Robert Sapolsky | Father-Offspring Interviews

Latest Episodes:

Sexual Reproduction; Acquired Savants; Human Dominance | Robert Sapolsky Father-Offspring Interviews May 28, 2026

Show notes

Episode 113 of Father-Offspring Interviews. Topics in this episode include Acquired Savant Syndrome, how humans evolved to be dominant as generalists, and why organisms began to do sexual reproduction.

Social & Websites

Question Submission: https://ha66meqrpqz.typeform.com/sapolsky

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robert.sapolsky

00:00 Intro

00:01:07 Question 1 (Acquired Savant Syndrome)

00:12:51 Question 2 (Human dominance)

00:27:36 Question 3 (Sexual reproduction)

Chimps & Crystals; Gendered Colors; COVID fetuses | Robert Sapolsky Father-Offspring Interviews May 21, 2026

Show notes

Episode 112 of Father-Offspring Interviews. This episode discusses why women perceive more colors than men, the impact of long-term COVID on fetuses, and our closest relatives’ interest in crystals.

Social & Websites

Question Submission: https://ha66meqrpqz.typeform.com/sapolsky

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robert.sapolsky

00:00 Intro

00:00:14 Question 1 (Gendered color perception)

00:09:56 Question 2 (COVID fetuses)

00:20:43 Question 3 (Chimps and crystals)

Fart Jokes, Handedness, SuperAgers | Robert Sapolsky Father-Offspring Interviews May 14, 2026

Show notes

Episode 111 of Father-Offspring Interviews. Topics in this episode include why we developed handedness and if we’re the only species, what work on “SuperAgers” can teach us about cognitive longevity, and why we find flatulence so darn funny.

Social & Websites

Question Submission: https://ha66meqrpqz.typeform.com/sapolsky

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robert.sapolsky

00:00 Intro

00:00:34 Question 1 (Handedness)

00:16:20 Question 2 (SuperAgers)

00:31:40 Question 3 (Why farts are funny)

Sex Changing Fish, Sleepwalking, Gays’ Parents | Robert Sapolsky Father-Offspring Interviews May 07, 2026

Show notes

Episode 110 of Father-Offspring Interviews. This episode includes discussion of whether parenting styles can influence sexual orientation, what sleepwalking is and how other animals “sleepwalk,” and the many other species that undergo sex changes.

Social & Websites

Question Submission: https://ha66meqrpqz.typeform.com/sapolsky

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robert.sapolsky

00:00 Intro

00:00:14 Question 1 (Parenting and Sexual orientation)

00:05:23 Question 2 (Sleepwalking and other animals)

00:19:20 Question 3 (Sex Changing Species)

Call of the Void, Animals Adopting, Robert Trivers | Robert Sapolsky Father-Offspring Interviews Apr 30, 2026

Show notes

Episode 109 of Father-Offspring Interviews. Topics in this episode include the work of the late Robert Trivers, the intrusive thoughts that are the Call of the Void, and when animals adopt their own and other species.

Social & Websites

Question Submission: https://ha66meqrpqz.typeform.com/sapolsky

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robert.sapolsky

00:00 Intro

00:00:14 Question 1 (Robert Trivers)

00:23:57 Question 2 (Call of the Void)

00:35:58 Question 3 (When Animals Adopt)

Hurricane Births, Black Plague, Too Much PFC | Robert Sapolsky Father-Offspring Interviews Apr 23, 2026

Show notes

Episode 108 of Father-Offspring Interviews. Topics in this episode include why the Bubonic (Black) Plague went away, how hurricanes induce labor, and when the prefrontal cortex is too effective.

Social & Websites

Question Submission: https://ha66meqrpqz.typeform.com/sapolsky

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robert.sapolsky

00:00 Intro

00:00:13 Question 1 (How the Black Plague disappeared)

00:16:00 Question 2 (Hurricanes and births)

00:24:04 Question 3 (Overactive PFC’s)

Hobbits and Hallucinations | Robert Sapolsky Father-Offspring Interviews Apr 16, 2026

Show notes

Episode 107 of Father-Offspring Interviews. This episode includes discussion of how one mushroom causes a very specific hallucination, and the real-life hobbits who once existed.

Social & Websites

Question Submission: https://ha66meqrpqz.typeform.com/sapolsky

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robert.sapolsky

00:00 Intro

00:00:14 Question 1 (Tiny People hallucinations)

00:09:42 Question 2 (Hobbits)

Punch the Monkey, White Replacement, Glymphatic System | Robert Sapolsky Father-Offspring Interviews Apr 09, 2026

Show notes

Episode 106 of Father-Offspring Interviews. This episode discusses if there’s any validity to the White/Great Replacement Theory, the details of the glymphatic system, and the global phenomenon of Punch the Monkey.

Social & Websites

Question Submission: https://ha66meqrpqz.typeform.com/sapolsky

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robert.sapolsky

00:00 Intro

00:00:14 Question 1 (White Great Replacement Theory)

00:11:30 Question 2 (Glymphatic system)

00:21:19 Question 3 (Punch the monkey)

The Price of Atheism, Mania, Shock Bracelets | Robert Sapolsky Father-Offspring Interviews #105 Apr 02, 2026

Show notes

Episode 105 of Father-Offspring Interviews. Topics in this episode include Rachel’s shock bracelets, the price of atheism, how to discuss banned topics, and the pathological “happiness” of mania.

Social & Websites

Question Submission: https://ha66meqrpqz.typeform.com/sapolsky

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robert.sapolsky

00:00 Intro

00:00:14 Question 1 (Rachel’s shock bracelets)

00:04:08 Question 2 (Atheism and Taboo Topics)

00:21:20 Question 3 (Pathological happiness in mania)

Cranial Deformation, Spontaneous Monogamy | Robert Sapolsky Father-Offspring Interviews #104 Mar 26, 2026

Show notes

Episode 104 of Father-Offspring Interviews. This episode discusses how the Default Mode Network fails in depression, why cultures do cranial deformation, and the evolutionary journey of monogamy.

Social & Websites

Question Submission: https://ha66meqrpqz.typeform.com/sapolsky

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robert.sapolsky

00:00 Intro

00:00:13 Question 1 (Default Mode Network in depression)

00:16:20 Question 2 (Cranial Deformation)

00:24:26 Question 3 (Pair-bonding in mammals)