We've asked linguists about how language began, but what would an evolutionary biologist tell you? Prof Madeleine Beekman says it's part of a complex web of body, brain, and community, and at the heart of it is (perhaps surprisingly) childcare. Madeleine is the author of The Origin of Language: How We Learned to Speak and Why.

Timestamps

• Cold open: 0:00
• Intros: 0:42
• News: 9:07
• Related or Not: 30:02
• Interview with Madeleine Beekman: 49:43
• Words of the Week: 1:40:49
• Comments: 2:01:30
• The Reads: 2:08:07
• Outtakes: 2:17:38