{"podcast":{"title":"On Humans","slug":"on-humans-5714769","podcast_index_feed_id":5714769,"rss_url":"https://anchor.fm/s/b6269808/podcast/rss","website_url":"https://onhumans.substack.com/about","image_url":"https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/staging/podcast_uploaded_nologo/30459826/30459826-1759510527619-3882a9600a0e7.jpg","author":"Ilari Mäkelä","episode_count":111,"summary":"Where do we come from? How did we get here? And what kinds of creatures are we? On Humans features conversations with leading scholars about the human story, making new research about humanity more accessible to everyone and more meaningful to the big questions about who we are. In addition to regular episodes, the show now includes longer series on some of the greatest arcs in the journey of our species, covering everything from the evolution of apes to the making of the modern economy. https://onhumans.substack.com/about","last_synced_at":"2026-07-26T20:17:23.337618+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/on-humans-5714769"},"episode":{"title":"Not So Simple After All? Apes, Einstein, and the Many Mysteries of the Human Brain ~ Dean Falk","slug":"not-so-simple-after-all-apes-einstein-and-the-many-mysteries-of-the-human-brain-dean-falk","published_at":"2025-09-03T13:40:55+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/on-humans-5714769/not-so-simple-after-all-apes-einstein-and-the-many-mysteries-of-the-human-brain-dean-falk","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/on-humans-5714769","url":"https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ilari-makela/episodes/Not-So-Simple-After-All--Apes--Einstein--and-the-Many-Mysteries-of-the-Human-Brain--Dean-Falk-e37mlhp","audio_url":"https://anchor.fm/s/b6269808/podcast/play/107746297/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2025-8-3%2F24b43131-9fd8-7ad9-3f79-d9b1928243c8.m4a","summary":"Here is a simple story about the origins of the human brain: All primate brains are dense with neurons—they are the supercomputers of the animal world. What's more, the human brain is just what you’d expect from a primate of our size: big, packed with neurons, but no more special than that. It's the chimps and gorillas who are special: without cooked food, their brains lacked the fuel to keep up with the growing body. Or so argued Suzana Herculano-Houzel, my guest in last week's episode. In today's episode, paleo-neurologist Dean Falk explains why she thinks this is only part of the story. I'll let her tell you why. Enjoy! DIG DEEPER This episode is part 2 of this autumn's brain science series. See more at OnHumans.Substack.com⁠/Brain See also last spring's episode with Dean Falk on toolmaking and childhoods, as part of the Origins of Humankind -series. SUPPORT THE SHOW OnHumans.Patreon.com MENTIONS AND KEYWORDS Scholars Charles Darwin | Dietrich Stout | Robin Dunbar | Katarina Semenderfi | Weiwei Men | Joseph Ledoux | Jane Goodall Technical terms Endocasts | Sulci and gyri | Broca's area | Brodmann Area 10, also known as BA10 and the frontal pole | Acheulean hand axe technology Keywords Brain science | Neuroscience | Neurology | Paleoneurology | Evolutionary Anthropology | Comparative Anatomy | Cognitive Archaeology | Origins of Consciousness","meta_description":"Here is a simple story about the origins of the human brain: All primate brains are dense with neurons—they are the supercomputers of the animal world. Wh…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1842,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/on-humans-5714769/episodes/not-so-simple-after-all-apes-einstein-and-the-many-mysteries-of-the-human-brain-dean-falk/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/on-humans-5714769/not-so-simple-after-all-apes-einstein-and-the-many-mysteries-of-the-human-brain-dean-falk.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}