Being Human: Life Lessons from the Frontiers of Science

Course Overview

Join an acclaimed neurobiologist and award-winning professor for a surprising, amusing, and undeniably fascinating study of what makes us human. Understanding our humanity—the essence of who we are—is one of the deepest mysteries and biggest challenges in modern science. Why do we have bad moods? Why are we capable of having such strange dreams? How can metaphors in our language hold such sway over our actions?

As we learn more about the mechanisms of human behavior through evolutionary biology, neuroscience, anthropology, and other related fields, we’re discovering just how intriguing the human species is. And while scientists are continually uncovering similarities between our behavior and that of other animals, they’re also finding insights into everything that makes us unique from any other species.

Join Professor Sapolsky in a series of 12 invigorating lectures that offer a surprising and undeniably fascinating study of what makes you you, journeying to the front lines of scientific research to gain a new perspective on the quirky nature of being ourselves. Professor Sapolsky explores our humanity by investigating mysterious and sometimes even mundane aspects of human behavior, including bad moods, nostalgia, and dreams, packing the lectures with stories of bold experiments and case studies that illuminate the intricacies of our behavior.

Course Lectures

01: What’s So Special about Being Human?

Humans are, from an evolutionary perspective, certainly the most unique species on Earth. Start the course by learning how to approach the subject of human behavior.

Duration: 29 min

02: Junk-Food Monkeys

What happens when nonhuman primates get to eat like Westernized humans? Find out in this lecture, which focuses on a fascinating study of East African baboons who abandoned their natural diet to gorge on garbage from a local tourist lodge.

Duration: 29 min

03: The Burden of Being Burden-Free

Investigate the latest anthropological and scientific understanding behind a pervasive part of our everyday lives: stress.

Duration: 30 min

04: Bugs in the Brain

Professor Sapolsky introduces you to parasites that exploit their hosts by altering their behavior.

Duration: 30 min

05: Poverty’s Remains

Turn to an intriguing historical case of doctors who invented an imaginary disease whose preventive methods killed thousands of people.

Duration: 28 min

06: Why Are Dreams Dreamlike?

Why does your brain generate sensory imagery while you sleep? Examine the neurology of sleeping and dreaming.

Duration: 28 min

07: The Pleasures and Pains of “Maybe”

Explore the neuroscience behind why we’re willing to deal with long delays in gratification, and what it says about the potential of humans to experience both magnificent levels of motivation and frustration.

Duration: 27 min

08: How the Other Half Heals

Learn about the intricate relationship between personal health and socioeconomic status.

Duration: 31 min

09: Why We Want the Bodies Back

Why do human bodies remain important after the life within them has gone?

Duration: 28 min

10: Anatomy of a Bad Mood

Learn what happens when you or others are in a bad mood by exploring some theories about emotion.

Duration: 31 min

11: This Is Your Brain on Metaphors

Dr. Sapolsky explains how metaphors work on the brain to change your opinions and assessments.

Duration: 32 min

12: Sushi and Middle Age

Consider the brain science behind nostalgia and why we tend to avoid novelty over time in favor of the familiar.

Duration: 33 min