# Robert A. Wilson, "Kin Matters: Relational Beings in the Fragile Sciences" (Oxford UP, 2026) Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-network-529292/robert-a-wilson-kin-matters-relational-beings-in-the-fragile-sciences-oxford-up-2026 Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-network-529292/robert-a-wilson-kin-matters-relational-beings-in-the-fragile-sciences-oxford-up-2026.md Podcast: [New Books Network](https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-network-529292) Published: 2026-09-10T08:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/NBNK6309122500.mp3 Audio file: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/NBNK6309122500.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/new-books-network-529292/episodes/robert-a-wilson-kin-matters-relational-beings-in-the-fragile-sciences-oxford-up-2026 Duration seconds: 4247 ## Resource What is kinship? This central question in cultural anthropology is standardly answered in terms of culturally constructed relationships that are unconstrained by biological relationships. In Kin Matters: Relational Beings in the Fragile Sciences (Oxford UP, 2026), Robert Wilson proposes an alternative view that does not separate kin relations from biological facts about reproduction that are universally known, such as the fact that human females are pregnant before they give birth. On the Progenerative View, kinship is the cultural elaboration of reproductive relations, which act as constraints on kin relations. Wilson, who is professor of philosophy at the University of Western Australia, also analyzes incest avoidance from this perspective, and draws on clinical findings, primatology, and philosophy of mind and philosophy of biology to develop his biologically-based yet non-reductive and culturally variable view of kinship. Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/new-books-network-529292/episodes/robert-a-wilson-kin-matters-relational-beings-in-the-fragile-sciences-oxford-up-2026/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-network-529292/robert-a-wilson-kin-matters-relational-beings-in-the-fragile-sciences-oxford-up-2026.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.