Explore human evolution one story at a time. This award-winning show blends storytelling with science that will change your understanding of who we are.
Host [Host Name] interviews anthropologist Nina Jablonski about the evolutionary origins and profound impact of human clothing on survival and identity.
31 Mar 2026TRANSCRIPT
Biruté Mary Galdikas - A Life Among Orangutans
Biruté Mary Galdikas passed away on March 24, 2026, at the age of 79. She spent more than 50 years studying orangutans in Borneo and fighting to protect them. Before she began her work, orangutans were the least understood of the great apes. She changed that. Her research formed the foundation of what we now know about orangutans. She was the first to learn what they ate, how they lived, how they moved, their long interbirth intervals, and so much more. Including the many threats to their survival. Her lifelong dedication inspired generations to care about orangutans and their forests, and to pursue careers in the field she helped shape. I had the honor and privilege of interviewing Birute Galdikas in 2021, on the fiftieth anniversary of her study. We're re-releasing this episode in her honor. Links: Orangutan Foundation International (https://www.orangutan.org/) Ways to get involved (https://orangutan.org/campaigns/) In Memory of Dr. Biruté Marija Filomena Galdikas: A remembrance by primatologist Erin Vogel Origin Stories is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding human origins research and outreach. Support this show and the science we talk about. Your donations will be matched by the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation. leakeyfoundation.org/donate Credits: Produced by Ray Pang and Meredith Johnson. Sound design by Ray Pang. Our editor is Audrey Quinn. Thanks to Talain Blanchon for audio of Dr. Galdikas in the field and for recording our interview with Dr. Galdikas in his studio. And special thanks to Marcus Foley and Emily Patton for all their help. Archival lecture audio is from The Leakey Foundation archive. Music by Henry Nagle and Lee Roservere.
31 Dec 2025TRANSCRIPT
Top Human Origins Discoveries of 2025
2025 was another exciting year in human origins research! In this episode, four scientists and Leakey Foundation grantees (and one podcast host) share their picks for the top discoveries of the year. Support this show and the science we talk about. Your tax-deductible gift to The Leakey Foundation will be matched! Click here to donate. Want more science between podcast episodes? Join our monthly newsletter for human origins news and updates from Origin Stories and The Leakey Foundation. Links to learn more All research articles are open-access and free to read New research reveals the hand of Paranthropus boisei (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09594-8) Earliest evidence of making fire (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09855-6) Complete sequencing of ape genomes Highly selective cannibalism in the Late Pleistocene of Northern Europe reveals Neandertals were targeted prey Denisovan mitochondrial DNA from dental calculus of the >146,000-year-old Harbin cranium
Inside a recent episode
The Not So Naked Ape: The Origins of Clothing
Published 28 Jul 2026 · Transcript excerpt
[…] Our early ancestors faced the same problems. By two million years ago, ancient hominins had begun to lose their thick covering of body hair. By around a million years ago, our ancestors were walking around with pretty much naked skin like we have now. Without clothes or heat or air conditioning, how did they deal with the basic biological need to keep their body temperature regulated? When we were mostly living within the tropics in equatorial Africa, our native homeland, we would need to mostly keep warm at night and at dawn when the temperatures even close to the equator would be cool. Now, the earliest solution to this would be simply to be together, to be physically together. […]
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