In today's show, Dr. Howk discusses:

1. My house is lovely, and clutter free - except one attic room which is where I keep a large amount of sentimental objects all neatly packed and stored and kept clean. I have a lot of objects, letters and cards from my own childhood and life. I have a lot of my children's clothes from age 0- 5, and a lot of their toys from the early years. I have their dismantled cot. I have every picture they have ever drawn. Why do I feel I need to keep all these possessions? Is there a way past becoming so attached to things?
2. My boyfriend and I have been dating for over a year and are very happy. I am 38 and he is 44. We've talked a little bit about children and both came to the conclusion that we don't want to start over. . Anyways, I've had to get on various forms of birth control and some have been horrible on my body and mind. I got information about a vasectomy for him, even told him I'd pay for half and he kind of makes excuses and doesn't sound like he's in a hurry to do so. What do you think this means? Does he eventually want another child but just not with me? Should I try and push the issue more or just keep trying different birth control methods even though they are costly and inconvenient for me? I'm a very non confrontational person, what is the best way to bring this up and also ways to help me not stew on the idea that I don't qualify as a mother to his potential child.
3. How do I get over the victim mentality?
4. Over the last few months I've been feeling 'down'. The only thing really missing is that 'other half' in my life. Could that one thing really be causing me to feel so unhappy with my life? Or do you think with current events, Covid etc there is just a general wariness and fatigue over us all?

   Copyright Beat Your Genes Podcast

   Host: Nathan Gershfeld

   Interviewee: Jen Howk, Ph.D.

   Podcast website: www.BeatYourGenes.org

   True to Life seminars with Dr. Lisle and Dr. Howk : www.TrueToLife.us

   Intro & outro song: City of Happy Ones · Ferenc Hegedus

In today's show, Dr. Lisle discusses:

1. Is there such a thing as going mad? Are similar expressions mostly just used to discredit people? What about mental breakdowns?
2. What would cause a fully-functional, productive member of society to have a "nervous breakdown," and become a total basket case? Conventional diagnoses include PTSD, anxiety, Major Depressive Disorder, and the treatment has, so far, been, treatment with more and more meds, whether in or outpatient. Is this just a function of personality? Is this person running a CB analysis that says it's better to be this way, even though she's miserable and claims that she wants to get back to work and life? What's the best way to support her?
3. How do I get over small slights in an otherwise happy and healthy relationship? I am probably more sensitive than the average bear. My partner of 5 years is great. But he has a habit of correcting me on the proper pronunciation of words whenever they come up, usually 1-3 times per year. The first few times I took it on the chin. But eventually I told him it really bothered me and made me feel stupid. Other small slights could be if he didn't show appreciation for a great meal that I make when I do all of the cooking. These incidents can set me off on a 3 day freeze out. I don't think he deserves me being angry with him for that long and always wish I could just stop. It took me a long time to even start bringing up hurt feelings because I've always felt so over rewarded, but now I try to so things don't fester. I try to think of all of his good qualities but that doesn't work. Is this just a neuroticism tinged disagreeability streak in me that I can't change? I tend not to think of myself as a disagreeable because I always go out of my way to not hurt others' feelings and am an otherwise happy, cheerful person. So, do you have any ideas on how to get over these slights?

   Copyright Beat Your Genes Podcast

   Host: Nathan Gershfeld

   Interviewee: Doug Lisle, Ph.D.

   Podcast website: www.BeatYourGenes.org

   True to Life seminars with Dr. Lisle and Dr. Howk : www.TrueToLife.us

   Intro & outro song: City of Happy Ones · Ferenc Hegedus

In today's show, Dr. Lisle discusses:

1. Is it different when a female partner indulges in the equivalent of but for women, than it is for if a male partner indulges? From what I understand, if the man is still very into his wife, it might not be much of a problem at all. Is it the same when a woman is indulging in shows and books that titillate the female mind?
2. At 24 years old (female) having left a long 4 year relationship I did quite a lot of "market research" and calibration via casual dating/sex which was incredibly informative and mostly fun. ​Near enough after 100+ matches and 20 dates, I met my current boyfriend, and it's been going great. We've been dating about six months and we're in love. He really resents me having had casual mating partners because he said it's a big turn off and likes to pretend it "didn't happen". Without my dating history I don't think I would be satisfied to pair bond or understand what I want from a long term partner, so it's hardly irrelevant to where I am now, but I am really committed to making him feel loved and secure with me. Do you think this is a natural reaction in the stone age as men especially want evidence that their pair bonded partner is capable of loyalty and not flake or cheat on them? In which case do I avoid bringing it up and accept my past decisions are sending the wrong signals, or sit down to discuss if these decisions threaten the security of the relationship?
3. I understand marriage is unnatural to our natural history, and you're generally against getting married if you're not absolutely sure and haven't been together for 21 decades (joke), but what advice would you give for someone in a pairbond to make them continously more attractive for a pairbond? So if someone wants to simply settle down and be happy with one person, how do we beat our genes?

