Olivia Judson - Life Has Transformed the Planet, Which Has Gone On to Alter the Future Course of Life" | #105

Published: May 9, 2018, 5 p.m.

b"Episode 105 is a wholly unique show. In this episode, we depart from traditional investment themes, and instead, bring you an episode featuring Meb\\u2019s second professional love, biology. Specifically, we welcome the renowned evolutionary biologist and writer, Olivia Judson.\\nIt turns out Olivia wrote for The Economist in her early years. Meb asks how a scientist got started writing for a business magazine. Olivia tells us of the progression that led from one article submission to several other articles, to a staff job.\\nNext, Meb asks about the genesis for writing Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation. (For anyone unaware, the book is written in the style of a sex-advice column to animals. It details the variety of sexual practices in the natural world and provides the reader with an overview of the evolutionary biology of sex.) Olivia tells us one of her early articles was the inspiration, though she\\u2019d been studying and researching the topic for years. She thought the book would take her only six months to write so she quit her job\\u2026she finally finished it four years later.\\nMeb notes how much of the book identifies a power struggle between males and females, and how this shapes evolutionary dynamics. Olivia expounds, telling us how sometimes what the male wants is not in the interest of the female (and vice versa). These differences create the tensions which affect evolutionary direction.\\nThis leads to a conversation about Bateman\\u2019s Principle, namely, the general idea that females are pillars of virtue, while males are cads. Olivia\\u2019s book suggested this isn\\u2019t necessarily true. Meb asks for more details. Olivia starts by redefining the term \\u201cpromiscuous,\\u201d digging deeper into the word in light of the term \\u201cchoosy.\\u201d It turns out certain females can benefit from having multiple partners, though the reasons can vary. In any case, this awareness is much more prevalent than thought 40 years ago.\\nA bit later, Meb asks about homosexuality in the animal world, including questions regarding procreation and genes. Olivia gives us a fascinating answer that includes the concepts of \\u201cgenetic component,\\u201d \\u201cexclusivity,\\u201d and \\u201ccommonality\\u201d and how these factors might affect homosexual genes remaining in the population.\\nThere\\u2019s way more in this fun, totally different episode: A dating party where women smelled men\\u2019s T-shirts to determine which scent they found most appealing\\u2026 the male Australian Redback Spider, who actually tries to get eaten by the female during sex\\u2026 Meb\\u2019s surprising discovery from his 22 and Me test that he has more Neanderthal genes than 95% of the population\\u2026 Olivia\\u2019s views on gene editing\\u2026 Camping on the side of a volcano in Antarctica\\u2026 and whether we\\u2019ll find life beyond our world.\\nWe end with asking Olivia about her most memorable experience in all of her research. What is it? Find out in Episode 105.\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices"