125. Is Gynecology the Best Innovation Ever?

Cat Bohannon’s new book puts female anatomy at the center of human evolution. She tells Steve why it takes us so long to give birth, what breast milk is really for, and why the human reproductive system is a flaming pile of garbage.

SOURCE:Cat Bohannon • , researcher and author.

RESOURCES:Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution, • by Cat Bohannon (2023). • “ Genomic Inference of a Severe Human Bottleneck During the Early to Middle Pleistocene Transition • ,” by Wangjie Hu, Ziqian Hao, Pengyuan Du, Fabio Di Vincenzo, Giorgio Manzi, Jialong Cui, Yun-Xin Fu, Yi-Hsuan, and Haipeng Li ( Science, • 2023). • “ The Greatest Invention in the History of Humanity • ,” by Cat Bohannon ( The Atlantic, • 2023). • “ A Newborn Infant Chimpanzee Snatched and Cannibalized Immediately After Birth: Implications for ‘Maternity Leave’ in Wild Chimpanzee • ,” by Hitonaru Nishie and Michio Nakamura ( American Journal of Biological Anthropology, • 2018). • “ War in the Womb • ,” by Suzanne Sadedin ( Aeon, • 2014). • “ Timing of Childbirth Evolved to Match Women’s Energy Limits • ,” by Erin Wayman ( Smithsonian Magazine, • 2012). • “ Bonobo Sex and Society • ,” by Frans B. M. de Waal ( Scientific American, • 2006).

EXTRAS: • “ Ninety-Eight Years of Economic Wisdom • ,” by People I (Mostly) Admire • (2023). • “ We Can Play God Now • ,” by People I (Mostly) Admire • (2022). • “ Yuval Noah Harari Thinks Life Is Meaningless and Amazing • ,” by People I (Mostly) Admire • (2022). • “ Jared Diamond on the Downfall of Civilizations — and His Optimism for Ours • ,” by People I (Mostly) Admire • (2021).