In this episode I was totally humbled to be able to talk to such a great guest in the form of Chris Stringer. Chris is the lead in Human Origins and the National History Museum here in the UK, has an extraordinarily comprehensive background in Prehistory and has published more books then I have done podcast episodes. 

Excitingly, as we were emailing back and forth to arrange a time to record, Chris let slip that a press embargo on some very current and ground breaking research was being lifted that day at 4pm. We recorded at 3, so technically....we had it first! Admittedly it has now been out for a few days now the podcast is being released....but still: A bunch of apes exclusive, revealing how the earliest Homo-sapiens in Europe were breeding with Neanderthals 45000 years ago AND, some strong hints that it may have been a simple case of interbreeding and absorbing the Neanderthal genome in certain areas of Europe that led to their mysterious demise. 

Before Chris got into this, I spoke to him about his role at the museum and some of the changes of perspective he has had in his vast career so far, as well as the trials and tribulations of sharing prehistory over twitter and being a social media presence. We discussed the out of Africa vs multi-regional hypothesis,  and the origins of our closest cousins The Neanderthals. 

There was so much incredible info packed into this episode I have had to listen back twice to even begin to absorb it all. Hopefully you will do the same and enjoy listening to Chris as much as I did. 

You can find Chris on twitter @ChrisStringer65 where he regularly shares fascinating articles, news and his own perspectives. For any of his many publications, head to any good online book store.

Neanderthals, interbreeding and a world exclusive with Chris Stringer

Enjoy the show? Leave an iTunes review! http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1250517051

We humans share the Earth with many species, and some people see us Homo Sapiens as the masters of the planet. But that wasn't always the case. Watch Jurassic Park, it's a scary movie, and it's got great dinosaurs and really tiny, tasty people. What if another species evolved in the future to challenge humans for control of the Earth? What kind of park will they build? What kind of movies will they watch? How much do you love Giraffes? How can you not? This is a fun and scary and furry and tasty episode of the super imaginative, improv sci-fi series called What the IF? (if... if.... if...) Enjoy! Subscribe! Enjoy more!

We'd love to hear from you, email feedback@whattheif.com or tweet us @WhatTheIfShow. If you like, we'll give you a shoutout on the show because, hey, what the if?

What The If?

14 - Who Shall Inherit The Earth, And How Furry Will They Be?

Science Fiction FILMMAKERS Carylanna Taylor & Jacob Okada bring us the IF of their new film, ANYA, a contemporary sci-fi love story about a couple whose determination to have a child leads them to a cutting-edge geneticist, an ancient outlier community hiding in plain sight in New York City, and ultimately, a life-changing question: are they willing to have a gene-edited baby, no matter the cost? 

ANYA is now available on demand, DVD, and hosted screenings: https://www.anyamovie.com/watchnow

ANYA is the first narrative feature by anthropologist Carylanna Taylor, PhD (writer/producer), and documentary filmmaker Jacob Akira Okada (writer/director). Under their First Encounter Productions banner, Taylor and Okada have also produced the feature documentary PAINTING THE WAY TO THE MOON (available on Vimeo). For ANYA, they collaborated with Harvard Medical School's Wu Lab, the Personal Genetics Education Project, and Carnegie Mellon's Pfenning Lab where they filmed the lab scenes. 

ANYA is now available on demand, DVD, and hosted screenings. Watch it here: https://www.anyamovie.com/watchnow

Visit anyamovie.com for the latest screenings, articles, and educational materials.

Contact info@1efilms.com to host a screening of ANYA or Painting the Way to the Moon in your community.

Subscribe to First Encounter Productions YouTube channel to see newly posted shorts, behind the scenes videos, and longer interviews. Follow and tag at:

IG: @anya.movie
Twitter/FB: @anyamovie
Twitter: @carylannataylor

More info about the filmmakers and their research at:

https://anyamovie.com
https://firstencounterproductions.com
https://paintingthewaytothemoon.com
https://youtube.com/channel/UCF8Xrnq-_di9aYfUBxRfkyg

https://transvection.org
https://pged.org
https://pfenninglab.org


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Share your love for the IF by dropping a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?ls=1&mt=2

Have you subscribed? Grab one (always free!) and never miss an episode! https://pod.link/1250517051

Keep On IFFin',
Philip & Matt

What The IF?

I Married A NEANDERTHAL - A SciFi Love Story

A layman's journey of discovery in the world of Human Pre-History.

Learn how to think like EINSTEIN! Every week we learn science running imaginative thought experiments. Our brilliant guests are some of the world’s greatest science fiction writers, scientists & science communicators. Leap into a journey to answer the most fascinating question in the universe: What The IF?

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