The Leakey Foundation

More than Genes: Predators, Parasites and Partners of the Human Body
2016-11-09 18:30 - 20:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | The Houston Museum of Natural Science, 5555 Hermann Park Drive, Houston, TX, 77030, United States
A great deal of recent research has suggested that many modern health problems relate to recent changes in our gut microbes. As we have started to look at skin and the environment of our homes, it looks as though the changes in what we are exposed to and covered in externally may be equally as great.
We evolved in a wilderness of parasites, mutualists, and pathogens, but we no longer see ourselves as being part of nature and the broader community of life. In the name of progress and clean living, we scrub much of nature off our bodies; however, a host of species still cling to us and always will. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Join biologist and author Rob Dunn as we explore the influence these wild species have on our well-being and the world.
Book signing to follow lecture.
This lecture is generously sponsored by The Brown Foundation, Inc.

The Power Paradox
2016-11-03 18:00 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Public Works, 161 Erie Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103, United States
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$10 Presale General Admission | $15 At Door | $38.28 Special Offer: Presale General Admission + Book
Ages 21+, ID required for entry

It is taken for granted that power corrupts. This is reinforced culturally by everything from Machiavelli to contemporary politics. But how do we get power? And how does it change our behavior? Join The Leakey Foundation, The Bay Area Science Festival and U.C. Berkeley psychologist Dacher Keltner for an evening exploring the evolution of power and learn the surprising origin of enduring power.

EVENT DETAILS

Mix, Mingle and Learn

6:00-7:00pm Mix and mingle with your fellow humans!
Enjoy the authentic Cambodian street food of Nyum Bai and a fully-stocked bar of beer, wine and delicious cocktails.
Local independent bookstore The Booksmith will be selling copies of The Power Paradox: How We Gain and Lose Influence, Dr. Keltner’s new book. Dr. Keltner will be signing copies of his book before and after his talk.

The Power Paradox
7:00-7:25pm So often, in spite of our best intentions, we lose our hard-won power. In this talk Dacher Keltner discusses why some people retain power while others fall from it, why power can be a demonstrably good thing, the terrible consequences of letting those around us languish in powerlessness and above all, that power is given to us by other people.
7:35-8:00pm Dacher Keltner will answer all of your questions about evolution, power and politics.

This event has limited seating, which is available on a first-come, first-served basis. There is plenty of standing room for everyone.
This event is in partnership with The Bay Area Science Festival.
Sponsors: Ann and Gordon Getty, Camilla and George Smith, Meeting Pulse and The Booksmith

FOOD & DRINK
Public Work’s Bar
Public Work’s bar is stocked with wine, beer and craft cocktails.
Public Works accepts cash only.
Nyum Bai
Nyum Bai’s mission is to introduce the Bay Area to a nostalgic take on Cambodian food. Sample menu below:
Banh Soung $10*
vermicelli noodles, coconut-lime dressing, seasonal veggies, choice of lemongrass chicken, coconut marinated pork, or seasonal veggies
Khmer Chicken Curry with toasted baguette $10*
stew chicken in curry, lemongrass, coconut milk, potatoes, and carrots

Nyum Bai accepts cash and credit cards.
*This is a sample menu. Items are subject to change.

TIPS

This event has limited seating, which is available on a first-come, first-served basis. There is plenty of standing room for everyone.
The Public Works bar is cash only.
Nyum Bai accepts cash and card with meals averaging $10.
Do not park in the lot directly next to Public Works. This lot is private and your car will be towed.

MORE ABOUT OUR PARTNERS AND SPONSORS

The Bay Area Science Festival
The Bay Area Science Festival’s mission is to celebrate the Bay Area’s scientific wonders, resources, and opportunities by exploring the role of science, engineering, and technology locally & in the world. Whether you are a science devotee or see yourself with little connection to the field, they promise that you’ll find something that speaks to your passions! Connect with the science and scientists of the Bay Area and get excited, learn something new, question, discover and wonder!
To learn more about The Bay Area Science Festival or to view their 2016 Program Guide visit bayareascience.org.

Meeting Pulse
MeetingPulse is a product by inMoment Software, designed to facilitate the exchange of information between the presenter and the audience in real-time. Their technology leverages the fact that everyone has a connected smartphone. No installation is necessary for participants, onboarding takes seconds and the interaction happens in real-time. Voting, feedback, questions, dialogues, polls, quizes, games: any mechanics you can imagine.

