Learn what personality traits it takes to survive a disaster, and why chickenpox is so much worse for adults. Plus, special guest Natalia Reagan answers the question: if we evolved from monkeys, then why are there still monkeys? In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes: These Are the 8 Characteristics Shared by People Who Have Survived Disasters Why Is Chickenpox So Much Worse for Adults? Please tell us about yourself and help us improve the show by taking our listener survey! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/curiosity-listener-survey Natalia Reagan is an anthropologist, primatologist, actor, producer, writer, host and comedienne. She is a comedy writer and correspondent on Neil deGrasse Tyson's StarTalk on Nat Geo and is also a StarTalk All-Star podcast host. She was the co-host on Spike TV's show "10 Million Dollar Bigfoot Bounty" where she judged contestants searching for "the world's greatest hide and go seek champion.” Her goal is to meld her passions of science and comedy by educating people about human and animal behavior using humor. More from Natalia Reagan: Official Website StarTalk Bio IMDB Profile Follow @natalia13reagan on Twitter Follow @natalia13reagan on Instagram If you love our show and you're interested in hearing full-length interviews, including our next episode (featuring Natalia Reagan), then please consider supporting us on Patreon. You'll get exclusive episodes and access to our archives as soon as you become a Patron! Learn about these topics and more onCuriosity.com, and download our5-star app for Android and iOS. Then, join the conversation onFacebook,Twitter, andInstagram. Plus: Amazon smart speaker users, enable ourAlexa Flash Briefing to learn something new in just a few minutes every day!
Learn what personality traits it takes to survive a disaster, and why chickenpox is so much worse for adults. Plus, special guest Natalia Reagan answers the question: if we evolved from monkeys, then why are there still monkeys?
In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes:
Please tell us about yourself and help us improve the show by taking our listener survey! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/curiosity-listener-survey
Natalia Reagan is an anthropologist, primatologist, actor, producer, writer, host and comedienne. She is a comedy writer and correspondent on Neil deGrasse Tyson's StarTalk on Nat Geo and is also a StarTalk All-Star podcast host. She was the co-host on Spike TV's show "10 Million Dollar Bigfoot Bounty" where she judged contestants searching for "the world's greatest hide and go seek champion.” Her goal is to meld her passions of science and comedy by educating people about human and animal behavior using humor.
More from Natalia Reagan:
If you love our show and you're interested in hearing full-length interviews, including our next episode (featuring Natalia Reagan), then please consider supporting us on Patreon. You'll get exclusive episodes and access to our archives as soon as you become a Patron!
Learn about these topics and more on Curiosity.com, and download our 5-star app for Android and iOS. Then, join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Plus: Amazon smart speaker users, enable our Alexa Flash Briefing to learn something new in just a few minutes every day!
Full episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/why-there-are-monkeys-if-we-evolved-from-them-w-natalia-reagan-adult-chickenpox-and-disaster-survival-traits
[MUSIC PLAYING] CODY GOUGH: Hi. We've got the latest and greatest from curiositydotcom to help you get smarter in just a few minutes. I'm Cody Gough.
ASHLEY HAMER: And I'm Ashley Hamer. Today, you'll learn about the characteristics shared by people who have survived disasters, why chicken pox is so much worse for adults, and we'll answer the question if we evolved from monkeys, then why are there still monkeys? With some help from special guest Natalia Reagan.
CODY GOUGH: Let's satisfy some curiosity. Sometimes, it feels like there's a lot of bad news these days. We try to stay positive at Curiosity, but it's hard not to hear about disasters like earthquakes and volcano eruptions and hurricanes. But if you're looking for a silver lining, here's something to keep in mind. Sometimes, bad times do bring out the best in people. And that's why we're going to start today's episode with some research into what it takes to make it through a disaster.
ASHLEY HAMER: A study published in PLOS One in July 2015 set out to answer a question. What does it take to survive? The researchers interviewed and surveyed survivors of the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami to get closer to what fuels the power to make it through these scenarios. More than 1,400 survivors received the questionnaire, which included 40 items, each related to one of three types of characteristics-- personal traits, attitudes, and habits.
They found eight top traits. Let's go through them as well as some phrases associated with them that might mean you possess those traits.
CODY GOUGH: At the top of the list were leadership, problem-solving, and altruism. You might identify with these traits if you agree with some of the following statements. I take initiative in talking to other people. The more agitated the people around me become, the calmer I somehow become. I like it when other people rely on me and are grateful to me.
ASHLEY HAMER: Other items on the list include etiquette, emotional regulation, and believe it or not, stubbornness. Would you say any of these phrases is accurate about you? I hate losing. When someone has helped me or been kind to me, I clearly convey my feelings of gratitude. When something happens, I try to stay calm and not panic.
