#92: The Blankest Slate (Bret Weinstein & Heather Heying DarkHorse Livestream)
In this 92nd in a series of live discussions with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying (both PhDs in Biology), we discuss the state of the world through an evolutionary lens.
In this episode, we discuss childhood. Beginning with an excerpt from chapter 9 (Childhood) of our forthcoming book, A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century, we discuss what childhood is, what other organisms have it, and why it is important. We discuss plasticity in development, and the need to develop flexibility as a growing human. We discuss Lenore Skenazy (America’s Worst Mom!), and Let Grow, an organization dedicated to helping kids build real-world confidence, competence and openness. We discuss the need for play—real, unstructured play without interference from adults—and for risk. And we discuss the adaptive underpinnings of play.
Get your Goliath shirts right here: store.darkhorsepodcast.org
Heather’s newsletter, Natural Selections (subscribe to get free weekly essays in your inbox): https://naturalselections.substack.com
Support the sponsors of this show:
Four Sigmatic: Delicious mushroom coffee made with both real coffee and two species of mushrooms. Up to 40% off and free shipping at Foursigmatic.com/DARKHORSE.
Vivo Barefoot: Shoes for healthy feet—comfortable and regenerative, enhances stability and tactile feedback. Go to www.vivobarefoot.com/us/darkhorse to get 20% off, and a 100-day free trial.
Allform: Get 20% off any order (of a beautiful sofa) from Allform at https://allform.com/darkhorse.
Our book, A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century, is now available for pre-sale at amazon. Publication date: 9-14-21: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0593086880/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_5BDTABYFKRJKZBT5GSQA
http://huntergatherersguide.com/
DarkHorse merchandise now available at: store.darkhorsepodcast.org
Find more from us on Bret’s website (https://bretweinstein.net) or Heather’s website (http://heatherheying.com).
Become a member of the DarkHorse LiveStreams, and get access to an additional Q&A livestream every month. Join at Heather&aposs Patreon.
Like this content? Subscribe to the channel, like this video, follow us on twitter (@BretWeinstein, @HeatherEHeying), and consider helping us out by contributing to either of our Patreons or Bret’s Paypal.
Looking for clips from #DarkHorseLivestreams? Here are some, updated frequently: @DarkHorse Podcast Clips
Theme Music: Thank you to Martin Molin of Wintergatan for providing us the rights to use their excellent music.
Q&A Link: https://youtu.be/bsNfjGVrZOA
Mentioned in this episode:
A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century: https://huntergatherersguide.com
Skenazy, L., 2021 (2nd ed). Free-range kids, giving our children the freedom we had without going nuts with worry. John Wiley & Sons.
Skenazy, L. 2008. Why I Let My 9-Year-Old Ride the Subway Alone. The New York Sun, April 1, 2008. https://www.nysun.com/opinion/why-i-let-my-9-year-old-ride-subway-alone/73976/
Let Grow: https://letgrow.org
Gray, P. 2013. Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life. Basic Books.
Martini, M. (1994). Peer interactions in Polynesia: A view from the Marquesas. In J. L. Roopnarine, J. E. Johnson, & F. H. Hooper (Eds.), Children’s play in diverse cultures (pp. 73-103). Albany: State University of New York Press.
Lancy, D.F., 2014. The anthropology of childhood: Cherubs, chattel, changelings. Cambridge University Press.
Spinka, M., Newberry, R.C. and Bekoff, M., 2001. Mammalian play: training for the unexpected. The Quarterly review of biology, 76(2): 141-168. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/393866
