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Species Unite

Dr. Shirley Strum: The Echoes of Our Origins

Species Unite

elizabeth novogratz

Society & Culture, Philosophy

5911 Ratings

🗓️ 30 July 2025

⏱️ 39 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

"So I think this whole idea of cumulative culture is a way to make humans exceptional. But it's clear to me that humans are exceptional, and seeing it through baboon glasses, I can understand in a different way why they're exceptional. But many of the things that we think are uniquely human are actually present in other animals." - Dr. Shirley Strum

Dr. Shirley Strum is a groundbreaking anthropologist who has spent over five decades living alongside wild baboons in Kenya. Her work has transformed our understanding of these intelligent, socially complex animals — their relationships, their adaptability, and the intricate societies they create.

In her new book, Echoes of Our Origins, Shirley challenges long-held beliefs about evolution, the human-animal divide, and what it truly means to coexist. This conversation is about science — but it’s also about humility, hope, and the messy, beautiful complexity of life on Earth.

Links: 

https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/53757/echoes-our-origins

https://anthropology.ucsd.edu/people/faculty/faculty-profiles/shirley-strum.html

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Species.

0:07.0

Species.

0:09.0

Unite.

0:10.0

So I think this whole idea of cumulative culture is a way to make humans exceptional.

0:24.9

But it's clear to me that humans are exceptional and seeing it through baboon glasses,

0:32.0

I can understand in a different way why they're exceptional.

0:36.1

Many of the things that we think are uniquely human are actually present in other animals.

0:50.7

Hi, I'm Elizabeth Novogratz.

0:53.0

This is Species Unite. This conversation is with Dr. Shirley

1:00.8

Ström, the renowned anthropologist, who has studied wild baboons for more than 50 years.

1:07.0

Shirley has lived and worked among wild baboons in Kenya, documenting their social lives,

1:12.4

their intelligence, their relationships, and their ability to adapt and survive in a world

1:18.1

increasingly shaped by humans.

1:20.9

And she has a new book out about what she has learned over more than half a century of living

1:25.7

with baboons.

1:26.9

It's called

1:27.7

echoes of our origins. In it, she challenges long-held assumptions and invites us to rethink

1:34.4

evolution, the human-animal divide, and what it means to coexist in a world that we are rapidly

1:41.3

reshaping. This conversation is about science, yes,

1:45.8

but it's also about humility, hope,

1:48.2

and the messy, beautiful complexity of life on Earth. Thank you very much, Dr. Strump, for being here.

2:12.4

You're very welcome. It's a pleasure to be here.

...

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