Summary

Dr. DiGangi from SUNY-Binghamton and Dr. Bethard from the University of South Florida joined the show to discuss their position papers on the use of ancestry in forensic sciences and in the justice system.

Recommendations

• What you should read to learn more:
  • DiGangi, EA, Bethard, JD. Uncloaking a Lost Cause: Decolonizing ancestry estimation in the United States. Am J Phys Anthropol. 2021; 175: 422– 436. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24212
  • Bethard, J.D. and DiGangi, E.A. (2020), Letter to the Editor—Moving Beyond a Lost Cause: Forensic Anthropology and Ancestry Estimates in the United States. J Forensic Sci, 65: 1791-1792. https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.14513
  • Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from an Unfinished Civil War by Tony Horwitz (Penguin Random House, 1999)
  • Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson (Penguin Random House, 2014)
• What they’re reading for work right now:
  • DiGangi:
    • White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo (Beacon Press, 2018)
    • How to Be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi (One World, 2019)
  • Bethard:
    • Blakey, Michael. (2020). Archaeology under the Blinding Light of Race. Current Anthropology. 61. S183-S197. 10.1086/710357.
    • Dr. Rachel Watkins (creation of race in the US)
      • Link to Dr. Rachel Watkins’ AnthroBiology episode
    • Dr. Carlina de la Cova (history of collections)
      • Link to Dr. Carlina de la Cova’s AnthroBiology episode
• What they’re consuming for fun right now:
  • DiGangi:
    • Beekeeping literature
    • Gardening
    • Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (full text) by Frederick Douglas
  • Bethard:
    • Here to Slay (Now the Roxane Gay Agenda) (link to Apple Podcasts)
    • Schitt’s Creek (opens in Netflix)

Summary

Dr. Tara Cepon-Robins of the University of Colorado – Colorado Springs joined me to talk about worms. She talks about humans’ evolutionary arms race with parasites, measuring disgust, and her work among the Shuar people and in the rural southern United States.

Recommendations

• What you should read to learn more:
  • Dr. Tara Cepon-Robins’ website
  • Miłkowska K, Galbarczyk A, Mijas M, Jasienska G. Disgust Sensitivity Among Women During the COVID-19 Outbreak. Front Psychol. 2021 Mar 23;12:622634. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.622634. PMID: 33833715; PMCID: PMC8021948.
  • Riddled With Life: Friendly Worms, Ladybug Sex, and the Parasites That Make Us Who We Are by Marlene Zuk (Harper Collins, 2008)
  • Parasites: Tales of Humanity’s Most Unwelcome Guests by Rosemary Drisdelle (University of California Press, 2010)
  • Parasite Rex: Inside the Bizarre World of Nature’s Most Dangerous Creatures by Carl Zimmer (Atria Books, 2001)
  • I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life by Ed Yong (Harper Collins, 2018)
  • This Is Your Brain on Parasites: How Tiny Creatures Manipulate Our Behavior and Shape Society by Kathleen McAuliffe (Mariner Books, 2017)
• What she’s reading for work right now:
  • Blue Marble Health: An Innovative Plan to Fight Diseases of the Poor amid Wealth by Peter Hotez (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016)
• What she’s consuming for fun:
  • Whatever free mystery-thriller from Kindle with decent reviews
  • Dark (link goes to Netflix)

Summary

Dr. Herman Pontzer of Duke is on the show this week to talk about human metabolism and his new book, Burn. He helps answer questions like: How much energy can a person burn in one day? Does exercise help you lose weight? Do people with different subsistence strategies have different metabolisms? We also talk about his work with the Hadza.

Recommendations

• What you can read to learn more:
  • Burn: New Research Blows the Lid Off How We Really Burn Calories, Lose Weight, and Stay Healthy by Herman Pontzer (Penguin Random House, 2021)
  • Articles by Herman Pontzer (ctrl+F Publications, click on plus sign)
• What he’s reading for work right now:
  • Body by Darwin: How Evolution Shapes Our Health and Transforms Medicine by Jeremy Taylor (University of Chicago Press, 2015)
  • The Body: A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson (Penguin Random House, 2021)
  • Energy expenditure scholarly literature
• What he’s consuming for fun right now:
  • Trails around his house

Summary

Dr. Cara Ocobock of Notre Dame joins the show to discuss human energetics in high-latitude populations, and the potential downstream health consequences of a changing environment. (Learn why reindeer herders are rad!) She also shares insights on science communication and how we can do it better. (Learn how to talk to your science-averse relatives today!)

Recommendations

• What you can read to learn more:
  • Cara Ocobock’s website
  • Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Rewarding by Daniel Lieberman (Vintage, 2021)
  • Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health, and Disease by Daniel Lieberman (Vintage, 2014)
  • Burn: New Research Blows the Lid Off How We Really Burn Calories, Lose Weight, and Stay Healthy by Herman Pontzer (Avery, 2021)
  • On Fertile Ground: A Natural History of Human Reproduction by Peter Ellison (Harvard University Press, 2003)
• What she’s reading for work right now:
  • Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Rewarding by Daniel Lieberman
  • Woman the Gatherer edited by Frances Dahlberg
  • Anthropology of sports literature
  • Sarah Blaffer Hrdy
• What she’s consuming for fun:
  • Dust Bowl Girls: The Inspiring Story of the Team that Barnstormed Its Way to Basketball Glory by Lydia Reeder

Summary

Dr. Janna Andronowski of Memorial University of Newfoundland talks about bone histology. We’re bringing it back to basics with how bones grow, how they “know” what shape they should be, and how bones regulate themselves. Also, we discuss what a cellular examination of bone can tell you about a person.

