Leaders of Nature

Where do we come from, what makes us human? What does it really mean to be a social animal? Isabel Behncke is a scientist, a field ethologist who studies the social behavior of animals, including humans. She has a PhD from Oxford, a Masters from Cambridge and two more degrees from University College London. Originally from Chile, Isabel was the first South American following great apes in the wild, she walked more than 3,000 km in the Congo jungle studying a community of wild bonobos, our closest living relatives together with chimpanzees. She is also a TED Fellow and award-winning integrative thinker, who applies an evolutionary lens to the modern challenges that people and planet face.This episode will blow your mind, we talked about how we resemble our primate cousins — the Bonobos — in so many ways, including the importance of play in the way we flourish as individuals and as communities, the effects that lockdown may have on social interactions, key differences between virtual meetings and real life encounters, the importance of our senses, evolution, and much more!I believe that this conversation enlightened me in a big way. Isabel is an amazing person, and her passion for understanding the underpinnings of what makes us, us is very contagious. With you, Isabel Behncke.---Website: http://www.isabelbehncke.comTwitter: @IsabelBehnckeInstagram: @Isabel BehnckeTED Profile: Isabel Behncke--- Highlights ---(3:30) Isabel’s trajectory(4:01) Great quote from Isabel’s TED Talk.(4:40) How does play enter the equation in today’s world?(7:50) Does isolation have an effect on long term social interactions?(10:30) Do virtual interactions substitute face-to-face encounters?(14:40) Experiment: virtual meetings via Zoom vs. Face-to-Face reunions.(16:50) Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society by Nicholas Christakis.(17:45) The importance of our senses.(21:30) Study Links Warm Hands, Warm Heart(22:54) Could rationality override our evolutionary blueprint?(30:00) Biology, Genes, and Culture.(31:32) The Bajau People: “Sea Nomads” Of The Far East(33:40) The similarities and differences of social structures between Bonobos and Humans.(36:25) Do we make friends the same way Bonobos do?(38:30) If you could build a nation from scratch, how would you do it? Where would you start?(41:38) How has faith evolved?(43:45) Isabel’s vision of the future.(46:50) “We are not apart from nature, we are part of nature” WOW.(47:10) Closing remarks.--- Support Us ---Thanks for tuning in for this edition of Through Conversations Podcast!If you find this episode interesting, don't miss out on new conversations and subscribe to the podcast at any podcast feed you use, and leave me a review. Also, consider sharing it with someone you think can enjoy this episode.--- Keep The Conversation Going —Instagram:@thruconvpodcastTwitter: @ThruConvPodcastWebsite: throughconversations.com--- Credits ---Our New, Awesome Music by Joe Lyle.  More info can be found at https://joelyledrums.comHosted, Produced by Alex Levy.Special thanks to Momentum Clothing for supporting this episode! 10% of the money Momentum Clothing raises will be donated to different organizations that are responsible for improving the lives of many people. The 4 organizations are: The Ocean Cleanup, Black Lives Matter, Cadena AC and KKL México.