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The Lindsey Elmore Show

Drunk: Why We Drink and How It Civilized Us | Edward Slingerland

The Lindsey Elmore Show

Lindsey Elmore

Health & Fitness, Nutrition, Alternative Health, Medicine

5.0529 Ratings

🗓️ 22 November 2022

⏱️ 51 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Edward Slingerland is Distinguished University Scholar and Professor of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia, with adjunct appointments in Psychology and Asian Studies, as well as Co-Director of the Centre for the Study of Human Evolution, Cognition and Culture and Director of the Database of Religious History. Slingerland is the author of two trade books, Trying Not to Try (2014) and Drunk (2021), as well as multiple academic books, translations, and edited volumes. His work has been featured in major media outlets, and he has done numerous interviews on TV, radio, blogs, and podcasts, including NPR, the BBC, PBS, CNN, the CBC, and the Joe Rogan Experience. Topics covered in this episode: Why We Drink Functions Creativity Trust & Lying Isolation & Distillation Modernized Alcohol Consumption Sober Curious Movement Health Effects on Body Excessive Drinking Alcohol In Workplace Societal Alcohol Use To learn more about Edward Slingerland and his work, head over to https://www.edwardslingerland.com/ __________________________________________________________ If you’re looking for fast acting in long lasting pain relief that helps with sports recovery, joint discomfort and stiffness, as well as being able to enjoy all of your favorite activities, my favorite supplement that I use to support the bodies natural pain responses help us to balance amatory function and use a special technology that helps to ensure efficient absorption and faster Relief Plus. Relief Plus from Amare have been scientifically shown to help improve sports recovery and joint health specifically, reduce joint stiffness within three days, reduced joint discomfort within five days and an increase range of motion within seven days simply take one to three capsules ounces of water and if you are having a particularly bad day you can use up to four doses of three capsules each. Head to www.lindseyelmore.com/amare grab some Happy Juice and then bundle with Relief Plus to get all of the cortisol lowering benefits, the serotonin raising benefits and the dopamine modulating benefits of Happy Juice along side the fast acting and long long lasting pain relief of Relief Plus. Head to www.lindseyelmore.com/amare and get $10 dollars off of your first order. __________________________________________________________ Thinx are revolutionary underwear that absorb your period. They change the experience of incontinence and going to school as a teenager on your period. They work because they have a moisture wicking top layer that draws wetness and dries very quickly. There is a odor neutralization layer then there is an ultra absorbent core layer that can absorb up to five tampons worth of flow. You can save $10 when you head to http://www.lindseyelmore.com/shethinx at any time. A better period is calling you, shop Thinx today. __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ We hope you enjoyed this episode. Come check us out at www.lindseyelmore.com/podcast.

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

While plenty of entertaining books have been written about the history of alcohol and other intoxicants,

0:06.0

none have offered a comprehensive, convincing answer to the basic question of why humans want to get high in the first place.

0:14.8

My guest today is Edward Slingerland, and he is the author of Drunk, How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way into

0:23.2

Civilization. Drunk elegantly cuts through the tangle of urban legends and anecdotal impressions

0:29.2

that surround our notions of intoxication to provide the first rigorous, scientifically

0:35.0

grounded explanation for our love of alcohol. Drawing on evidence from

0:41.1

archaeology, history, cognitive neuroscience, psychopharmacology, social psychology, literature,

0:47.7

and genetics, Slingerland shows that our taste for chemical intoxicants is not an evolutionary mistake, as we are so often told.

0:57.6

In fact, intoxication helps solve a number of distinctly human challenges, enhancing creativity,

1:06.0

alleviating stress, building trust, and pulling off the miracle of getting fiercely tribal primates to

1:13.8

cooperate with strangers. Our desire to get drunk, along with the individual and social benefits

1:20.7

provided by drunkenness, play a crucial role in sparking the rise of the first large-scale societies. We would not have civilization

1:31.9

without intoxication. From marauding Vikings and bacchanalian orgies to sex-starved fruit flies,

1:38.9

blind cavefish, and problem-solving crows, drunk is packed with fascinating case studies and engaging science,

1:47.1

as well as practical takeaways for individuals and communities.

1:51.5

The result is a captivating and long-overdue investigation into humanity's oldest indulgence.

1:59.2

One, that explains not only why we want to get drunk, but also

2:04.5

how it might actually be good for us to tie one on now and then. This is The Lindsay Elmore Show.

2:12.0

Welcome to The Lindsay Elmore Show, a podcast for people who deserve to be healthy with honest, open,

2:19.7

and enlightening conversations with doctors, thought leaders, creatives, and spiritual gurus,

2:25.5

you'll walk away with simple and tangible tips and tricks that allow you to live your healthiest

2:33.1

life so you can pursue your dreams, overcome obstacles,

...

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