From bad teeth to appendix surgeries, it seems like our bodies are breaking down in modern times. So how has society and evolution changed how our bodies work?

Alex Bezzerides is a professor of biology at Lewis-Clark State College in Idaho, where he teaches a wide range of biology classes, from human anatomy and physiology to entomology. He is also the author of “Evolution Gone Wrong: The Curious Reasons Why Our Bodies Work (Or Don't).”

In this episode, Greg and Alex cover bipedalism and its baggage, sore feet and back pain, snoring and sleep apnea and other bodily quirks. 

Evolution and the rise of C-sections 

First, you have the bipedal issue, which did change the shape of the birth canal. That's the first piece of the difficulty of birth puzzle. And then the brain gets, triples in size, in that period of time from 5 million years to a couple of millionyears ago. And then with modern nutrition, you're able to feed that fetus in a way that it's never been fed before. So the women can develop and grow this child that is bigger than it's ever been. You put all that in the stew and mix it together and you've got a problem. 

Timeline of human speech

Somewhere around 50,000 years ago is when the modern head and neck comes into place. That means for most of the time humans have been humans, they weren't capable of the type of speech that they are now.

Why are feet are sore all the time

It used to make sense for our feet, right? When they needed to be nimble and grabbing branches, doing all these things. But now it's just a mess. You got all these bones down there that are just pounding the earth, which is not what they were made to do. And they slip and slide and sprain.

Recommended Resources:

• Optima for Animals by R. McNeill Alexander 
• Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat by Bee Wilson
• Becoming Dr. Q: My Journey from Migrant Farm Worker to Brain Surgeon Paperback by Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa  
• Jeremy DeSilva | Department of Anthropology
• Fastest 100 m running on all fours - Guinness World Records
• Holly Dunsworth – Department of Sociology and Anthropology

Guest Profile:

• Faculty Profile at Lewis Clark State College
• Alex Bezzerides’ Website
• Alex Bezzerides on Twitter

His Work:

• Evolution Gone Wrong: The Curious Reasons Why Our Bodies Work (Or Don't)