Frans de Waal | Learning from Primates about ourselves: From Gender to Social Hierarchies

Sign up through to make a difference in the climate crisis, and Wren will plant 10 extra trees in your name! Subscribe to exclusive bonus content at Frans de Waal is not only Lawrence’s favorite primatologist, he is one of his favorite scientist-communicators. His books on primates, particularly on Bonobos and Chimpanzees—from politics to child-rearing and even culture—reveal a tremendous amount about our closest genetic relatives, and hence about ourselves. His newest book, Different: Gender Through the Eyes of a Primatologist, tackles a particularly hot topic at the current time, but as is typical of his books, this one is both entertaining, and touching, and packed with data rather than anecdotes. Lawrence was very happy to sit down with Frans again to talk broadly about the motivations for his career choice, as well as his many years of experience in the field. While this conversation focused on his new book, the discussion ranged far more broadly over the importance of primatology as a new and useful window on humans.