Recommendations

• What to read to learn more:
  • Bone Histology: An Anthropological Perspective by Christian Crowder and Sam Stout
  • Dr. Andronowski’s Faculty Page at Memorial University of Newfoundland
  • Andronowski Lab Website
  • Dr. Andronowski on Twitter
  • American Board of Forensic Anthropology 
  • American Academy of Forensic Sciences 
  • Andronowski Skeletal Collection for Histological Research
  • University of Tennessee Knoxville Forensic Anthropology Center
  • Biological Anthropology and Human Anatomy Student Organization on Twitter
  • American Academy of Forensic Sciences 73^rd Annual Scientific Meeting 2021, Andronowski Lab Poster Presentations
  • Canadian Light Source 
  • Ellis R Kerley Foundation
• What she’s reading for work right now:
  • A selection of new papers on arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy
• What she’s consuming for fun:
  • Newfoundland’s east coast trail system

Summary

Dr. Nathan Young of UCSF discuss evolutionary developmental biology using the limb as a model to understand the perspective. We talk about the importance of marrying all three disciplines to discover insights that otherwise wouldn’t be within the purview of a single field.

Recommendations

• What you can read to learn more:
  • Carroll, SB. Endless Forms Most Beautiful: The New Science of Evo-Devo. WWNorton: 2005.
  • Shubin, N. Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5.-Billion-Year-Journey History of the Human Body. Penguin-Random House: 2009.
  • Lieberman, D. The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health, and Disease. Penguin-Random House: 2014.
• What he’s reading for work:
  • Technical papers for a grant
  • Jablonkski paper. Here’s his site with a TON of PDFs. It’s worth spending some time there.
  • Jablonski, David. (2019). Developmental bias, macroevolution, and the fossil record. Evolution & Development. 22. 10.1111/ede.12313.
• What he’s consuming for fun:
  • Banks, IM. Player of Games. Hachette: 1988.

References:

• Leakey Foundation. Science Speakeasy: Nathan Young | On the Shoulders of Apes. YouTube. 2018.
• Young, Nathan. (2017). Integrating “Evo” and “Devo”: The Limb as Model Structure. Integrative and comparative biology. 57. 10.1093/icb/icx115.
• Green, Rebecca & Fish, Jennifer & Young, Nathan & Smith, Francis & Roberts, Benjamin & Dolan, Katie & Choi, Irene & Leach, Courtney & Gordon, Paul & Cheverud, James & Roseman, Charles & Williams, Trevor & Marcucio, Ralph & Hallgrimsson, Benedikt. (2017). Developmental nonlinearity drives phenotypic robustness. Nature Communications. 8. 10.1038/s41467-017-02037-7.
• Young, Nathan & Linde-Medina, Marta & Fondon, John & Hallgrimsson, Benedikt & Marcucio, Ralph. (2017). Craniofacial diversification in the domestic pigeon and the evolution of the avian skull. Nature Ecology & Evolution. 1. 0095. 10.1038/s41559-017-0095.
• Young, Nathan & Capellini, Terence & Roach, Neil & Alemseged, Zeresenay. (2015). Fossil hominin shoulders support an African ape-like last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 112. 10.1073/pnas.1511220112.
• Young, Nathan & Winslow, Benjamin & Takkellapati, Sowmya & Kavanagh, Kathryn. (2015). Shared rules of development predict patterns of evolution in vertebrate segmentation. Nature Communications. 6. 10.1038/ncomms7690.
• Zaid, Musa & Young, Nathan & Pedoia, Valentina & Feeley, Brian & Ma, Chunbong & Lansdown, Drew. (2019). Anatomic shoulder parameters and their relationship to the presence of degenerative rotator cuff tears and glenohumeral osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery. 28. 10.1016/j.jse.2019.05.008.
• Hallgrimsson, Benedikt & Katz, David & Aponte, Jose & Larson, Jacinda & Devine, Jay & Gonzalez, Paula & Young, Nathan & Roseman, Charles & Marcucio, Ralph. (2019). Integration and the Developmental Genetics of Allometry. Integrative and comparative biology. 59. 10.1093/icb/icz105.

Summary

Dr. Eric Bartelink of CSU – Chico guides us through an intro to stable isotope analysis, and how it can be used in forensic and historic or ancient contexts to understand how people migrated and what their diets were like. Dr. Bartelink highlights the importance of embracing a multi-disciplinary approach to advancing anthropology. 

