackling a wide range of fascinating topics. From Richard’s personal epiphany moments to his thoughts on AI, alien life, and the origins of the universe, this episode delves deep into the myste ... Show More
32m 20s
Sep 2024
#382 — The Eye of Nature
<p>Sam Harris speaks with Richard Dawkins about his new book <em><a href="https://amzn.to/3X7oYQE">The Genetic Book of the Dead</a></em>, the genome as a palimpsest, what scientists of the future may do with genetic information, genotypes and phenotypes, embryology and epigenetic ... Show More
39m 30s
Jun 2025
Episode 144, Steven Pinker x Richard Dawkins: Live in London (Part I - The Future of Humanity)
Welcome to Episode 144 (Part I of II), where Richard Dawkins interviews Steven Pinker on the past and future of humanity. This is a live recording from our recent show – The Future of Humanity – held on 3 June 2025 at London's Royal Institution Theatre. The event was a conversati ... Show More
1h 4m
Jun 2025
Special Episode: Professor Steven Mithen & The Language Puzzle
From the earliest grunts and gestures to the complex sentences we use today to convey a multitude of concepts, language has evolved to become one of humanity’s most powerful tools. It allows us to connect, create, conspire, control, console, catch up, and so much more. How did we ... Show More
49m 29s
Feb 2025
What Evolution Really Tells Us About Life | A Conversation with Steven Pinker
In this episode of The Poetry of Reality, Richard Dawkins engages in an insightful conversation with Steven Pinker about evolution, his motivation for writing The Blind Watchmaker, and a breakdown of his latest book, The Genetic Book of the Dead Steven Pinker is a Canadian-Americ ... Show More
1h 29m
Feb 2024
266 | Christoph Adami on How Information Makes Sense of Biology
<p>Evolution is sometimes described -- not precisely, but with some justification -- as being about the "survival of the fittest." But that idea doesn't work unless there is some way for one generation to pass down&nbsp;<em>information</em>&nbsp;about how best to survive. We now ... Show More
1h 20m
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 35m
Dec 2024
299 | Michael Wong on Information, Function, and the Origin of Life
<p>Living organisms seem exquisitely organized and complex, with features clearly adapted to serving certain functions needed to survive and procreate. Natural selection provides a compelling explanation for why that is so. But is there a bigger picture, a more general framework ... Show More
1h 13m