How the Female Body Drove Human Evolution

Published January 4, 2024 at 4:00 AM MST

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In biological and medical research, the majority of studies that use mice are only using males. Why? Because female mammals’ estrous, or sexual, cycle means that their bodies are more “messy” than their male counterparts.

Our guest, researcher and author Cat Bohannon, argues that leaving the female body out of scientific studies has hurt science in more ways than one, and that the practice harms women as well as men. Bohannon joins us to discuss her new book, “Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution,” this Thursday at 9 a.m. It’s a comprehensive study of how the female body has developed — going all the way back to the Jurassic Period. By the way, you'll meet more than one "Eve."

Guest:

Cat Bohannon | Researcher and author with a Ph.D. from Columbia University in the evolution of narrative and cognition. Her latest book is “Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution”. [Amazon | Bookshop]

Air date: Jan. 4, 2024 at 9 a.m. and Saturday, Jan. 6 at 11 a.m.