Past Programs
Evolution - 2005
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The Perplexing Case of the Female Orgasm
24/12/2005
Sally certainly bewildered Harry about the vagaries of the female orgasm in that Hollywood blockbuster. But evolutionary scientists have long been stumped too. What purpose does the female orgasm serve, evolutionarily speaking? Close friend of the late great Stephen Jay Gould, Professor Elisabeth Lloyd, has taken on 50 years of evolutionary biology and 21 different theories of the female orgasm, and rejected all but one. There's bias in the ranks, she argues, and its impact on how we see women's sexuality today is palpable. Could the female orgasm be of little more consequence than the male nipple - a mere by-product?
This program was first broadcast on 4/6/2005
The Emotional Brain: Part 3, Jealousy
10/12/2005
Jealousy - that green-eyed monster - can eat you up from the inside. Many people experience it as a destructive force in their lives. Jealousy frequently sparks arguments, the breakdown of relationships, domestic violence, even murder. But it is an integral part of our emotional palette, so why do we need it? Julie Browning explores the evolutionary arguments for jealousy and asks the question: Do men and women experience jealousy differently?
The Emotional Brain: Part 1, Sexual Desire
26/11/2005
For centuries western philosophers proclaimed emotions the enemy of rational thought. It was believed that emotions stymied cool-headed thinking. But over the last twenty years a quiet scientific and philosophical revolution has taken place. Instead of being the font of irrationality, emotions are now routinely viewed as integral to intelligent action. But uncertainty still surrounds the emotions. So what can contemporary science and philosophy tell us about our emotional selves? Over four weeks the emotional brain is explored. The series gets underway with sexual desire.
Social Prosthetics - How You're On My Mind
18/06/2005
You've heard of survival of the fittest, that waging war is 'natural', and that our altruistic tendencies are ultimately selfish in motivation. Today, these beliefs about human nature inform the machinations of everything from business culture to the classroom. But are we really hard-wired to compete? This week, the biology of caring takes centre-stage. Our relationships with others are akin to social prosthetics for the mind, argues one leading Harvard psychologist. We're hardwired to care as much as we are to compete, says another, and the clues lie in the biology of our brains.
The Perplexing Case of the Female Orgasm
04/06/2005
Sally certainly bewildered Harry about the vagaries of the female orgasm in that Hollywood blockbuster. But evolutionary scientists have long been stumped too. What purpose does the female orgasm serve, evolutionarily speaking? Close friend of the late great Stephen Jay Gould, Professor Elisabeth Lloyd has taken on 50 years of evolutionary biology and 21 different theories of the female orgasm, and rejected all but one. There's bias in the ranks she argues, and its impact on how we see women's sexuality today is palpable. Could the female orgasm be of little more consequence than the male nipple - a mere by-product?
That's Disgusting!
30/04/2005
Blurrrrgh! Cultures the world over express it in the same way - the wrinkling of the nose, the recoiling of the body, a nauseous cry. But why is disgust such a universal emotion? And if its expression has deep evolutionary origins, can any one theory account for why we're equally repelled by things sticky, seething and smelly - as we are when social or moral boundaries are crossed? Feel a little squeamish, as two leading researchers help Natasha Mitchell probe for a neurobiology of revulsion.
The Evolution of Depression - Does it Have a Role?
15/01/2005
Major and minor depression, even post partum depression - could they serve an important evolutionary function? Is depression a biological pathology or an adaptation, critical to our reproductive success and survival as a species? This week, Natasha Mitchell is joined by two evolutionary biologists who argue that our capacity to be depressed has evolved over millennia to help us respond to and cope with difficult social circumstances. It's a deeply controversial thesis that, they argue, could have implications for how we read and treat depression in a therapeutic setting. But critics are concerned about what these implications might be.
