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Two brothers talk through the BEST non-fiction books about science, evolution, culture, history, complexity science, nature, cognitive neuroscience, artificial intelligence.
Episodes
Thursday Mar 06, 2025
Thursday Mar 06, 2025
In this epic deep-dive episode, brothers JD and Andrew Dennison tackle Robert Sapolsky's masterwork "Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst." We explore how our brains, hormones, genes, and environment shape human behavior from seconds to millions of years before an action occurs. From the neuroscience of decision-making to the evolutionary roots of tribalism, they break down Sapolsky's fascinating insights into why we do what we do.
Key topics include:
How different brain regions like the amygdala, prefrontal cortex, and dopamine systems influence our choices
Why testosterone isn't just about aggression
The surprising truth about oxytocin (it's not all free love!)
What adolescent brain development reveals about human nature
How cultural evolution and biology intertwine to shape societies
00:07:42 Chapter 2: 1 second before: Neuroscience
00:44:46 Chapter 4 Hours to Days Before: Hormones
1:04:51 Chapter 5: Days to Months Before: Neuroplasticity
01:09:59 Chapter 6 Adolescence or Dude Where’s my Cortex
1:20:21 Chapter 7 Years Before Back to the Crib Back to the Womb
1:29:28 Chapter 8 Fertilized egg or how our genetic affect our behavior
1:38:21 Chapter 9 Centuries to Millennia : cultures
1:47:13 Chapter 11 Us Vs. Them
2:03:06 Chapter 12 Hierarchy, obedience and resistance
2:17:16 Chapter 13 Morality doing the right thing
2:17:22 Chapter 14: feeling someone’s pain as your own
2:23:57 Chapter 15: Metaphors we kill by
2:33:02 Chapter 16: Biology The criminal justice system and oh why not free will
2:45:17 Chapter 17: war and Peace
The brothers share their enthusiasm for Sapolsky's brilliant writing style and humor while navigating complex topics like free will, human nature, and the biology behind both our best and worst behaviors. This comprehensive look at "Behave" showcases why it's a defining book in understanding human behavior through multiple scientific lenses.
Note: This is episode 5 of the "Human Evolution” season, where JD and Andrew explore groundbreaking books about what makes us human, from evolutionary biology to neuroscience and beyond.
Sunday Apr 05, 2020
Sunday Apr 05, 2020
Many smart people out there say AI is an existential risk. AI Armageddon is certainly is a top-5 concern of enough people that we feel it warrants a deeper understanding. And in Superintelligence, Bostrom is the perfect robot-impersonating-author to teach us AI 101 while simultaneously capturing AI’s full scale and magnitude. He talked to everybody and covers the biggest questions: what are all the potential outcomes? How likely is AI? When might it happen? What’s the history of AI technology and are we excited about nothing? If an artificial intelligence does take over what would it do? High-probability take-over-the-world is on the early menu.
Plus, what’s the world’s current #robotpopulation? Could #serversruntheworld?
This book will make you think differently about the way your BRAIN and your SOCIETY operate. This Books Brothers summary will do ALL that and make you laugh.
Sunday Apr 05, 2020
Sunday Apr 05, 2020
Selfish Gene answers a deep and fundamental question: How does evolution work? We start our story in the Primordial Soup served hot at the Big Bang’s favorite diner, the single-cell-stew that brewed in Earth’s original oceans (after millions of years cooled the atmosphere obviously). The effect those little replicating cells, containing the world’s first DNA structures, have on our behavior today is 😳🤯🤔.
Plus, Dawkins colorfully illustrates why #NatureIsMetal and what really goes on #WhenaManLovesaWoman
This book will make you think differently about the way your BRAIN and your SOCIETY operate. This Books Brothers summary will do ALL that and make you laugh.
With Books Brothers podcasts, we do our best to share the author’s perspective. If you’ve read it before, you’ll know the book better. If you haven’t read it yet, you’ll learn what it contains and we hope you read it soon.
Andrew and JD
Sunday Apr 05, 2020
Sunday Apr 05, 2020
The Righteous Mind answers a deep and fundamental question: why can’t we all just get along? Why can’t Democrats and Republicans understand each other better? Haidt answers these better than anyone (ever) by breaking down the social psychology and brain science of why our species is so apt to join groups, take sides and fight. The Righteous Mind covers 17 years of Haidt’s research into moral psychology and human behavior, and he uses it to explain our divided world today.
Plus, Hadit drops some bombs on our next book, Selfish Gene. #EmotionsFirstReasoningSecond #10%bee #BelongingNotBelieving
This book will make you think differently about the way your BRAIN and your SOCIETY operate. This Books Brothers summary will do ALL that and make you laugh.
With Book Brothers we do our best to share the author’s perspective. If you’ve read it before, you’ll know the book better. If you haven’t read it yet, you'll love it so much you'll go out an buy it
Enjoy!
-Andrew and JD
Sunday Apr 05, 2020
Sunday Apr 05, 2020
Sapiens is a 416-page story of humankind from 6M years ago to today. Harari wraps it all up: our psychology, technology, religion, economy, politics… Nobody puts things quite the way Yuval does - he’s got some weird/deep thoughts and spits some fire trash talk at basically everything. We guarantee this book will make you stop and think about who we are and where we come from.
Plus it’s got plenty of #CavemanTalk and #YuvalSlamPoetry
This book will make you think differently about the way your BRAIN and your SOCIETY operate. This Books Brothers summary will do ALL that and make you laugh.
We do our best to share the author’s perspective. If you’ve read it before, you’ll know the book better. If you haven’t read it yet, you’ll love it so much you'll buy the book
Enjoy!
-Andrew and JD