   Copyright Beat Your Genes Podcast

   Host: Nathan Gershfeld

   Interviewee: Doug Lisle, Ph.D.

   Podcast website: www.BeatYourGenes.org

   True to Life seminars with Dr. Lisle and Dr. Howk : www.TrueToLife.us

   Intro & outro song: City of Happy Ones · Ferenc Hegedus

In today's show, Dr. Howk and Dr. Lisle discuss the current state of affairs in an analysis of human behavior and motivation.

Copyright Beat Your Genes Podcast

Host: Nathan Gershfeld

Interviewee: Doug Lisle, Ph.D. and Jen Howk, Ph.D.

Podcast website: www.BeatYourGenes.org

True to Life seminars with Dr. Lisle and Dr. Howk : www.TrueToLife.us

Intro & outro song: City of Happy Ones · Ferenc Hegedus

In today's replay of episode 223, the Dr's discuss:

1. How does withdrawal and Tolerance In drug usage compare to eating foods with addictive properties in terms of trying to quit? For instance, Would planning a strict day and time for a specific portioned unhealthy meal once a week then after get straight back on the wagon aid in keeping tolerance low and cravings at bay? or is complete abstinence the key to lifelong success in ending the addiction? I've been trying for about 3 years to be WFPB but I've never made it more than 30 days and when I cave into crap foods each time it's making me doubt I could achieve this success.
2. It seems so far that calorie restriction might not offer the degree of increased longevity benefits for humans as is found in mice and other animals. If you took an evolutionary perspective on this, what might you guess could explain why humans don't get quite the boost that other animals do? Do you think humans and perhaps some other animals have physiology that might expect to go hungry fairly often, so it's required for a normal lifespan rather than causing an abnormally longer one?
3. I recently celebrated my 30th birthday during this time, as fun and different as it was, the classic questions have now come to my mind about dating/settling down. I am single, and have not been on a date in 2 years! I know my chances are decreasing by the year of "finding a mate", and I am worried that males will be able to tell I am not as young as is ideal. Is there any way of avoiding this/giving off the illusions/impression that I still have value on the market as much as a twenty something?
4. Is following your lust just another pleasure trap that will leave you dissatisfied long term? Should a person who is not pair bond oriented try to work towards this for long term happiness or is this like trying to change your personality?

   Copyright Beat Your Genes Podcast

   Host: Nathan Gershfeld

   Interviewee: Doug Lisle, Ph.D. and Jen Howk, Ph.D.

   Podcast website: www.BeatYourGenes.org

   True to Life seminars with Dr. Lisle and Dr. Howk : www.TrueToLife.us

   Intro & outro song: City of Happy Ones · Ferenc Hegedus

In today's show, Dr. Howk discusses:

1. I think Jordan Peterson has done a fantastic job of exploring the evolutionary basis for Jungian archetypes. He appears to have a firm grasp on the literature, and he is convinced there is consilience between the two fields. In particular, Peterson's synthesis places institutions such as Christianity in a dramatic new context. But then again, this is an argument I imagine Richard Dawkins would be vehemently opposed to. The debates on religion between Peterson and Sam Harris serve to illustrate this intellectual divide. So where do you stand on this matter, Jen? Is Jordan Peterson right? Can we bridge the gap between Jung and EP? If yes, what implications does this have? If no, what convinced you?
2. In a female dominanted enviroment...workplaces, when there is no man. there there is an air of competitivness and cattyness, that can linger.. Once a man is introduced, even if he is not in a position of power, the relaxation is palpable. Why is this?..why is the female competition not ramped up.....Why does the roster settle the hens?
3. My employer, like many others, is adopting many trainings and policies based around words like "equity", "inclusion", "systemic racism". I work in public sector for a large west coast city so my coworkers are very liberal and 72 percent non-white, so the majority view is very much "woke" Obviously the answer is to just stay out of any discussion but are there any other strategies that I could use to avoid conflict with out having to pledge allegiance to "blank slateism"? How do you guys avoid the nasty labels that come with the uncomfortable insights of EP? Could we soon see widespread persecution of evolutionary thinkers?

   Copyright Beat Your Genes Podcast

   Host: Nathan Gershfeld

   Interviewee: Jen Howk, Ph.D.

