136. The World’s Most Controversial Ornithologist

Richard Prum says there's a lot that traditional evolutionary biology can't explain. He thinks a neglected hypothesis from Charles Darwin — and insights from contemporary queer theory — hold the answer. Plus: You won't believe what female ducks use for contraception.

SOURCE:Richard Prum • , professor of ornithology, ecology and evolutionary biology at Yale University.

RESOURCES: • " Stop Your Populist Grandstanding Over Wendy’s ‘Surge Pricing’ • ," by Catherine Rampell ( The Washington Post, • 2024). • " Dynamic Pricing Tech May Brighten Retail Bottom Lines and Put Consumers in the Dark • ," by Kristin Schwab and Sofia Terenzio ( Marketplace, • 2024). Performance All the Way Down: Genes, Development, and Sexual Difference, • by Richard Prum (2023). The Evolution of Beauty: How Darwin's Forgotten Theory of Mate Choice Shapes the Animal World — and Us, • by Richard Prum (2017). • " Duck Sex and the Patriarchy • ," by Richard Prum ( The New Yorker, • 2017). • " Dinosaur Feathers Came before Birds and Flight • ," by Richard Prum and Alan Brush ( Scientific American, • 2014). • " How Chickens Lost Their Penises (And Ducks Kept Theirs) • ," by Ed Yong ( National Geographic, • 2013). • " Media Attacks Duck Genitalia Research • ," by Emma Goldberg ( Yale Daily News, • 2013). • " Mate Choice and Sexual Selection: What Have We Learned Since Darwin? • " by Adam G. Jones and Nicholas L. Ratterman ( PNAS, • 2009). • " Development and Evolutionary Origin of Feathers • ," by Richard O. Prum ( Journal of Experimental Zoology, • 2002). The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe without Design, • by Richard Dawkins (1986). • " Display Behavior, Foraging Ecology, and Systematics of the Golden-Winged Manakin (Masius chrysopterus) • ," by Richard Prum and Ann Johnson ( The Wilson Bulletin, • 1987). The Selfish Gene, • by Richard Dawkins (1976). The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, • by Charles Darwin (1871).

EXTRAS: • " Is Gynecology the Best Innovation Ever? • " by People I (Mostly) Admire • (2024). • " The Price of Doing Business with John List • ," by People I (Mostly) Admire • (2022).