{"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":"The Why of War and the How of Peace, Part II: Lessons from Prehistory ~ Douglas P. Fry","slug":"the-why-of-war-and-the-how-of-peace-part-ii-lessons-from-prehistory-douglas-p-fry","published_at":"2026-06-21T10:27:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/on-humans-5714769/the-why-of-war-and-the-how-of-peace-part-ii-lessons-from-prehistory-douglas-p-fry","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/on-humans-5714769","url":"https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ilari-makela/episodes/The-Why-of-War-and-the-How-of-Peace--Part-II-Lessons-from-Prehistory--Douglas-P--Fry-e3l0kr3","audio_url":"https://anchor.fm/s/b6269808/podcast/play/121704739/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-5-19%2F4e227787-e66d-ae8b-f6a8-e42e7d429d30.mp3","summary":"How old is war? Does it stretch deep into human origins, or did warfare become common only as growing populations settled down? In Part II of this conversation with Douglas P. Fry, we return to the long-running debate about the origins of war. Fry revisits his argument that aggression is ancient, but war is not. I put that claim to the test, raising some of the strongest objections from archaeology and the study of modern hunter-gatherers. We discuss Jebel Sahaba, nomadic and settled foragers, food storage, marine resources, population growth, and the archaeological sequences through which warfare seems to emerge in different parts of the world. Is war an ancient adaptation—or a more recent cultural development? And is the answer relevant to our modern quest for a more peaceful world? Enjoy! FACT-CHECKING No errors have been detected in this conversation. If you notice one, please get in touch via Substack or the form below. LINKS Fry's 2026 book: ⁠ Advanced Introduction to Conflict Resolution ⁠ Support: ⁠⁠ Patreon.com/OnHumans⁠⁠ Articles & newsletter: ⁠⁠ OnHumans.Substack.com⁠⁠ Get in touch: ⁠⁠ https://forms.gle/h5wcmefuwvD6asos8⁠⁠ Music credit: Aleksey Chistilin (Lexin_Music) via Pixabay. NAMES MENTIONED Douglas P. Fry | Luke Glowacki | Richard Wrangham | Brian Ferguson | Christopher Boehm | Richard B. Lee | Donald E. Brown ETHNIC GROUPS AND HISTORICAL REGIONS Northwestern Alaska | Valley of Oaxaca | Jebel Sahaba | Monte Albán | Zapotec Empire | Calusa people | Batek people | Orang Asli | Juǀ’hoansi, !Kung | Mbuti KEY WORDS Origins of war | prehistory of war | history of warfare | causes of war | why humans go to war | anthropology of war | anthropology of peace | peace studies | conflict studies | war studies | peace and conflict studies | evolutionary anthropol…","meta_description":"How old is war? Does it stretch deep into human origins, or did warfare become common only as growing populations settled down? In Part II of this convers…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2517,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/on-humans-5714769/episodes/the-why-of-war-and-the-how-of-peace-part-ii-lessons-from-prehistory-douglas-p-fry/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/the-why-of-war-and-the-how-of-peace-part-ii-lessons-from-prehistory-douglas-p-fry.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}