Recommendations

• What you can read to learn more:
  • Bartelink EJ, Chesson LA. Recent applications of isotope analysis to forensic anthropology. Forensic Sci Res. 2019;4(1):29-44. Published 2019 Feb 17. doi:10.1080/20961790.2018.1549527
  • Ed. Chesson LA, Carter JF. Food Forensics: Stable Isotopes as a Guide to Authenticity and Origin. Routledge: 2017.
• What he’s reading for work right now:
  • Kelley RL. The Fifth Beginning: What Six Million Years of Human History Can Tell Us about Our Future. University of California Press: 2019.
  • Marra JF. Hot Carbon: Carbon-14 and a Revolution in Science. Columbia University Press: 2019.
• What he’s consuming for fun: Dark, Netflix.

Summary

Dr. Sean Tallman talks about crafting new metric and nonmetric methods for sex estimation in modern populations — especially in groups that have been historically ignored or conflated with others in the past. Additionally, Dr. Tallman shares his research on the current state of diversity and inclusion in forensics and biological anthropology. We also discuss: How can diversity shift how research is done? What are some ways to make the field more inclusive?

Recommendations

• What to read to learn more:
  • Dead Men Do Tell Tales: The Strange and Fascinating Cases of a Forensic Anthropologist by Dr. William R. Maples and Michael Browning
  • Sex Estimation of the Human Skeleton: History, Methods, and Emerging Techniques by Dr. Alexandra Klales
  • Opinion: The Forensic Sciences Have a Diversity, Inclusion Problem by Dr. Sean Tallman
  • Tallman, Sean & Bird, Cate. (2020). Diversity and Inclusion in Forensic Anthropology: Where We Stand and Prospects for the Future. 10.5744/fa.2020.3001.
• What he’s reading for work:
  • A colleague’s case report
• What he’s consuming for fun:
  • Fargo (TV series)
  • My Favorite Murder (Podcast)
  • I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara
• Other:
  • CDC: The Tuskegee Study

References:

• Kilroy, Grace & Tallman, Sean & DiGangi, Elizabeth. (2020). Secular change in morphological cranial and mandibular trait frequencies in European Americans born 1824–1987. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 173. 10.1002/ajpa.24115.
• Atkinson, Megan & Tallman, Sean. (2020). Nonmetric Cranial Trait Variation and Ancestry Estimation in Asian and Asian‐Derived Groups. Journal of Forensic Sciences. 65. 692-706. 10.1111/1556-4029.14234.
• Tallman, Sean & Blanton, Amelia. (2020). Distal Humerus Morphological Variation and Sex Estimation in Modern Thai Individuals. Journal of Forensic Sciences. 65. 361-371. 10.1111/1556-4029.14218.
• Patterson, Meredith & Tallman, Sean. (2019). Cranial and Postcranial Metric Sex Estimation in Modern Thai and Ancient Native American Individuals. 2. 233-252. 10.5744/fa.2019.1009.

Summary

Dr. Barbara J. King joins the show to discuss animal cognition and emotion. Along the way, we hear about her start in biological anthropology studying baboons and how her career shifted several times to focus on animal cognition more broadly, followed by a turn towards advocacy and science communication. 

Recommendations

• What to read to learn more:
  • How Animals Grieve by Barbara J. King
  • TED Talk: Grief and Love in the Animal Kingdom by Barbara J. King
  • Dr. King’s website
  • Dr. King’s twitter
• What she’s reading for work:
  • The Sediments of Time: My Lifelong Search for the Past by Meave Leakey
  • Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death, and Art by Rebecca Wragg Sykes
  • Fevers, Feuds, and Diamonds: Ebola and the Ravages of History by Paul Farmer
• What she’s consuming for fun:
  • Star Trek (The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine)
  • Dead Astronauts by Jeff VanderMeer
  • Borne by Jeff VanderMeer
  • Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
• BONUS works mentioned:
  • Personalities on the Plate: The Lives & Minds of Animals We Eat by Barbara J. King
  • The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery
  • Forthcoming March 2021: Animals’ Best Friends: Putting Compassion to Work for Animals in Captivity and the Wild by Barbara J. King
  • Sapiens articles by Barbara J. King
  • The Reducetarian Solution by Brian Kateman

Summary

Chris Aris is a PhD candidate at the University of Kent in the UK. In this week’s episode, we discuss grad school survival strategies, mental health, the differences between the US and UK grad school systems, choosing the right path for you, and some of the things we wish we’d known before we went to grad school. Plus, teeth and sexual dimorphism!

Recommendations

• What to read to learn more:
  • Aris, Christopher. (2020). The Histological Paradox: Methodology and Efficacy of Dental Sectioning. 29. 10.14324/111.2041-9015.011.
• What he’s reading for work:
  • Module outlines for the courses he’s teaching in a few weeks
• What he’s consuming for fun:
  • Saga

Reference articles:

• Aris, Christopher. (2016). Sexually Dimorphic Traits of the Maxillary First Molar and their Application to Determine Sex in Immature Human Remains. 10.13140/RG.2.2.32602.13766.
• Aris, Christopher & Mahoney, Patrick & O’Hara, Mackie & Deter, Chris. (2020). Enamel thickness and growth rates in modern human permanent first molars over a 2000 year period in Britain. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 10.1002/ajpa.24026.