The Booksmith
The Booksmith is San Francisco’s leading independent bookstore located in the historic Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. The Booksmith is dedicated to fostering a community for critical thinking, free thought, creativity and literary excellence. They do this by offering a breadth and depth of new and backlist titles. Their specialties include Counter Culture, Art & Music, Literary Fiction and Narrative Non Fiction, Cookbooks, Travel and Kids books. They host over 200 events per year including our nationally touring monthly Shipwreck erotic fanfiction event, monthly Book Swap, community forums and author signings.
Purchase your copy of The Power Paradox: How We Gain and Lose Influence along with your ticket here, or purchase it at the event. 10% of all book sales of The Power Paradox will be donated to The Leakey Foundation.

Check out these resources to learn more about Dacher Keltner’s work:
How Power Makes People Selfish
https://youtu.be/0vvl46PmCfEVideo can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: How Power Makes People Selfish (https://youtu.be/0vvl46PmCfE)
“The Perils of Power”, The Hidden Brain podcast with Shankar Vendantam
“Why does power make us lose our way?” University of California News by By Yasmin Anwar

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Evolution and Spread of the Most Cooperative and Invasive Species: Us
2016-10-10 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Dr 94118, San Francisco, CA, 94118, United States
Scientists have identified several milestones in the evolution of the way humans find and consume food: increased meat portions, diet diversity, and the transition to food production. These changes have had far-reaching impacts on biological, behavioral, and culture evolution.

In this talk, Dr. Curtis Marean argues for another food-related milestone: the turn toward foraging dense and predictable food resources. This shift in behavior led to elevated levels of group territoriality and conflict, which may have provided the ideal conditions for the evolution of the hyper-cooperative behaviors unique to modern humans. This coupled with the uses of newly invented projectile weapons contributed greatly to our ancestors’ ability to spread rapidly throughout the world, eliminating other competitors and driving many prey species to extinction.

This lecture is presented in partnership with the California Academy of Sciences. With generous support from:
Ann and Gordon Getty
Camilla and George Smith

The concourse parking garage will be open for this event.

Survival
2016-09-22 18:30 - 21:45 (America/New_York) | WGBH Yawkey Theater, 1 Guest Street, Boston, MA, 02135, United States
Our species is facing an unprecedented set of challenges, including global climate change, exponential population growth, and new diseases. Examining these and other challenges using the lens of evolution is necessary to understand why we confront them. But just as importantly, as we search for solutions, the evolutionary perspectives can help guide us in building a better, safer and more survivable future.
Survival brings together seven world-renowned speakers and researchers for an inspiring evening of short talks moderated by Emmy Award-winning journalist Miles O’Brien. Join Ruth DeFries, Daniel Lieberman, Stuart Pimm, Steven Pinker, Pardis Sabeti, Daniel Schrag and Richard Wrangham as we explore our past, present, and future.
Seating is limited for this event. Please contact info@leakeyfoundation.org to request ticket information.
Partners:
Survival is presented by The Leakey Foundation in partnership with Harvard University’s Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, NOVA, NOVALabs, SMASH, and WGBH.
Presenters:
Moderated by Miles O’Brien and featuring:

Ruth DeFries – Professor of Sustainable Development, Columbia University
Daniel Lieberman – Chair and Professor of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University
Stuart Pimm – Professor of Conservation Ecology, Duke University
Steven Pinker – Professor of Psychology, Harvard University
Pardis Sabeti – Assistant Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University
Daniel Schrag – Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering, Harvard University
Richard Wrangham – Professor of Biological Anthropology, Harvard University

The Secret Lives of Female Chimpanzees
2016-08-17 18:00 - 19:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Cindy Pritzker Auditorium in the Harold Washington Center of the Chicago Public Library, 400 South State Street, Chicago, IL, 60605, United States
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Female apes are easily overshadowed by their larger, more boisterous male counterparts. Thus, the nature of female social relationships has been shrouded in mystery. The subtlety of social behavior in female chimpanzees belies a complex set of strategies that allow them to navigate the costs and benefits of group life. By combining decades of behavioral research with innovative non-invasive approaches, Dr. Emery Thompson and her colleagues at the Kibale Chimpanzee Project have uncovered fascinating details about the secret lives of female chimpanzees. She will discuss how females negotiate rivalries to obtain the resources they need to reproduce, the chaotic, and sometimes violent, nature of sexual relationships with males, and the unexpected ways these relationships change with age. Along the way, you will learn about the challenges and rewards of studying this fascinating species in the wild.
Tickets for this event are $12 for general admission or $6 for students with a student ID.
This program is presented in partnership with the Chicago Council of Science and Technology.

