Ape Medicine

Origin Stories by Meredith Johnson

Oct 8, 202423:51Science & Medicine

Are humans the only animals that practice medicine? In this episode, two scientists share surprising observations of orangutans and chimpanzees treating wounds–their own and others'–with plants and insects. These discove...

Related Episodes

Continue listening to more episodes from Origin Stories.

What Should We Eat? Evolution, Diet, and Health

Sep 29, 2026 - 31:26

What does evolutionary science tell us about what we should eat? In this episode, Harvard paleoanthropolo...

The Not So Naked Ape: The Origins of Clothing

Jul 28, 2026 - 38:38

Humans are the only animals that get dressed every day. Clothing is one of our most important inventions,...

Biruté Mary Galdikas - A Life Among Orangutans

Mar 31, 2026 - 31:28

Biruté Mary Galdikas passed away on March 24, 2026, at the age of 79. She spent more than 50 years studyi...

Top Human Origins Discoveries of 2025

Dec 31, 2025 - 42:15

2025 was another exciting year in human origins research! In this episode, four scientists and Leakey Fou...

Origin Stories x The Science Podcast

Sep 5, 2025 - 38:25

This episode features two stories from the Science Podcast. First, Science writer Ann Gibbons tells the s...

Can a Human Outrun a Horse?

Aug 6, 2025 - 39:01

This is a story about sweat, survival, speed, and the peculiar ways running may have shaped us as humans....

The Origin Story of Origin Stories - 10th Anniversary

Jun 24, 2025 - 36:31

After 10 years of exploring the stories behind breakthrough science, it's time to tell our own origin sto...

The Shanidar Cave Neanderthals

Apr 29, 2025 - 33:46

Shanidar Cave is a unique archaeological site in Kurdistan where scientists found the remains of 10 Neand...