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Why Do We Cook? episode artwork

EPISODE · Oct 18, 2026 · 7 MIN

Why Do We Cook?

from Be Smart. · host Joe Hanson

PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateOKAY↓ More info and sources below ↓Uploaded 23-12-13Your brain is hungry. Here's how to feed it.SUBSCRIBE, it's FREE! http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub Ever wonder why we cook our food? We do it because it tastes good, of course, and because our customs and traditions are built around it. But we also cook our food for some basic biological reasons, because of evolution. Some scientists think that figuring out how to cook actually MADE us human! If conversation gets a little dry around your holiday table, now you'll have some awesome science to share with everyone!Richard Wrangham - "Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human" http://amzn.to/1cg5flN "The Raw and the Stolen" (PDF) - Richard Wrangham et al. http://bit.ly/JTLYfe (that one has some of the counterarguments, too)Greg Laden's summary: http://bit.ly/1dx46oc Cooked Foods Needed for Early Human Brain: http://bit.ly/1l8bqJE Man Entered the Kitchen 1.9 Million Years Ago: http://bit.ly/1c1vcB5 What made us human: http://bit.ly/19lp4cU and http://www.epjournal.net/wp-content/uploads/EP08340342.pdf The story might not be quite so simple, though: http://blogs.plos.org/neuroanthropology/2010/10/28/food-for-thought-cooking-in-human-evolution/ Joe Hanson - HostJoe Nicolosi - DirectorAmanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen IncKatie Graham - Director of PhotographyJohn Knudsen - GafferIsaac Hammons - Audio RecordistStephen Bohls, Editor, Kino-Eye POSTChristopher Chiles, Motion GraphicsKate Eads - Production ManagerIntro music - Victor Herbert Orchestra, "Chinese Dance of the Mirillitons from the Nutcracker 1913"Body music - Podington Bear's "AlgoRhythmNatural"Special thanks to Thinkery AustinProduced for PBS Digital Studios -----------Join us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/itsokaytobesmartTwitter http://www.twitter.com/DrJoeHansonhttp://www.twitter.com/okaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Merchhttps://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smartFacebookhttps://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/​ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Oct 18, 2026

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Why Do We Cook?

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