The Chicago Council on Science and Technology (C2ST) believes that science is for everyone. They are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the mission of enhancing the public’s understanding of science and technology and their impact on society.

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Being Human: Born and Evolved to Run
2016-07-28 18:00 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Public Works, 161 Erie Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103, United States
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Why did humans become such efficient long-distance runners? How can runners avoid injury? Join Daniel Lieberman on July 28th for Being Human: Born and Evolved to Run and learn about the evolution of endurance running.
Humans and our recent ancestors have been accomplished endurance runners for more than a million years, and this evolutionary history as runners partly accounts for why aerobic exercise is such a key component of human health. However, despite our long history as runners, studies suggest that at least 30% of runners get injured each year!
Join us as we explore how the human body evolved to run and how evolutionary insights can be used to prevent many kinds of injuries.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Mix, Mingle and Learn
6:00-7:00pm Mix and mingle with your fellow humans! Enjoy a fully-stocked bar of beer, wine, and delicious cocktails. Visit The Leakey Foundation’s Skeletal Anatomy Table and learn about the unique characteristics of our anatomy that make bipedal walking and running possible.
Born and Evolved to Run
7:05-7:30pm Why are we such efficient long-distance runners? In this talk Daniel Lieberman explores the evolutionary roots of running. Learn how the human body evolved to run and how evolutionary insights can make you a better runner. Daniel Lieberman’s research has been featured on the Colbert Report and in the book Born to Run.

Daniel Lieberman’s Skeletal Biology Lab
7:40-8:10pm Daniel Lieberman brings his Harvard Skeletal Biology Lab to Public Works. Lieberman and his colleague Ian Wallace will be demonstrating the biomechanics of running on stage using a treadmill and participation from audience volunteers. Read more about Daniel Lieberman’s Skeletal Biology Lab.
Question and Answer Session
8:10-8:30pm Dr. Daniel Lieberman will answer all of your questions about running, human evolution, and health.
This event has limited seating which is available to visitors on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors do not open until 6:00pm.
21+ event, ID required for entry

Being Human: Your Brain on Art
2016-06-21 18:00 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Public Works, 161 Erie Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103, United States
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What is the secret of Mona Lisa’s smile? Why do Claude Monet’s fields of flowers seem to wave in the breeze? Join neurobiologist Margaret Livingstone for “Being Human: Your Brain on Art” and learn about the inner workings of human vision.
For centuries artists have understood visual perception and learned how to fool the brain. In fact artists have been experimenting with vision longer than neurobiologists. For example, color and luminance can play independent roles in visual perception. Picasso remarked on this phenomenon, “Colors are only symbols. Reality is to be found in luminance alone.” These effects used by artists offer insights into how we see, and these can now be described in terms of the underlying neurobiology.
Join in the fun as we explore how art and neurobiology help us understand the nature of the human visual experience.
About Being Human
Being Human mixes short talks from great minds with fun hands-on experiments, drinks, conversation, and storytelling. Each month we’ll explore different aspects of our evolution, our behavior, and the human experience.
Doors open at 6 pm for the Being Human Lounge. Mix and mingle with your fellow humans upstairs in Public Work’s Odd Job Room. Enjoy a different local food vendor and thematic specialty cocktail each month, plus a fully-stocked bar of beer, wine, and delicious cocktails.
The Main Room opens at 7 pm for seating. The talk will begin shortly thereafter.
Seating is limited and available on a first-come first-serve basis. There is plenty of standing room for everyone.
Age Limit: 21+
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2016 Trip to France
2016-05-20 - 2016-05-28, 2016-05-20 00:00 - 2016-05-28 23:59 (America/Los_Angeles) | Lascaux, 24290 Montignac, France
This eight-day tour includes visits to three world-class museums and ten famous prehistoric sites. You will be joined by luminaries including rock art expert Jean Clottes, archaeologist Harold Dibble, the Curator of Lascaux Muriel Mauriac, and artist Elisabeth Daynes.
Space is limited, and you must be a Leakey Fellow to participate.
To learn more download the detailed itinerary by clicking here.
Email Sharal Camisa for more information: sharal (at) leakeyfoundation.org

