Dr. Doug Lisle announces his new book, Sherlock Holmes and the Secret of Life, more than a decade in the making. In the first of a three-part series, Dr. Lisle traces the book’s twisting 12-year path: the early collaboration with Jen Howk (a former guest) and why she ultimately left to write her own book, the dozens of discarded titles and false starts, and the moment in 2014 when the book’s true voice finally clicked. He also shares the personal story behind his own evolutionary psychology awakening, from discovering Richard Dawkins’ The Selfish Gene to reading Carl Sagan as a teenager, and explains why understanding evolution is the key to making the most of your one life.
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret of Life is available for pre-order now at https://www.SherlockSecret.com, with copies expected to ship in mid-December. Use code BYG20 to get 20% off.
[00:00] Intro clips [00:41] Welcome back after a month off [02:12] Working with Jen Howk, and why she left to write her own book [09:17] Reading the book’s original opening: “Mystery” [12:04] Why Sherlock Holmes, and who Dilbert Peabody is [13:35] Twelve years in the making: evolutionary psychology, behavior genetics, and clinical psychology [14:18] Discovering The Selfish Gene in 1990 [15:03] The thinkers featured in the book: Dawkins, Trivers, Tooby, Cosmides, Hamilton, and Maslow [16:15] Human history in evolutionary perspective [20:14] Dr. Lisle’s own awakening: discovering Carl Sagan in high school [28:32] The real secret of life: making the most of the one you have [30:53] How it all comes full circle to Beat Your Genes [32:11] Where to pre-order the book and when it ships
Beat Your Genes is an evolutionary psychology podcast co-hosted by Dr. Doug Lisle, PhD, and Nathan Gershfeld, D.C. Submit your question for Dr. Lisle at beatyourgenes.org and it may be answered on a future episode. Subscribe: youtube.com/@beatyourgenes https://www.beatyourgenes.org Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beat-your-genes-podcast/id1137772216 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6TsmRx1vmGL88ORlcXd3PV Doug Lisle: esteemdynamics.com Nathan Gershfeld: fastingescape.com X: @BeatYourGenes Intro and outro: “City of Happy Ones,” Ferenc Hegedus. Licensed for use. Copyright Beat Your Genes Podcast