Science Friday

Untangling The History Of Dog Domestication


Listen Later

All the pups we love—from chihuahuas to great danes—are descendants of the mighty gray wolf. But how did we end up with so many breeds? The story that's often told is that dog diversity really took off with the Victorians in the 1800s, but new research is unleashing a different tale. Host Flora Lichtman talks with bioarchaeologist Carly Ameen about the diversification of dogs. 

Plus, a long-running experiment to tame silver foxes is cluing us into how domestication happens. Canine researcher Erin Hecht gives us a glimpse into the experiment and what it tells us about domesticated brains.

Guests:
Dr. Carly Ameen is a bioarcheologist and lecturer at the University of Exeter in England.
Dr. Erin Hecht is an evolutionary biologist at Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 

Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.

Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Science FridayBy Science Friday and WNYC Studios

  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4

4.4

6,020 ratings


More shows like Science Friday

View all
This American Life by This American Life

This American Life

91,156 Listeners

TED Radio Hour by NPR

TED Radio Hour

21,934 Listeners

Radiolab by WNYC Studios

Radiolab

43,853 Listeners

Freakonomics Radio by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Freakonomics Radio

32,245 Listeners

Fresh Air by NPR

Fresh Air

38,501 Listeners

Planet Money by NPR

Planet Money

30,693 Listeners

Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

Hidden Brain

43,583 Listeners

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! by NPR

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

38,793 Listeners

The Brian Lehrer Show by WNYC

The Brian Lehrer Show

1,577 Listeners

All Of It by WNYC

All Of It

479 Listeners

Big Picture Science by Big Picture Science

Big Picture Science

942 Listeners

2 Dope Queens by WNYC Studios

2 Dope Queens

12,708 Listeners

More Perfect by WNYC Studios

More Perfect

14,450 Listeners

Science Vs by Spotify Studios

Science Vs

12,135 Listeners

Science Magazine Podcast by Science Magazine

Science Magazine Podcast

817 Listeners

Notes from America with Kai Wright by WNYC Studios

Notes from America with Kai Wright

1,542 Listeners

Sooo Many White Guys by WNYC Studios

Sooo Many White Guys

3,506 Listeners

Nancy by WNYC Studios

Nancy

2,801 Listeners

A Piece of Work by MoMA, WNYC Studios

A Piece of Work

1,405 Listeners

The Indicator from Planet Money by NPR

The Indicator from Planet Money

9,562 Listeners

Late Night Whenever by WNYC Studios

Late Night Whenever

1,196 Listeners

Trump, Inc. by WNYC Studios

Trump, Inc.

5,576 Listeners

American Fiasco by WNYC Studios

American Fiasco

5,767 Listeners

Aftereffect by WNYC Studios

Aftereffect

421 Listeners

Throughline by NPR

Throughline

16,474 Listeners

Short Wave by NPR

Short Wave

6,577 Listeners

Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast by WNYC Studios

Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast

674 Listeners

The Experiment by The Atlantic and WNYC Studios

The Experiment

2,823 Listeners

Unexplainable by Vox

Unexplainable

2,309 Listeners

Blindspot by The HISTORY® Channel and WNYC Studios

Blindspot

644 Listeners

Dead End: Crime and Politics by WNYC, Nancy Solomon

Dead End: Crime and Politics

1,965 Listeners

NYC NOW by WNYC

NYC NOW

85 Listeners

Classical Music Happy Hour by WNYC, WQXR

Classical Music Happy Hour

249 Listeners

Radio Rookies Podcast by

Radio Rookies Podcast

20 Listeners