Beauty Behavioral Ecology | Dr. Marta Kowal
Species
A discussion with Marta Kowal on beautification and what predicts it. Marta Kowal (PhD) is a post-doctoral researcher at the IDN Being Human Lab, Institute of Psychology, University of Wrocław, Poland. Marta's academic background is in evolutionary psychology, and her research primarily focuses on mate attraction, physical attractiveness-enhancing behaviors, and romantic love, particularly from a cross-cultural perspective. During her PhD program, under the guidance of her supervisor, Professor Piotr Sorokowski, Marta secured a grant from the Polish National Science...
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In Other Nests | Macken Murphy
Species
A natural history of infidelity and a history of science on the topic. Listen and learn about the oldest known laws in history, fish that get pessismistic without their boyfriend, the costs of monogamy, the ovulatory shift hypothesis (and a conspiracy theory about it), the mate-switching vs. dual-mating debate, and so much more. If you want to listen to my audio course on human evolution, you can find it here: If you want to donate to support Species, you can do so, here: If you want to keep up with my work, everything is here: Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 12:38 Theme 13:42 The Costs of Monogamy...
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Forgotten Apes | Dr. Susan Cheyne
Species
An audio essay on human nature, followed by an interview with primatologist Dr. Susan Cheyne. Susan is the co-director of the Borneo Nature Foundation International and the Borneo River Initiative for Nature Conservation and Communities, she is the Vice Chair of the IUCN Section on Small Apes, and she is also a Senior Lecturer at Oxford Brookes; she has been studying gibbons for about 27 years. Our conversation is wide-ranging, but centers on gibbons. We discuss gibbon locomotion, life among gibbons, the nature and function of gibbon song, gibbon violence, monogamy, and infanticide (and lack...
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Pilled | Louis Bachaud
Species
A deep dive into the manosphere, with the scholar who knows it best, Louis Bachaud. The manosphere is a constellation of 5 loosely affiliated communities, including pick-up artists (PUAs), men's rights activists (MRAs), "Men Going Their Own Way" (MGTOW), incels (the "Black Pill" communiy), and the "Red Pill" community. Louis details the history of the manosphere, describes the current factions and their differences, and guides us through their use and misuse of science, especially evolutionary psychology. The episode opens with a systematic critique of the manosphere, and the interview starts...
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Hair on Our Faces | Dr. Barnaby Dixson
Species
Today, we explore the befuddling (and surprisingly complex) mystery of the human beard. Our guide is Dr. Barnaby Dixson, a human behavioral ecologist at the University of the Sunshine Coast who uses interdisciplinary methods to investigate human mate preferences across cultures. His extensive work has bettered our understanding of a wide variety of physical traits; most relevant to today's discussion, he is one of the primary contributors to our understanding of beards. We discuss the evolution of facial masculinity and facial hair, and their role in attractiveness and intimidation...
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The Unchosen Ones | William Costello
Species
William Costello is an expert on incels, a rising star in the field of evolutionary psychology, and the latest protégé of Dr. David Buss. In this conversation, we discuss incel violence, demographics, mythology, perception vs. reality, and solutions to inceldom, among other things. There's still time to participate in Costello's cross-sex mind-reading study, here: You can keep up with Costello on Twitter, @CostelloWilliam:
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Date Psychology | Alexander
Species
Alexander is a psychologist and science communicator. He is best known for his deep dives into the literature on human mating and his nuanced critiques of popular misconceptions about dating. In this data-driven discussion, he talks to Macken about what men and women actually want and what people generally get wrong about dating, before diving into a variety of topics including the Manosphere, the “mating crisis,” hypergamy, and bodycount, among others. Alexander is @datepsych on Twitter, where he runs online studies and produces fascinating threads on mating. He also runs a popular blog,...
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Great White Shark
Species
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water... a brand new episode of Species. Come listen and learn about their secret social lives, how to survive a shark attack, and some mind-blowing stats. Bibliography:
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Updates | 1.15.23
Species
I'm extremely busy and, unfortunately, pausing production on Species, at least for most of this month. If you sent me a donation in January and you want a refund, contact me through mackenmurphy.org, and I will be sure to send it back to you. My sincerest apologies.
