
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


“Do men need to cheat on their women?” a Playboy headline asked in the summer of 1978. Their not-so-surprising conclusion: Yes! Science says so! The idea that men are promiscuous by nature, while women are chaste and monogamous, is an old and tenacious one. As far back as Darwin, scientists were churning out theory and evidence that backed this up. In this episode, Annie and Elah go back to the 1970s and 1980s, when feminism and science come face to face, and it becomes clear that a lot of animals—humans and bluebirds included—are not playing by the rules.
By Science Friday and WNYC Studios4.7
753753 ratings
“Do men need to cheat on their women?” a Playboy headline asked in the summer of 1978. Their not-so-surprising conclusion: Yes! Science says so! The idea that men are promiscuous by nature, while women are chaste and monogamous, is an old and tenacious one. As far back as Darwin, scientists were churning out theory and evidence that backed this up. In this episode, Annie and Elah go back to the 1970s and 1980s, when feminism and science come face to face, and it becomes clear that a lot of animals—humans and bluebirds included—are not playing by the rules.

91,225 Listeners

78,708 Listeners

43,820 Listeners

32,234 Listeners

38,499 Listeners

6,955 Listeners

23,793 Listeners

43,653 Listeners

38,880 Listeners

26,263 Listeners

5,671 Listeners

9,229 Listeners

1,581 Listeners

6,888 Listeners

7,714 Listeners

6,441 Listeners

4,242 Listeners

16,644 Listeners

9,334 Listeners

16,497 Listeners

16,406 Listeners

1,184 Listeners