Everything about humanity is changing—except our bodies | Sean B. Carroll on evolution

Timestamps: 0:00 - Human life in modern times 0:25 - Gaining control over nature 1:58 - The productivity of agriculture 2:45 - Is our species evolving? 4:28 - Slow biological evolution **🌍 From Survival to Supremacy: How We Took Charge of Nature** Drop someone from the 1800s into today’s world and they’d probably think they’d landed on another planet 🚀. From food to medicine, transport to tech, life has transformed at warp speed — all thanks to one major shift: **we’ve gained control over nature** 🧠⚙️🌿. Once vulnerable to famine, disease, wild beasts, and drought… We’ve now **erased smallpox**, tamed TB, and made rubella a forgotten word 💉. Our understanding of biology has turned **invisible killers** into manageable annoyances. We even grow more food than ever — with just **2% of the population farming** 👨‍🌾 — feeding not just nations but the world. But here’s the twist: **Cultural evolution is sprinting**, while **biological evolution is crawling** 🐌💨. Our bodies are still wired for scarcity — craving fat, sugar, and salt like ancient hunter-gatherers — while modern life gives us an **endless buffet** 🍩🥤🍟. That mismatch? It’s causing modern syndromes our ancestors never dreamed of. Now imagine if humanity had stayed scattered — isolated like species on separate islands. We might have evolved into wildly different beings 🧬🌎. But instead, thanks to travel and tech, we’re **sharing genes and culture at lightning speed** 🌐 — stalling deep biological change, but accelerating cultural shifts. We’re now a **hyperconnected species** — blending traditions, ideas, even immune systems — but still stuck with bodies that were built for a different world. --- **✨ So what’s next?** We’ve mastered nature. But can we master ourselves? About Sean B. Carroll: Sean B. Carroll is an award-winning scientist, author, educator, and film producer. He is Distinguished University Professor and the Andrew and Mary Balo and NIcholas and Susan Simon Chair of Biology at the University of Maryland, and an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He was formerly Head of HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, and led the Department of Science Education from 2010-2023. He is also Professor Emeritus of Genetics and Molecular Biology at the University of Wisconsin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices