About this episode

Dr. John Mitani discusses the violent civil war among Ngogo chimpanzees and its implications for understanding human conflict.

Dr. John Mitani, professor emeritus in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Michigan and recipient of the Charles R. Darwin Lifetime Achievement Award, joins School of War to discuss the violent chimpanzee civil war he documented among the Ngogo chimpanzees in Uganda. What caused one of the world's largest chimpanzee communities to turn on itself? What does chimpanzee warfare reveal about the origins of human conflict? And what separates humans from our closest living relatives? 02:39 - How Dr. Mitani became an ape researcher 04:02 - Why chimpanzees? 05:13 - Humans' closest living relatives 08:38 - The Ngogo chimpanzees 09:31 - The chimpanzee civil war begins 13:35 - Living among wild chimpanzees 17:09 - Territorial patrols and warfare 22:34 - Why the chimpanzee community split 26:26 - How chimpanzees fight 29:14 - The strategy behind chimp warfare 31:24 - Why full stomachs lead to war 33:10 - Land, food, and reproduction 37:27 - Infanticide and the mystery of female survival 39:26 - When civil war becomes permanent 41:13 - What chimpanzees teach us about human nature Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more at The…

People in this episode

Host: School of War

Guest: Dr. John Mitani

Topics covered

• chimpanzee warfare
• human conflict origins
• animal behavior
• anthropology
• civil war

Keywords

• chimpanzees
• warfare
• Ngogo
• human nature
• territorial patrols
• infanticide
• civil war

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Michigan, The Free Press

Books & works: Charles R. Darwin Lifetime Achievement Award

Places: Uganda

More episodes of School of War

• How Trump Decided to Go to War with Iran, with Jonathan Swan · July 21, 2026 · 35 min
• ‘The Odyssey’ and the Search for Historical Truth, with James Diggle and John Underhill · July 17, 2026 · 1h 5m
• America’s Iran Problem Isn’t Going Away, with Mike Doran · July 14, 2026 · 52 min
• Lindsey Graham: The Last of the ‘Three Amigos’ with Vance Serchuk · July 13, 2026 · 58 min
• How Choke Points Became Weapons of War, with Edward Fishman · July 10, 2026 · 45 min
• Four Years Fighting Russia: An American Soldier’s Testimony · July 7, 2026 · 1h 22m

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the School of War podcast page.