Who Are The Fab Five Of The Great Ape Family? with Dr. Laura Simone Lewis

Who Are The Fab Five Of The Great Ape Family? with Dr. Laura Simone Lewis

Author: Sony Music Entertainment / Jonathan Van Ness February 22, 2023 Duration: 53:49
Gorillas. Orangutans. Bonobos. Chimpanzees. Humans. Can you name a more iconic Fab Five? This week, Dr. Laura Simone Lewis joins Jonathan for an episode all about our beautiful primate family tree! Listen in to learn how we’re related, what makes each species unique, and why we need to step up conservation efforts for our closest living relatives on the planet.   Dr. Laura Simone Lewis is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, and earned her PhD from Harvard in the department of Human Evolutionary Biology. Laura studies how social cognition has evolved in chimpanzees, bonobos, and humans. Besides hanging out with great apes, she loves swimming in the ocean, making pottery, and going on solo travel adventures around the world.   You can follow Dr. Lewis on Twitter @LauraSimoneLew. Here's a link to the chart on human evolutionary pathways. And here's a link to the great ape family tree, with a photo of Jonathan at the center! We have so much more ground to cover with Dr. Lewis, and we’re already planning a follow-up episode about social cognition in chimpanzees and bonobos. If you have a question for Dr. Lewis, leave us a voicemail or text message at (917) 960-2980, or share your message with us at jonathanvanness.com.   Follow us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN to join the conversation.   Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook.   Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com.   Our executive producer is Erica Getto. Our associate producer is Zahra Crim. Our editor is Andrew Carson.   Our theme music is “Freak” by QUIÑ; for more, head to TheQuinCat.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You know that feeling when you’re just trying to figure it all out, and you need a guide who’s equal parts insightful and hilarious? That’s the space where Getting Better with Jonathan Van Ness lives. Hosted by the beloved Jonathan Van Ness of Queer Eye, this podcast turns genuine curiosity into a powerful engine for personal growth. Each episode feels like a vibrant conversation with a deeply empathetic friend who isn’t afraid to ask the big, awkward, or wonderfully silly questions. Jonathan sits down with a diverse array of experts, authors, and thinkers, weaving together discussions that are as enlightening as they are unexpectedly funny. The result is a unique blend of education, comedy, and culture that tackles everything from societal issues to the intimate details of self-improvement. You’ll find yourself laughing one moment and having a profound revelation the next, all while feeling less alone in the challenges of modern life. This isn’t about quick fixes; it’s about the ongoing, messy, and beautiful process of understanding ourselves and the world. Produced in partnership with Sony Music Entertainment, the podcast delivers consistently engaging audio experiences that are both a lifeline and a joy. Tune in for a weekly dose of warmth, wit, and the kind of conversations that leave you feeling genuinely better equipped to navigate your own path.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Getting Better with Jonathan Van Ness
Podcast Episodes
How F$^*#d Up Is Fatphobia? (ICYMI) with Dr. Sabrina Strings [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:53
What do Enlightenment-era paintings, 19th-century American fashion magazines, and Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby Got Back” have in common? They’re all examples of what fatphobia has to do with race, class, and gender discriminati…
Why Is The Titanic So Iconic? with Dr. Meaghan Walker [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:16:27
The RMS Titanic sank 111 years ago this week. It may have been on its maiden voyage, but this trip was the culmination of more than 200 years of maritime travel and innovation. This week, Dr. Meaghan Walker joins us to e…
Where Did All The Malls Go? with Alexandra Lange [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:22
In the late 1990s, American malls were the place to be. Families from around the world vacationed at the Mall of America. Teens flocked to Britney Spears’ Hair Zone Mall Tour. A nine-year-old Jonathan basked in the fine…
Whose Land Is This Land? with Dr. Elizabeth Rule [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:11:09
This week, we’re touring Washington, DC, to learn how the nation’s capital is a Native capital—with returning guest Dr. Elizabeth Rule! She and Jonathan explore the city’s significance for the 574 tribal nations in the U…
How Have You Changed Reality TV As We Know It? with Fenton Bailey [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:22
This week, we’re celebrating the small screen with a TV legend: World of Wonder’s Fenton Bailey! Fenton is one of the creative forces behind RuPaul’s Drag Race and other groundbreaking TV shows and films. Fenton and Jona…
How Smart Is AI? (Part Two) with Meredith Broussard [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:39
We’re back with the second half of our special two-part episode about algorithms and artificial intelligence, featuring returning guest Meredith Broussard. Yesterday, we got the T on ChatGPT, and learned why we can’t tru…
How Smart Is AI? (Part One) with Meredith Broussard [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:39
Every time you interact with a targeted advertisement, use a drop-down menu, or scroll through TikTok, you’re engaging with an algorithm. And these algorithms are anything but objective. This week, Meredith Broussard ret…