YouTube video by Evolutionary Psychology (The Podcast)

What monotheism means is surprisingly hard to pin down, but there’s a reason it swept the world.

Podcast Episode · On Humans · 01/21/2026 · Bonus · 1h 20m

Conspiracy thinking, supernatural beliefs and pseudoscience can seem impervious to evidence. An anthropologist suggests the opposite: Extraordinary beliefs may be supported by an individual’s experien...

From thunder gods to serpent slayers, scholars are reconstructing myths that vanished millennia ago. How much further can we go—and what might we find?

Published in Religion, Brain & Behavior (Ahead of Print, 2025)

Interview with Manvir Singh, who studies the evolutionary and cognitive origins of human cultural behaviors at the University of California, Davis.

‘Shamanism’, as a concept, is of course a Western invention, and from the earliest cross-cultural encounters it was...

‘Shamanism’, as a concept, is of course a Western invention, and from the earliest cross-cultural encounters it was...

Call for Commentary Proposals - Subjective selection, super-attractors, and the origins of the cultural manifold

YouTube video by The Dissenter

Shamanism is on the rise, both in practice and in popular culture. Manvir Singh has spent years exploring why it is so enduring, what we can learn from it and the surprising forms modern shamans take

The headwear is burdened by stereotypes—but it can carry, too, the pleasures of self-invention.

Singh discusses convergences between shamanism and psychedelics, and their role in modern spirituality.

The headwear is burdened by stereotypes—but it can carry, too, the pleasures of self-invention.

A study of the psychological origins of all religion.

What are the origins of shamanism and what is its future? Do shamans believe in their powers? What exactly is trance? What can we learn from indigenous healing practices? In this enlightening book, a...

Davis' Local Independent Bookstore since 1987

YouTube video by The Dissenter

From a brilliant, young, Harvard-trained anthropologist and contributor to The New Yorker comes a fascinating investigation into the spiritual practice of shamanism, from its beginnings to the present...

From a brilliant, young, Harvard-trained anthropologist and contributor to The New Yorker comes a fascinating investigation into the spiritual practice of shamanism, from its beginnings to the present...