Being Human: Our Symbolic Nature
2016-05-17 18:00 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Public Works, 161 Erie Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103, United States
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What makes our brains different? How did language change us as a species? Join us on May 17th for Being Human: Our Symbolic Nature…. and learn more about how human language evolved.
From the smallest bacteria to the largest mammal, most organisms communicate. However, the way we humans communicate is quite unique in comparison to other organisms. We use a complex web of symbols representing the abstract. These symbols are layered within human culture and require an extensive amount of our brains to interpret.
Join Terrence Deacon as we explore our unique capacity for symbolic thought and the role it played in the co-evolution of the human brain and language.
About Being Human
Being Human mixes short talks from great minds with fun hands-on experiments, drinks, conversation, and storytelling. Each month we’ll explore different aspects of our evolution, our behavior, and the human experience.
Doors open at 6 pm for the Being Human Lounge. Mix and mingle with your fellow humans upstairs in Public Work’s Odd Job Room. Enjoy a thematic specialty cocktail each month, plus a fully-stocked bar of beer, wine, and delicious cocktails.
The Main Room opens at 7 pm for seating. The talk will begin shortly thereafter.
Seating is limited and available on a first-come first-serve basis. There is plenty of standing room for everyone.
Age Limit: 21+

The Curious Case of Homo naledi
2016-05-03 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Dr 94118, San Francisco, CA, 94118, United States
What We Do (and Don't) Know About Our Newest Extinct Relative
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Join Dr. William Harcourt-Smith as he explores Homo naledi, the early human relative recently discovered deep within Rising Star cave in South Africa. This find, consisting of over 1500 fossil fragments, is arguably one of the most significant fossil discoveries of the last half-century, and Harcourt-Smith led one of the first teams to examine the fossils. In this talk he will discuss what makes Homo naledi so unique, where it may fit within the human lineage and what consequences this ground-breaking discovery may have for our current understanding of human evolution.

Being Human: Earth's Tipping Point
2016-04-19 18:00 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Public Works, 161 Erie Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103, United States
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Join scientist Elizabeth Hadly for an evening exploring our impact on the planet and what we can do to ensure a bright future for all of Earth’s inhabitants!
Climate change. Refugee crises. Food shortages. What we hear in the news every day seems like a series of unrelated crises, but it is not. Humans have a profound impact on the earth. Our evolutionary course has been shown to produce wonderful results but also unforeseen, harmful consequences for ourselves and those species who share this planet with us.
Are we headed toward a dangerous tipping point? Do we feel it is already too late? What changes can we make, and how do we feel about change? Get your tickets now for a journey into the future of our planet and the ever changing possibilities of Being Human.
About Being Human
Being Human mixes short talks from great minds with fun hands-on experiments, food and drinks, conversation, and storytelling. Each month we’ll explore different aspects of our evolution, our behavior, and the human experience.
Doors open at 6 pm for the Being Human Lounge. Mix and mingle with your fellow humans upstairs in Public Work’s Odd Job Room. Enjoy a different local food vendor and thematic specialty cocktail each month, plus a fully-stocked bar of beer, wine, and delicious cocktails.
The Main Room opens at 7 pm for seating. The talk will begin shortly thereafter.
Seating is limited and available on a first-come first-serve basis. There is plenty of standing room for everyone.
Age Limit: 21+

An Update on the Status of Australopithecus afarensis
2016-04-12 18:30 - 20:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Emory University, Goodrich C. White Hall, Room 208, 301 Dowman Dr., Atlanta, GA 30322, United States
The Emory Anthropology Colloquium Series presents The First Annual American Association for Physical Anthropologists Outreach Lecture.
Dr. Zeray Alemseged will discuss recent advances regarding our knowledge of the species Australopithecus afarensis. Based on data coming from the field and new imaging techniques, he will shed some light on aspects of locomotor adaptation and behavioral repertoire of this pivotal species in human evolution.

