KERA's Think

The surprising reason people name their cars


Listen Later

From our little fur babies to “Herbie” the car, we imbue the world around us with wonderous human-like qualities. Justin Gregg is senior research associate with the Dolphin Communication Project and an Adjunct Professor at St. Francis Xavier University, where he lectures on animal behavior and cognition. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the benefits of anthropomorphism — and the detriments of its polar opposite — dehumanization. Plus, we’ll be introduced to a wide world where we love to see animals and objects as reflections of ourselves. His book is “Humanish: What Talking to Your Cat or Naming Your Car Reveals About the Uniquely Human Need to Humanize.”

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

KERA's ThinkBy KERA

  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7

4.7

890 ratings


More shows like KERA's Think

View all
This American Life by This American Life

This American Life

90,952 Listeners

TED Radio Hour by NPR

TED Radio Hour

21,975 Listeners

Radiolab by WNYC Studios

Radiolab

43,959 Listeners

Freakonomics Radio by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Freakonomics Radio

32,067 Listeners

Fresh Air by NPR

Fresh Air

38,486 Listeners

The New Yorker Radio Hour by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

The New Yorker Radio Hour

6,785 Listeners

Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

Hidden Brain

43,673 Listeners

On the Media by WNYC Studios

On the Media

9,208 Listeners

On Point with Meghna Chakrabarti by WBUR

On Point with Meghna Chakrabarti

3,996 Listeners

Here & Now Anytime by NPR

Here & Now Anytime

1,002 Listeners

Death, Sex & Money by Slate Podcasts

Death, Sex & Money

7,694 Listeners

Science Friday by Science Friday and WNYC Studios

Science Friday

6,426 Listeners

The Pulse by WHYY

The Pulse

344 Listeners

1A by NPR

1A

4,671 Listeners

Throughline by NPR

Throughline

16,356 Listeners