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Master of Puppets | Dr. Robert Plomin
Species
"DNA isn't all that matters, but it matters more than everything else put together." —Dr. Robert Plomin Blueprint: Plomin is one of history's most important psychologists and a pioneer in the field of behavioral genetics. He is a research professor at King's College London, best known for his work on twins. In this podcast, Plomin explains how we know that genes impact our behavior, clarifies all the common confusions about the field, and pushes back against some of Macken's criticisms. Enjoy.
info_outlineA natural history of infidelity and a history of science on the topic. Listen and learn about the oldest known laws in history, fish that get pessismistic without their boyfriend, the costs of monogamy, the ovulatory shift hypothesis (and a conspiracy theory about it), the mate-switching vs. dual-mating debate, and so much more.
If you want to listen to my audio course on human evolution, you can find it here: https://mackenmurphy.gumroad.com/l/humanevolution?layout=profile
If you want to donate to support Species, you can do so, here: https://donorbox.org/keep-species-free
If you want to keep up with my work, everything is here: https://linktr.ee/mackenmurphy
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
12:38 Theme
13:42 The Costs of Monogamy
20:01 The Many Strategic Functions of Infidelity
27:16 The Primary Reason Men Cheat
29:21 Intro to The Dual Mating Strategy
32:02 Ovulatory Shifts in Mate Preferences
34:26 Intro to the Mate Switching Hypothesis
36:13 Initial Impressions
42:15 Testing Mate-Switching vs. Dual-Mating
46:35 Addressing Critiques
48:16 The Usual Caveats
50:26 The Manosphere Reaction
51:31 Rollo’s Conspiracy (lol)
55:01 Nature’s Curse, Nature’s Gift
58:15 Outro
Selected references (most key information is in, or referenced in, these texts): Murphy, M., Phillips, C. A., & Blake, K. R. (2024). Why women cheat: testing evolutionary hypotheses for female infidelity in a multinational sample. Evolution and Human Behavior, 45(5), 106595.
Buss, D. M., Goetz, C., Duntley, J. D., Asao, K., & Conroy-Beam, D. (2017). The mate switching hypothesis. Personality and Individual Differences, 104, 143-149.
Gangestad, S. W., & Thornhill, R. (1998). Menstrual cycle variation in women's preferences for the scent of symmetrical men. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 265(1399), 927-933.
Gangestad, S. W., Thornhill, R., & Garver-Apgar, C. E. (2005). Adaptations to ovulation: Implications for sexual and social behavior. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14(6), 312-316.
Also:
Finkelstein, J. J. (1968). The Laws of Ur-Nammu. Journal of cuneiform studies, 22(3-4), 66-82.
Hicks, T. V., & Leitenberg, H. (2001). Sexual fantasies about one's partner versus someone else: Gender differences in incidence and frequency. Journal of Sex Research, 38(1), 43-50.
Laubu, C., Louâpre, P., & Dechaume-Moncharmont, F. X. (2019). Pair-bonding influences affective state in a monogamous fish species. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 286(1904), 20190760.
Scelza, B. A. (2011). Female choice and extra-pair paternity in a traditional human population. Biology Letters, 7(6), 889-891.
Scelza, B. A. (2013). Choosy but not chaste: Multiple mating in human females. Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews, 22(5), 259-269.
Scelza, B. A. (2014). Jealousy in a small-scale, natural fertility population: The roles of paternity, investment and love in jealous response. Evolution and Human Behavior, 35(2), 103-108.
Stewart-Williams, S. “Nurture Alone Can’t Explain Male Aggression.” Nautilus. April 26, 2019. http://nautil.us/blog/nurture-alone-cant-explain-male-aggression
Yildiz, F. (1981). A tablet of codex Ur-Nammu from Sippar. Orientalia, 50(1), 87-97.