Episode 64: How Science Is Redefining the Penis
Detail from the cover of Phallacy by Emily Willingham
The penis isn't what you think it is. We talk to Emily Willingham, author of Phallacy: Life Lessons From the Animal Penis, about what the incredible diversity of reproductive organs among non-human animals can teach us about our own junk. It turns out the human penis was made for love, not war.
Notes, Citations, & etc.
Phallacy: Life Lessons From the Animal Penis by Emily Willingham
Among seahorses, the females penetrate the males
There is a genus of cave creatures where the female penetrates the male
"Super-fleas" have penises 2.5 times the length of their bodies
Evolutionary psychology teaches that men must guard against "sperm competition" due to female infidelity
The human penis is not designed to compete in the same way as that of the seed beetle, which actually damages the female reproductive tract during mating
Recent research undercuts the idea that the penis makes men "naturally" aggressive
You keep saying "survival of the fittest." I do not think that means what you think it means.
In some species, females store sperm from multiple males in special "sperm storage organs"
Ducks famously engage in "forced copulation" but females develop features to resist that form of mating
Humans are separated from other primates by millions of years of evolution
Notorious predator Jeffrey Epstein loved evolutionary psychology for the idea that men are naturally promiscuous
Scientists have studied penises way more than vaginas, for some reason
Evolutionary psychology was heavily funded by Jeffrey Epstein, who hoped to seed the human race with his DNA
Sex organs and gender don't always match up among humans
Leonard Cline was a horror author who murdered his best friend
A review of Cline's first novel, The God Head
Cline's most famous novel is The Dark Chamber, which H.P. Lovecraft adored
Cline got a job with Time Magazine right after he got out of prison for murder
"Living longer but not necessarily healthier: The joint progress of health and mortality in the working-age population of England" (paper in Population Studies by Jivraj, Goodman, Pongiglione and Ploubidis)
"Middle aged face more years of ill health than baby boomers" (press release)