CODY GOUGH: And finally, active well-being and self-transcendence wrap up the list. Try these phrases. I am aware of the role I should play in society. In everyday life, I endeavor to find opportunities to acquire new knowledge, skills, and attitudes.
ASHLEY HAMER: Reports of disasters tend to focus on big figures like the billions of dollars in damage and the hundreds of injuries. But studies like these humanize these very real human experiences. Identifying and fostering these potentially life-saving traits in yourself could help you in a sudden crisis and during the aftermath.
There's a question about evolution that comes up a lot, even from people who believe in evolution. It goes like this. If we evolved from monkeys, then why are there still monkeys? We got an answer from Natalia Reagan. She's a writer and correspondent for Neil deGrasse Tyson's startalk on Nat Geo and a startalk all-star podcast host. Cody and I talked to her a few weeks ago and, Here's what Natalia had to say.
NATALIA REAGAN: That's a great question. I get that a lot.
ASHLEY HAMER: Yeah.
NATALIA REAGAN: Well, we didn't evolve from monkeys. We have a common ancestor with monkeys and apes. And in fact, you can go back and determine exactly when that common ancestor was with certain primates. Like for instance, our most recent common ancestor with chimps about 6 million years ago, maybe 7 million years ago. With gorillas around seven or eight, and you can go on further and further back.
So basically, what's really cool if you think about it is chimps have been evolving-- like since they had that common ancestor, they've been doing their own trajectory just like we have. And so to say like we like to look at non-human primates as models for human behavior, which is cool, but we have to remember that they've been evolving this whole time too. So what they might have been like 6 million years ago, they could have been totally different. Just neat, I don't know.
ASHLEY HAMER: Yeah.
NATALIA REAGAN: So-- yeah. Common ancestor. If anybody asks you that. And I'm glad they're still monkeys and apes.
ASHLEY HAMER: Right, yeah.
CODY GOUGH: So there you go. Now you know what to tell people when they ask you about evolution. By the way, next week, we're going to release an extensive full-length Curiosity podcast episode featuring Natalia Reagan. We focus on her work as a science communicator but we also talk about her background in primatology, the science of genetics, and a lot of other really cool stuff.
We shared our uncut conversation a while back with some of our top tier Patreon supporters, and the fully produced episode will be here for our September feature. If you want to hear it, then visit Patreon.com/curiositydotcom all spelled out. We'll also put a link in the show notes.
ASHLEY HAMER: You can get our exclusive podcasts for just a couple bucks a month. Like Cody said a few days ago, that means you just have to skip one day at the coffee shop. We know the coffee in your office might not be as good, but think about all the joy you get from our show every day. Not to mention, our bonus episodes. Seems worth the trade off to me. One more time, that's Patreon.com/curiositydotcom. We really appreciate it.
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ASHLEY HAMER: You've probably heard that you need to get the chickenpox when you're young. And once you've had it, you can never catch it again. But you may also know that chickenpox is way worse for adults than it is for little children. Do you know why? Well, you're about to find out. Cody, did you have the chickenpox when you were little?
CODY GOUGH: I sure did. Did you?
ASHLEY HAMER: No.
CODY GOUGH: What?
ASHLEY HAMER: I didn't.
CODY GOUGH: Were you vaccinated?
ASHLEY HAMER: I got vaccinated in college. I believe.
CODY GOUGH: I hope you did.
ASHLEY HAMER: That's the thing that I really need to find out.
CODY GOUGH: You should find that out.
ASHLEY HAMER: Yeah.
CODY GOUGH: Wow.
ASHLEY HAMER: Well, long story short. Adults experience more complications when they get chickenpox than kids do. Side effects can include pneumonia, hepatitis, and encephalitis. But experts don't know exactly why adults are more at risk. Some experts think it's because kids' immune systems are dominated by cells that eat any foreign material while adult immune systems are set up more to attack microbial invaders the way X-wings attack TIE fighters. #StarWarsReference.
CODY GOUGH: I approve.
ASHLEY HAMER: It might be that the hungry, hungry hypostyle of immune system is just more effective against certain viruses. Another possible explanation is that maybe viruses in their hosts have a pseudo symbiotic relationship that can be upset if a person gets the disease at the wrong time. But these ideas are just speculation. Either way, don't worry if you haven't had chickenpox because we've actually had an effective chicken pox vaccine for about 30 years now.
You can get the shot for yourself and you can get it for your kids too. They may have a lower risk of complications, but lower risk is definitely higher than no risk. And I will also get a vaccine against chickenpox.
CODY GOUGH: That'll be good.
ASHLEY HAMER: Yes.
CODY GOUGH: Let's do that.
ASHLEY HAMER: Join us again tomorrow for the Curiosity Daily and learn something new in just a few minutes. I'm Ashley Hamer.
CODY GOUGH: And I'm Cody Gough.
ASHLEY HAMER: Stay curious.
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SPEAKER: On the Westwood One Podcast Network.