Show Notes
Ella Al-Shamahi asks why do we love dogs? Dogs evolved from wolves but why did they choose us humans to be their best friends? They say dogs are a man’s best friend but all dogs, even chihuahuas are descended from wolves, the grey wolf, a majestic, fierce and incredibly dangerous species. How did this happen but more importantly, why did we start trusting wolves? And when did wolves turn into dogs? Dogs have been a part of our story for a long time. They are depicted in cave and rock art and dogs are a part of our story because of how useful they are. From the mundane everyday hunting and guarding to the epic stories of life saving dogs . But how did we get here? Oxford Professor Greger Lawson studies ancient dog DNA and thinks the evolution from wolves into dogs began when we both realised we could help each other.
More from Why Do We Do That?
Ella Al-Shamahi explores evolutionary mysteries in More Play with Brenna Hassett. BBC Studios Audio Producer: Olivia Jani Additional Production: Emily Bird Series Producer: Geraldine Fitzgerald Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem
Paleoanthropologist Ella Al-Shamahi asks why do humans play? The Neanderthals are a species that was so close to us that we could reproduce with them, they had creativity, technology and they made art - handprints on cave walls and painted shells strung into necklaces. But it turns out the Neanderthals had shorter childhoods than us. Their children grew up quicker than their Homo sapiens counterparts. We don’t know why Neanderthals went extinct. It is probably for a few reasons but is it possible that us having these longer childhoods, having more time to play, might have given us a creative edge. There are probably more important reasons for our survival over them but it is food for thought. And we are still playing, anthropologist Brenna Hasset says play is part of learning how to be an adult so depending on where you grow up influences the type of games children play. BBC Studios Audio Produced by Emily Bird Additional production Olivia Jani and Ben Hughes Series Producer Geraldine Fitzgerald Executive Producer is Alexandra Feachem Commissioning Editor is Rhian Roberts
Ella Al-Shamahi explores evolutionary mysteries in More Bad Boys with Julia Stern. BBC Studios Audio Producer: Olivia Jani Additional Production: Emily Bird Series Producer: Geraldine Fitzgerald Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem
Paleoanthropologist Ella Al-Shamahi looks at the evidence for what people want in a partner and how it changes as they get older. Psychologist Julia Stern from the University of Bremen shares the results of a study which recruited people from a singles night in a Berlin club and followed them for 13 years. Novelist Adele Parks explains why writing about bad boys is so much fun, and on the Bridget Jones scale of bad boys think more Hugh Grant and less Colin Firth.
Ella Al-Shamahi explores evolutionary mysteries in More Dancing with Bronwyn Tarr. BBC Studios Audio Producer: Olivia Jani Additional Production: Emily Bird Series Producer: Geraldine Fitzgerald Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem