Sapiens
11/20/20251 hr 38 min
How do you tell the entire history of humanity in a single book? Whatever you do, do not open a browser window.
Thanks to Dorsa Amir, Duncan Stibbard Hawkes and David Perry for help researching and fact-checking this episode!
Where to find us:
- Our Patreon
- Our merch!
- Peter's newsletter
- Peter's other podcast, 5-4
- Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase
Sources:
- A Response to Yuval Harari
- Yuval Noah Harari’s History of Everyone, Ever
- How Humankind Conquered the World
- The revolution that wasn't
- Advances In The Study Of The Origin Of Humanness
- 21 Lessons for the 21st Century is a banal and risible self-help book
- Are Human Rights Western?
- Bonaparte in Egypt
- Ship of Fools
- The Dangerous Populist Science of Yuval Noah Harari
- A Reductionist History of Humankind
- Harari, Sapiens and historical accuracy
- The Broad Spectrum Revolution at 40
- The Neolithic Revolution in the Middle East
- Was the Agricultural Revolution a Terrible Mistake?
- The Darker Side of the "Original Affluent Society"
- Harari's world history
- Compassion with Justice: Harari’s Assault on Human Rights
- Reconsidering the link between past material culture and cognition
Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsPeter Shamshiri· Host0:00
... do I come across as 5'10"? It's humiliating. (laughs) I'm actually, I actually, I'm, I'm like shrinking prematurely because I have scoliosis.
Michael Hobbes· Host0:07
Your body's catching up to your personality.
Peter Shamshiri· Host0:09
So like... (laughs) (laughs) It, well, now it doesn't matter because I'm just a, a married old man.
Michael Hobbes· Host0:14
All right.
Peter Shamshiri· Host0:14
It's like kind of irrelevant, you know? My whole, my whole aura is kinda gone anyway.
Michael Hobbes· Host0:18
I will say numerous people have clocked me as 5'6" - Interesting. ... without me having said that on the show. (laughs) I think I have like very 5'6 energy.
Peter Shamshiri· Host0:24
(laughs) I think 5'6 is just a placeholder height, 'cause, uh, 5'7 is like, "Oh, that's a short man." 5'6 is where it starts to get funny. (laughs) I also, I just don't... Sorry if this is homophobic. I don't think it's relevant for gay men.
Michael Hobbes· Host0:35
If anything, we're like... I'm pretty discriminatory against people over, like, 6'1. I don't, I don't need redwoods in my home. (laughs) Okay, uh, let's, let's do this. Peter, what do you have?
Peter Shamshiri· Host0:44
Um...
Michael Hobbes· Host0:45
I know it's gonna be something about Homo erectus. (laughs) We'll just get... Whatever you need to say, just fucking get it out now.
Peter Shamshiri· Host0:50
I think I've got something.
Michael Hobbes· Host0:51
You're ready? Okay.
Peter Shamshiri· Host0:51
Yeah.
Michael Hobbes· Host0:52
Peter.
Peter Shamshiri· Host0:53
Michael.
Michael Hobbes· Host0:53
What do you know about Sapiens?
Peter Shamshiri· Host0:55
All I know is that I should've done that book. That way, I could've started this off with, "You bring the homo and I'll bring the Sapiens."
Michael Hobbes· Host1:04
The full title of the book is Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari. It was published originally in Hebrew in 2011 and then in English in