273 | Stefanos Geroulanos on the Invention of Prehistory

Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas

22-04-2024 • 1 hr 19 mins

Humanity itself might be the hardest thing for scientists to study fairly and accurately. Not only do we come to the subject with certain inevitable preconceptions, but it's hard to resist the temptation to find scientific justifications for the stories we'd like to tell about ourselves. In his new book, The Invention of Prehistory, Stefanos Geroulanos looks at the ways that we have used -- and continue to use -- supposedly-scientific tales of prehistoric humanity to bolster whatever cultural, social, and political purposes we have at the moment.

Blog post with transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2024/04/22/273-stefanos-geroulanos-on-the-invention-of-prehistory/

Support Mindscape on Patreon.

Stefanos Geroulanos received his Ph.D. in humanities from Johns Hopkins. He is currently director of the Remarque Institute and a professor of history at New York University. He is the author and editor of a number of books on European intellectual history. He serves as a Co-Executive Editor of the Journal of the History of Ideas.


See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You Might Like

StarTalk Radio
StarTalk Radio
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Hidden Brain
Hidden Brain
Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam
Something You Should Know
Something You Should Know
Mike Carruthers | OmniCast Media | Cumulus Podcast Network
Speaking of Psychology
Speaking of Psychology
American Psychological Association
The Science of Happiness
The Science of Happiness
PRX and Greater Good Science Center
Radiolab
Radiolab
WNYC Studios
Real Ghost Stories Online
Real Ghost Stories Online
Real Ghost Stories Online | Paranormal, Supernatural & Horror Radio
Paranormal Mysteries Podcast
Paranormal Mysteries Podcast
Paranormal Mysteries | Unexplained Supernatural Stories
Stanford Psychology Podcast
Stanford Psychology Podcast
Stanford Psychology
BrainStuff
BrainStuff
iHeartPodcasts
Math & Physics Podcast
Math & Physics Podcast
Parker Levesque, Rayhan Walia