Why Do We Do That?

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More... Blushing with Laith Al-Shawaf Mar 14, 2025

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Ella Al-Shamahi explores evolutionary mysteries in More Blushing with Laith Al-Shawaf.

BBC Studios Audio Producer: Olivia Jani Additional Production: Emily Bird Series Producer: Geraldine Fitzgerald Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem

7. Why do we blush? Mar 14, 2025

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Paleoanthropologist Ella Al-Shamahi asks why we blush. Even Darwin was intrigued by blushing. He called it “the most peculiar and most human of all expression” but didn’t think it had a function. Dr Laith Al-Shawaf from the University of Colorado makes students do embarrassing things to understand why we blush and how blushing can make people like you more when you make a mistake.

More... Lies with Roman Stengelin Mar 07, 2025

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Ella Al-Shamahi explores evolutionary mysteries in More Lies with Roman Stengelin.

BBC Studios Audio Producer: Olivia Jani Additional Production: Emily Bird Series Producer: Geraldine Fitzgerald Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem

6. Why do we lie? Mar 07, 2025

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Ella Al-Shamahi asks why do we lie? You might think that deception is a uniquely human characteristic, but does camouflage or mimicry in nature, where animals pretend to be another animal or the actual environment like the insects leaf-mimic katydids that walk around looking like a leaf. Does that count as lying? Or is it just us humans with our highly complex language that have the ability to tell a fib. Ella talks to Dr Roman Stengelin of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, who investigates children from very different cultures to discover when and how they develop this very human ability and professional poker player Liv Boeree to discover the art of bluffing.

BBC Studios Produced by Emily Bird Additional production Olivia Jani and Ben Hughes Series Producer Geraldine Fitzgerald Executive Producer Alexandra Feachem Commissioning Editor Rhian Roberts

More... Laughs with Sophie Scott Feb 28, 2025

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BONUS: Ella Al-Shamahi explores evolutionary mysteries in More Laughs with Sophie Scott.

BBC Studios Audio Producer: Olivia Jani Additional Production: Emily Bird Series Producer: Geraldine Fitzgerald Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem

5. Why do we laugh? Feb 28, 2025

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Ella Al-Shamahi asks why do we laugh?

Some people might not have a sense of humour, you might even know someone who never laughs… but there isn’t a culture out there, say a tribe, where people just never laugh. It does appear to be universal but how universal and how primal?

Many mammals and the great apes ( chimpanzees, gorillas and bononbos) laugh. Orangutans diverged from the other great apes including us about 12 million years ago and because we all laugh that suggests our shared common ancestor laughed. So what is the purpose of laughing? Ella talks to Professor Sophie Scott from University College London and stand-up comic Ria Lina.

More... Dogs with Greger Larson Feb 21, 2025

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BONUS: Ella Al-Shamahi explores evolutionary mysteries in More Dogs with Greger Larson.

BBC Studios Audio Producer: Olivia Jani Additional Production: Emily Bird Series Producer: Geraldine Fitzgerald Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem

4. Why do we love dogs? Feb 21, 2025

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Ella Al-Shamahi asks why do we love dogs? Dogs evolved from wolves but why did they choose us humans to be their best friends?

They say dogs are a man’s best friend but all dogs, even chihuahuas are descended from wolves, the grey wolf, a majestic, fierce and incredibly dangerous species. How did this happen but more importantly, why did we start trusting wolves? And when did wolves turn into dogs?

Dogs have been a part of our story for a long time. They are depicted in cave and rock art and dogs are a part of our story because of how useful they are. From the mundane everyday hunting and guarding to the epic stories of life saving dogs . But how did we get here? Oxford Professor Greger Lawson studies ancient dog DNA and thinks the evolution from wolves into dogs began when we both realised we could help each other.

More... Grandmothers with Emily Emmott Feb 14, 2025

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Ella Al-Shamahi explores evolutionary mysteries in More Grandmothers with Emily Emmott.

BBC Studios Audio Producer: Olivia Jani Additional Production: Emily Bird Series Producer: Geraldine Fitzgerald Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem

3. Why do we have grandmas? Feb 14, 2025

Show notes

Grandmothers are a bit of a mystery, biologically speaking. If the biological purpose of life is to survive and have children, why are they so important even once they've stopped being able to reproduce?

Of course, as we all know, grandma's are the rock of most families, and it turns out, biologically also incredibly useful. Grandmothers are a logical necessity, your mother and father also had mothers so that equals two grandmas for you.

But the evolutionary role they play in many of our lives has been less easily explained until now. Why are they so helpful? Why do they stop having children of their own? Why do we have grandmothers?!

Ella speaks to anthropologist Dr Emily Emmott, and midwife, educator and grandmother Sheena Byrom OBE

BBC Studios Audio Production Producer Emily Bird Additional production Olivia Jani Series Producer Geraldine Fitzgerald Executive Producer Alexandra Feachem

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