Our ability to imagine is part of what makes us who we are—not just as individuals, but also as humans. It turns out, though, that we may not be the only species capable of playing pretend. In a string of experiments, scientists sat down, set the table, and hosted pretend tea parties with a bonobo named Kanzi to see if he’d play along—and he did.

Producer Kathleen Davis chats with study author Amalia Bastos about Kanzi, what it means to imagine, and how our definition of “humanness” keeps changing.

Guest: Dr. Amalia Bastos is a cognitive scientist at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

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

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