18. Robert Sapolsky: “I Don’t Think We Have Any Free Will Whatsoever.”

About this episode

Robert Sapolsky discusses the lack of free will and the physiological effects of stress.

He’s one of the world’s leading neuroscientists, with a focus on the physiological effects of stress. (For years, he spent his summers in Kenya, alone except for the baboons he was observing.) Steve asks Robert why we value human life over animals, why he’s lost faith in the criminal-justice system, and how to look casual when you’re about to blow-dart a very large and potentially unhappy primate. This episode originally aired on March 5th, 2021.

People in this episode

Host: Steve

Guest: Robert Sapolsky

Topics covered

• neuroscience
• stress
• free will
• criminal justice
• animal behavior

Keywords

• neuroscience
• stress
• free will
• criminal justice
• animal behavior
• baboons
• Kenya

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Kenya, baboons

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