Start Here — Beat Your Genes Podcast

Beat Your Genes Podcast — Start Here

Your brain was built for a world that no longer exists.

380+ episodes of evolutionary psychology with Dr. Doug Lisle and Nathan Gershfeld — helping you understand why you think, feel, and behave the way you do.

380+ Episodes
10 Years running
Free Always

Evolutionary psychology — without the jargon

Most psychology advice treats your brain like a broken machine. Beat Your Genes starts somewhere different: your instincts aren’t broken. They’re just optimized for a Stone Age environment that no longer exists.

Dr. Doug Lisle — evolutionary psychologist, former Stanford lecturer, and co-author of The Pleasure Trap — has spent decades developing frameworks that explain human behavior from the ground up. Nathan Gershfeld, D.C., brings 14 years of clinical experience to every conversation.

Together they explore why you do what you do — and what, if anything, you can actually do about it.

  • The Pleasure TrapModern environments offer superstimuli that hijack the brain’s reward circuits — making it harder to find satisfaction in ordinary life.
  • Beating Your GenesUnderstanding your evolutionary instincts so you can consciously choose not to follow them when they lead you astray.
  • Esteem DynamicsA framework for understanding self-esteem, social status, and motivation through an evolutionary lens.
  • The Love InstinctRomantic attraction as an instinct — like hunger or fear — that evolved to secure a pair bond during the high-investment period of reproduction.
  • Tenacious DelusionsBeliefs so emotionally compelling that people hold them despite strong evidence to the contrary — including the belief that personality is shaped by experience.

Two clinicians. One framework. Zero sugarcoating.

Dr. Lisle has spent decades building these frameworks. This show is what happens when he explains them.

Dr. Doug Lisle, PhD
Evolutionary Psychologist

The architect of the frameworks behind Beat Your Genes. Dr. Lisle’s work starts from a simple premise: you cannot understand human behavior without understanding the environment it evolved in.

PhD, University of Virginia Former lecturer, Stanford University Former VA researcher, PTSD Co-author, The Pleasure Trap Founder, Esteem Dynamics
Nathan Gershfeld, D.C.
Doctor of Chiropractic

Nathan trained first as an electrical engineer, then spent 14 years as a Doctor of Chiropractic. He brings a systems thinker’s curiosity to every conversation — a natural fit for a framework as precise as Dr. Lisle’s. He mostly lets Dr. Lisle talk.

Doctor of Chiropractic 14 years clinical experience 6 years at True North Health Center Founder, Fasting Escape Board member, True North Health Foundation

10 years of episodes. Start with these.

These are the episodes that explain Dr. Lisle’s core frameworks — the ones that make everything else click. New listener? Start anywhere in this list.

One insight. Every week. Free.

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