Nature’s Sexual Spectrum Breaks the Binary

Science Quickly

Scientific American

Science

4.3 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 20 August 2025

⏱️ 15 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Biologist Nathan Lents joins Science Quickly to explore the vast sexual diversity found across the animal kingdom. His new book, The Sexual Evolution: How 500 Million Years of Sex, Gender, and Mating Shape Modern Relationships, challenges the binary framework that has long shaped biological research, arguing for a more accurate and inclusive view of sex and gender. From alternative reproductive strategies to overlapping traits, this episode reveals how nature defies neat categories—and why science should, too. Recommended Reading Here’s Why Human Sex Is Not Binary This Backyard Bird Has a Lot to Teach Us about Sex Variability The Sexual Evolution: How 500 Million Years of Sex, Gender, and Mating Shape Modern Relationships, by Nathan Lents. Mariner Books, 2025 Join the #SciAmInTheWild photography challenge for a chance to win a one-year Unlimited subscription to Scientific American—plus an exclusive bundle of gadgets and gear to level up your next adventure. See the rules for entry here. E-mail us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura. Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck fact-check this show. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hi, this is Ava from Vanta.
0:02.0	In today's digital world, compliance regulations are changing constantly,
0:07.0	and earning customer trust has never mattered more.
0:10.0	Vanta helps companies get compliant fast and stay secure,
0:13.0	with the most advanced AI automation and continuous monitoring out there.
0:17.0	So whether you're a startup going for your first stock two or ISO-27,001,
0:21.5	or a growing enterprise managing vendor risk, Banta makes it quick, easy, and scalable,
0:26.4	and I'm not to say that because I work here. Get started today at banta.com.
0:30.8	Scientific American is turning 180. To celebrate, join our photo challenge, Siam in the Wild.
0:37.4	It's easy. Just snap a pick of any
0:39.2	scientific American print issue in a setting that reflects or complements the cover theme. Then
0:43.9	shared on social media using hashtag Siam in the Wild, tag Scientific American, and include your
0:49.5	name and location. Or you can email it over to us at contests at siam.com.
0:54.9	You could win a one-year unlimited subscription, plus a bundle of awesome gadgets and gear to fuel your next adventure.
1:02.3	But hurry. Entries close September 5th.
1:04.8	Terms and conditions apply.
1:06.2	See official rules at siam.com slash 180 contest.
1:10.1	That's siam.com slash 180 contest. That link is also available
1:14.4	in our show notes. We can't wait to see where curiosity takes you. For Scientific American Science Quickly, I'm Rachel Feldman.
1:42.4	The natural world is full of sexual diversity, traits that challenge binary definitions of male and female.
1:51.5	But traditional biology has often overlooked it.
1:55.0	Researchers tend to focus on typical specimens while relegating variations to footnotes or dismissing them entirely.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Scientific American, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Scientific American and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.