How “Paleo” is Your Diet?
2016-04-06 18:30 - 20:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | American Museum of Natural History, 56 West 81st St., New York, NY, 10024, United States
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Evolutionary biologists argue that no study of human health or evolution is complete without considering the trillions of microbes that live in us or on us—our microbiome. Join molecular anthropologist Christina Warinner as she explores how scientists are reconstructing the ancestral human microbiome to better understand the lives and health of our ancestors and whether the popular “paleo” diet has any relation to real human history.
This event is mixed seated/standing. Your RSVP does not guarantee a seat.

Being Human: The Primates Who Tell Stories
2016-03-15 18:00 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Public Works, 161 Erie Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103, United States
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Join cognitive psychologist Tania Lombrozo for an evening exploring humans’ unique storytelling ability. Learn how these “stories,” or explanations, are central to our sense of understanding the world around us.
We humans are curious creatures. When we don’t understand, we ask questions. Why is the sky blue? How do birds fly? Why do we behave the way we do? We demand answers, simple explanations that provide the reason why, and they are key to how we conceptualize the world and how we exchange ideas. These explanations we form are at the core of our basic cognitive processes like learning, inference and categorization.
Being Human founder Peter Baumann will join Dr. Lombrozo following her talk to further investigate how curiosity is an essential part of the human experience.
About Being Human
Being Human mixes short talks from great minds with fun hands-on experiments, drinks, conversation, and storytelling. Each month we’ll explore different aspects of our evolution, our behavior, and the human experience.
Doors open at 6 pm for the Being Human Lounge. Mix and mingle with your fellow humans upstairs in Public Work’s Odd Job Room. Enjoy a different local food vendor and thematic specialty cocktail each month, plus a fully-stocked bar of beer, wine, and delicious cocktails.
The Main Room opens at 7 pm for seating. The talk will begin shortly thereafter.
Seating is limited and available on a first-come first-serve basis. There is plenty of standing room for everyone.
Age Limit: 21+

Being Human: The Primates Who Tell Stories
2016-03-15 18:00 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Public Works, 161 Erie Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103, United States
Join cognitive psychologist Tania Lombrozo for an evening exploring humans’ unique storytelling ability. Learn how these “stories,” or explanations, are central to our sense of understanding the world around us.
We humans are curious creatures. When we don’t understand, we ask questions. Why is the sky blue? How do birds fly? Why do we behave the way we do? We demand answers, simple explanations that provide the reason why, and they are key to how we conceptualize the world and how we exchange ideas. These explanations we form are at the core of our basic cognitive processes like learning, inference and categorization.
Being Human founder Peter Baumann will join Dr. Lombrozo following her talk to further investigate how curiosity is an essential part of the human experience.
About Being Human
Being Human mixes short talks from great minds with fun hands-on experiments, drinks, conversation, and storytelling. Each month we’ll explore different aspects of our evolution, our behavior, and the human experience.
Doors open at 6 pm for the Being Human Lounge. Mix and mingle with your fellow humans upstairs in Public Work’s Odd Job Room. Enjoy a different local food vendor and thematic specialty cocktail each month, plus a fully-stocked bar of beer, wine, and delicious cocktails.
The Main Room opens at 7 pm for seating. The talk will begin shortly thereafter.
Seating is limited and available on a first-come first-serve basis. There is plenty of standing room for everyone.
Age Limit: 21+

Speaking of Sex...
2016-02-16 18:00 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Public Works, 161 Erie Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103, United States
Join anthropologist David Puts as we explore the origins of human sexuality by looking at the evolution of sexual differences in the human voice.
The roar of the male lion may indeed scare away his rivals, but it might also attract female lions looking for a dominant mate. This is sexual selection in action! The lion with the mighty roar might have a few more opportunities to pass along his genes than the lion with the less impressive voice.
Scientists have found that studying the human voice is also a good way to gain insight into human sexual selection. The human voice is highly differentiated between the sexes, and the differences are easily quantifiable. Thus it is an ideal model for understanding the evolutionary processes behind our sexual selection.
Why do human males often have deep voices? What does the human female voice signal to potential mates? Join us on February 16th for Being Human: Speaking of Sex…. and learn more about where our voices came from.
Age Limit 21+
