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Welcome to the Quillette podcast. My guest this week is Michael Mujukrishna.

I talk to Michael about his new book, The Theory of Everything, a wide-ranging account of how

human societies evolved and what we require to flourish as a species. We focus in particular on two

of the central ideas in his book. The first is dual inheritance theory. We inherit not only

genes but culture, and that capacity for extensive

cultural transmission is a key tool that largely differentiates us from other animals.

The second central idea is that energy availability is the factor that permits the development

of life. Michael argues that energy abundance is necessary for

scientific and technological innovation, as well as for social harmony. The podcast begins with

Michael reading a fairly long passage from his book. If you prefer to skip the reading,

fast forward to around the nine-minute mark. I hope you enjoy my conversation

with Michael Mutukrishna. As always, you will be able to find show notes as well as a full

transcript of the interview at the Quillette website, www.quillette.com.

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