287: Daniel Lieberman: Evolution and the Human Diet

<p>Daniel Lieberman is the Edwin M. Lerner II Professor of Biological Sciences and Professor of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University, where he studies the evolution of the human body and its relevance to health. In this episode, Robinson and Dan discuss the evolution of the human diet. More particularly, they talk about our last common ancestors with chimpanzees, how changes in the gut shaped human evolution, what Homo sapiens actually ate during the Paleolithic, and the transformative role of cooking. They also discuss whether there is such a thing as a natural human diet, why junk food is so appealing, and what an evolutionary perspective can teach us about weight loss and eating well. Dan’s latest book is Fed Up: What Evolution Reveals About Food, Diet, Health, and Eating Well (Knopf, 2026).</p><p><br></p><p>Fed Up: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0593537998"><u>https://www.amazon.com/dp/0593537998</u></a></p><p><br></p><p>OUTLINE</p><p>00:00 Dan’s Interest in Human Evolution</p><p>04:43 Why Our Heads Don’t Topple Over When We Run</p><p>07:41 Human Evolution and “Fed Up”</p><p>10:40 Understanding the Evolution of the Human Diet</p><p>19:12 Our Last Common Ancestors with Chimpanzees</p><p>30:05 Evolutionary Changes in the Gut</p><p>38:51 Homo Sapiens and the Paleolithic Diet</p><p>48:18 The Transformative Power of Cooking</p><p>54:30 The Most Important Diets</p><p>59:19 Why Are Junk Foods So Appealing?</p><p>01:03:19 Weight Loss</p><p><br>Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University, where he is also a JD candidate in the Law School.</p>