In this edition host Rafael Behr talks to Nichola Raihani, Professor of Evolution and Behaviour in the School of Psychology at the University of Auckland.

She's also the author of, 'The Social Instinct: How Cooperation Shaped the World'

Professor Raihani has unique insight into a problem that has appeared in various forms on this podcast over the years.

It's a question of collective action, solidarity, and cooperation. What motivates people to form units of political organisation or cooperation?

Tribes, parties, whole nations—what holds them together and what drives them apart? Why do some societies tend to be democratic and some go despotic? Is it an accident of history? Climate? Culture? Religion? Evolution. This is the fabric of politics, the very stuff societies are made of at the most fundamental level, and Professor Rehani shines an evolutionary light on it all.

This podcast is produced by Philip Berman of Larchmont Productions

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