A Hunter-Gatherer's Guide to the 21st Century: Evolution and the Challenges of Modern Life

Heather Heying · Bret Weinstein

Sep 2021 · Penguin Random House Audio · Narrated by Heather Heying and Bret Weinstein

About this audiobook

A provocative exploration of the tension between our evolutionary history and our modern woes—and what we can do about it.
 
We are living through the most prosperous age in all of human history, yet we are listless, divided, and miserable. Wealth and comfort are unparalleled, but our political landscape is unmoored, and rates of suicide, lone­liness, and chronic illness continue to skyrocket. How do we explain the gap between these truths? And how should we respond?
 
For evolutionary biologists Heather Heying and Bret Weinstein, the cause of our troubles is clear: the accelerat­ing rate of change in the modern world has outstripped the capacity of our brains and bodies to adapt. We evolved to live in clans, but today many people don’t even know their neighbors’ names. In our haste to discard outdated gender roles, we increasingly deny the flesh-and-blood realities of sex—and its ancient roots. The cognitive dissonance spawned by trying to live in a society we are not built for is killing us.
 
In this book, Heying and Weinstein draw on decades of their work teaching in college classrooms and explor­ing Earth’s most biodiverse ecosystems to confront today’s pressing social ills—from widespread sleep deprivation and dangerous diets to damaging parenting styles and back­ward education practices. Asking the questions many mod­ern people are afraid to ask, A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century outlines a science-based worldview that will empower you to live a better, wiser life.

*This audiobook includes a downloadable PDF containing illustrations and charts from the book.

Ratings and reviews

Obviously not yet read this one as it's still in pre-order but, I've been following the Dark Horse podcast from the beginning. I don't know how I would have navigated this pandemic landscape without your guidance; from evergreen to the buzzsaws.I feel I'm happy, healthy, and whole, not in small part due to the work you two have done. I'm just listening to Dr. Heying read part of the introduction now and I am so excited to hear more. Thank you again! Cheers.

Fantastic book. And truly a great guide. I can't recommend it more to the young (and older) ppl in my life. There is a lot of wisdom and knowledge but more importantly it teaches you how to think for yourself and gain your own knowledge.

An engaging and enjoyable listen. The framework of thought that is presented is like nothing I've heard before. can't wait to continue to learn it, and apply it in my daily life.

About the author

Heather Heying and Bret Weinstein are evolutionary biologists who have been invited to ad­dress the US Congress, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Education, and have spoken before audi­ences across the globe. They both earned PhDs in Biology from the University of Michigan, where their research on evolution and adaptation earned awards for its quality and innovation. They have been visiting fellows at Princeton University, and before that were professors at the Ever­green State College for fifteen years. They resigned from Evergreen in the wake of 2017 campus riots that focused in part on their opposition to a day of racial segregation and other college “equity” proposals. They cohost weekly livestreams of the DarkHorse podcast.