Video
Short explainer video on cultural evolution: competition, cooperation, and the human tendency to copy others without knowing it. Part 1 of 3 part series created by Sue Borchardt.
Short explainer video on cultural evolution, game theory and the illusion of explanatory depth. Part 2 of 3 part series created by Sue Borchardt.
Short explainer video on what affects our level of intelligence? As individuals and as a society? I discuss brain evolution, the Cultural Brain Hypothesis, collective brain, and a cultural evolutionary account of intelligence. Created for the Templeton World Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute Big Questions series.
Short clip from a recent PBS Documentary on “First Civilizations“. I was the key contributor on the Cities episode. In the full episode, I discuss cultural evolution, cultural-group selection, inequality, and collective brains. Full episode available here. [Read More]
Sky News interview where I discuss the trend of adults moving back home with their parents and how this links to the Cultural Brain Hypothesis, collective brain, and ever extending juvenile periods. [Read More]
Explaining how cultural evolution, evolutionary biology, and the science of cooperation can shed light on corruption. Based on Muthukrishna, M., Francois, P., Pourahmadi, S., & Henrich, J. (2017). Corrupting Cooperation and How Anti-Corruption Strategies May Backfire. Nature Human Behaviour, 1(0138) [Download] & Muthukrishna, M. (2017). Corruption, Cooperation, and the Evolution of Prosocial Institutions. SSRN Working Paper. [Download] [Read More]
Explaining some of the key points about whale and dolphin behaviour and society live on BBC World News with Matthew Amroliwala based on Fox, K. C. R., Muthukrishna, M. & Shultz, S. (2017). The social and cultural roots of whale and dolphin brains. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 1. [Read More] [Download]
Explaining some of the key points about innovation in the collective brain based on Muthukrishna, M. & Henrich, J. (2016). Innovation in the Collective Brain. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 371(1690). [Read More] [Download]
Talk describing the Database of Religious History (DRH) at the 2014 SSHRC Impact Awards in Ottawa, Ontario. [Read More]
Animation describing the vision of the Database of Religious History (DRH). Winner of the 2014 SSHRC Storytellers Competition. [Read More]
Radio / Podcast
Discussion between Alexis Conran, Matthew Syed, Neil Lawrence and me on Matthew’s new book “Rebel Ideas”.
LSE IQ podcast Episode 31 | Is corruption inevitable?
3 Mar 2020 | 42 Minutes
Discussing a variety of topics with Ricardo Lopes.
02:01 Large-scale human cooperation, biology and culture
04:38 Human culture, and cumulative culture
12:02 The Cultural Brain Hypothesis
24:39 The interplay between individual-level psychology and group-level traits
28:38 Genetic and cultural evolution
40:48 About group selection
47:05 The role that social institutions play in human societies
52:52 What is political corruption?
1:01:14 Social factors that promote political corruption
1:05:15 Anti-corruption measures that might backfire
Discussing research on whale and dolphin behaviour and society on CBC “The Broadcast” with Jane Adey based on Fox, K. C. R., Muthukrishna, M. & Shultz, S. (2017). The social and cultural roots of whale and dolphin brains. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 1. [Read More] [Download]
Discussing research on whale and dolphin behaviour and society on BBC World Service “Science in Action” with Roland Pease based on Fox, K. C. R., Muthukrishna, M. & Shultz, S. (2017). The social and cultural roots of whale and dolphin brains. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 1. [Read More] [Download]
Explaining research on how “Sociality influences cultural complexity” to Philip Till at CKNW based on from Muthukrishna, M., Shulman, B. W., Vasilescu, V., & Henrich, J. (2013). Sociality influences cultural complexity. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 281(1774). [Read More] [Download]
Images
Graphic produced for Scientific American by Amanda Montañez based on data from Fox, K. C. R., Muthukrishna, M., & Shultz, S. (2017). The social and cultural roots of whale and dolphin brains. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 1, 1699–1705. [Read More] [Download]
Graphic produced by LILA, Harvard based on my talk “Sources of Innovation: The Secret of Human Success”. [Read More]
Graphic produced by LILA, Harvard based on my talk “Sources of Innovation: The Secret of Human Success”. [Read More]
Relationship between sociality (number of speakers) and language efficiency from Muthukrishna, M. & Henrich, J. (2016). Innovation in the Collective Brain. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 371(1690). [Read More] [Download]
Experiment 2 showing difference between access to models on cultural loss and cultural complexity equlibrium from Muthukrishna, M., Shulman, B. W., Vasilescu, V., & Henrich, J. (2013). Sociality influences cultural complexity. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 281(1774). [Read More] [Download]