   Podcast website: www.BeatYourGenes.org

   True to Life seminars with Dr. Lisle and Dr. Howk : www.TrueToLife.us

   Intro & outro song: City of Happy Ones · Ferenc Hegedus

In this replay of Ep 202, the questions are: 1. I've been married to a 90% disagreeable man for 42 years. Many times I've packed my bags but never followed through. I dream of being on my own, doing the little things in life without being questioned. As he has gotten older his drinking has become a problem. Every year finds me more depressed. How to know when to go? 2.why do men flirt? I am falling for a guy who is a huge flirt. I see him flirting with me and with other women, and he has a long distance, long term girlfriend who he is faithful to. Why does he flirt so much? Why am I falling for him even though I know he doesn't mean anything serious by flirting? 3. How do you deal with toxic and controlling parents who like to believe that they are doing RIGHT by continuing to control your life well into your adulthood ? Is it normal to feel that you have a hate relationship with your mother because of lack of support and love to you? As a daughter it feels awful to feel it this way but I can't get over the fact that having a distant and uncaring mother has driven me into agreeing to marry a person who is totally different to me in personality. Even to this date my mother still emotionally blackmails me to not get a divorce by using her health as a reason. You can divorce your spouse but how can you ever divorce your mother and get over it without feeling the guilt? 4. A friend of mine is having some troubles getting in touch with his friends regularly. He always thinks, if I (or anyone else) doesn't contact him first, I don't like him anymore. It seems to me like he is suffering from some kind of inferiority complex in that sense. How do you explain such a behavior in an evolutionary sense or to broaden my question, why do people suffer from inferiority complexes and how can they try to overcome such feelings?

In today's show, Dr. Lisle answers:

1. My daughter was recently informed by her therapist that self esteem is created in the first five years of life. My daughter feels now that I failed her in This regard as I was the primary caregiver. Essentially she feels her unhappy life is now my fault. Why do so many therapists focus so very much on upbringing and early life experiences vs genetics?
2. I have a highly ambitious streak but can't seem to string together any consistent action since I graduated university and settled into a job. My concern is, am I doomed to mediocrity? What use would it be for me to have these feelings of missed opportunity, boredom at work and the desire for more if I have a personality that checkmates all my efforts. Dr Howk suggested in a previous episode, without high conscientiousness it is very unlikely one will be able to create any lasting habits/ stick to the fundamentals. Is there anything I can do because as Dr Lisle says we can't change our nervous system? Am I doomed to live a life of what could have been?
3. Dr Lisle has spoken on previous episodes regarding running an experiment in order to engage your self esteem mechanism and feel the pride that comes with doing a good job. This pride will supposedly allow you to get on a path of self improvement. I could see how this process can be effective at turning off the feelings of frustration that come with doing a mediocre job. However in a previous episode Dr lisle also mentioned that boredom is a sign that you are not learning much at work and a signal for you to use your time more productively. How then does doing an excellent job and improving your self esteem signals bear on tasks you find boring? Can doing a good job and improving your self esteem signals make these tasks that are the "right of passage" as a junior employee feel less like drudgery?

   Copyright Beat Your Genes Podcast

   Host: Nathan Gershfeld

   Interviewee: Doug Lisle, Ph.D.

   Podcast website: www.BeatYourGenes.org

   True to Life seminars with Dr. Lisle and Dr. Howk : www.TrueToLife.us

   Intro & outro song: City of Happy Ones · Ferenc Hegedus

In today's episode, Dr .Lisle and Dr. Howk weigh in on current events.

In today's replay of episode 198, the Dr's discuss: 1. I think that you are absolutely right when you say that happiness comes from esteem, earned in the right way from the people that matter. It's really beautiful to me how that works. But on the other hand, I occasionally meet women who impress me a great deal, strictly based on their DNA- i.e., above-average looks, brains, and personality. Or, as you might expect, even just well above average looks. So my question is, how can attraction be such a profound emotional experience when so much of it is purely on the basis of DNA, and nothing that has been done to earn it? And in fact people are more impressed with someone when it appears that they are not trying? Is how we feel about ourselves based on what we earn, but how we feel about others mostly just a matter of their DNA? 2. How does IQ affect relationships? Specifically, a male having a greater IQ than his female partner, at what point would this cause problems in the relationship and how? 3. I am a recently single 30 year old male, and I've been hitting the online dating apps once again. With my more finely tuned evolutionary lense thanks to your podcast, I've noticed something interestin. It seems as though most of us, while we want to put our best foot forward in order to increase our chance of success, we still can't help but leak potentially market-limiting queues. Is it simply that we are programmed to be honest so that we don't end up wasting our time with people who wouldn't find these market-limiting interests appealing? Is this a simple energy conservation cost-benefit analysis?