Robert Sapolsky | Father-Offspring Interviews

Latest Episodes:

The Woman Who Smells Parkinson’s, Flagellation | Robert Sapolsky Father-Offspring Interviews #103 Mar 19, 2026

Show notes

Episode 103 of Father-Offspring Interviews. Topics in this episode include the woman who is able to smell Parkinson’s, the ratio of brain to body mass, and the role of ritualistic physical harm in religion.

NOTE this episode contains semi-graphic discussion of acts of physical harm.

Social & Websites

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

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

00:00 Intro

00:00:14 Question 1 (The Woman Who Smells Parkinson’s)

00:14:25 Question 2 (Brain body ratios)

00:19:38 Question 3 (Ritualistic harm in religion)

Food Comas, Weasel War Dances, Tortoise Updates | Robert Sapolsky Father-Offspring Interviews #102 Mar 12, 2026

Show notes

Episode 102 of Father-Offspring Interviews. This episode discusses the status of the reintroduced Galápagos tortoise species, why we get food comas, and the mysterious world of weasel war dances.

Social & Websites

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

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

00:00 Intro

00:00:14 Question 1 (Tortoise updates)

00:05:10 Question 2 (Food comas)

00:15:16 Question 3 (Weasel war dances)

How We Lost Our Tails, Getting Taller, Senescence | Robert Sapolsky Father-Offspring Interviews #101 Mar 05, 2026

Show notes

Episode 101 of Father-Offspring Interviews. Topics in this episode include if and why humans are getting taller overall, what caused us to evolve without tails, and the pros and cons of senescence.

Social & Websites

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

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

00:00 Intro

00:00:14 Question 1 (Human Heights)

00:15:22 Question 2 (How we lost our tails)

00:24:40 Question 3 (Senescence)

Why This Podcast, Gorillas & Gibbons, The Occult | Robert Sapolsky Father-Offspring Interviews #100 Feb 26, 2026

Show notes

Episode 100 of Father-Offspring Interviews. This episode includes how this podcast came to be, SSRI’s versus SNRI’s, gorillas and gibbons in Sapolsky's life, and the allure (and neuroscience) of the occult.

Social & Websites

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

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

00:00 Intro

00:00:51 Question 1 (Why This Podcast)

00:03:18 Question 2 (SSRI’s vs SNRI’s)

00:12:11 Question 3 (Gorillas)

00:16:16 Question 4 (Gibbons)

00:20:06 Question 5 (Belief in the occult)

Age of Consent, Cavemen Myths | Robert Sapolsky Father-Offspring Interviews #99 Feb 19, 2026

Show notes

Episode 99 of Father-Offspring Interviews. This episode discusses whether cavemen actually existed and in what form, why we can feel weather in our limbs, and whether the age of consent should be raised to match brain maturation.

Social & Websites

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

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

00:00 Intro

00:00:14 Question 1 (Cavemen)

00:09:37 Question 2 (Feeling the weather)

00:12:55 Question 3 (Age of consent)

Neural Implants, Smell Loss, Exercise | Robert Sapolsky Father-Offspring Interviews #98 Feb 12, 2026

Show notes

Episode 98 of Father-Offspring Interviews. This episode includes discussion of why blood pressure increase in exercise is a good thing, how loss of smell foreshadows Parkinson’s, and whether neural implants could be used to increase cognitive strength.

Social & Websites

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

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

00:00 Intro

00:00:14 Question 1 (Benefits of exercise)

00:09:56 Question 2 (Parkinson’s smell loss)

00:18:31 Question 3 (Neural implants)

Musical Emotions, Primate Healthcare | Robert Sapolsky Father-Offspring Interviews #97 Feb 05, 2026

Show notes

Episode 97 of Father-Offspring Interviews. Topics in this episode include whether emotional associations with musical patterns are universal, if single genes can ever cause a psychiatric disorder, and how other primates provide medical care to themselves and others.

Social & Websites

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

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

00:00 Intro

00:00:14 Question 1 (Music and emotions)

00:09:05 Question 2 (Singular gene causes)

00:18:35 Question 3 (Primate medical care)

Buddhism, Out-of-Africa, Talking Dogs | Robert Sapolsky Father-Offspring Interviews #96 Jan 29, 2026

Show notes

Episode 96 of Father-Offspring Interviews. This episode includes discussion of the impacts of Buddhist practices on the brain, why out-of-Africa humans are less genetically diverse, and the truth about the viral “talking dogs” like Bunny.

Social & Websites

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

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

00:00 Intro

00:00:14 Question 1 (Buddhism and the brain)

00:08:44 Question 2 (Out-of-Africa genetic diversity)

00:16:33 Question 3 (Talking Dogs)

Midlife Crisis, Foreign Accent Syndrome, Twins | Robert Sapolsky Father-Offspring Interviews #95 Jan 22, 2026

Show notes

Episode 95 of Father-Offspring Interviews. Topics in this episode include the impacts of having an opposite sex twin, Foreign Accent Syndrome, and whether the mid-life crisis is legitimate.

Social & Websites

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

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

00:00 Intro

00:00:14 Question 1 (Opposite sex twins)

00:12:42 Question 2 (Foreign Accent Syndrome)

00:25:20 Question 3 (Mid-Life Crises)

Microplastics, Astrology, Trypophobia | Robert Sapolsky Father-Offspring Interviews #94 Jan 15, 2026

Show notes

Episode 94 of Father-Offspring Interviews. This episode discusses why microplastics are harmful, whether there’s legitimacy behind astrology, and the disorder trypophobia.

Social & Websites

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

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

00:00 Intro

00:00:28 Question 1 (Microplastics)

00:11:28 Question 2 (“Astrology”)

00:22:14 Question 3 (Trypophobia)