The Daily

We Underestimated the Neanderthal

January 25, 2026·32 min·3-min readconversationalscience
Podzilla Summary (3 min)
TLDR
Scientists once viewed Neanderthals as primitive, brutish ancestors, but recent archaeological and genetic discoveries have radically reshaped that perception, revealing them as intelligent, socially complex humans who interbred with Homo sapiens. The episode explores how outdated biases

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Guest

C

Carl Zimmer

conversational on The Daily

Mentions

Books, people, and resources mentioned in this episode.

People

Carl ZimmerFranz LidzMichael BarbaroMarcelin Boule

Books

She Has Her Mother's Laughby Carl Zimmer

Companies

The New York Times

Research & Papers

Neanderthal Genome Project

Topics

ArchaeologyGeneticsHistory Of ScienceLong Form JournalismNeurosciencePaleontologyScientific Method

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