Why do human brains need social interaction? Why might AI chatbots be insufficient to scratch the itch? What do we love so much about real human touch and in-person interaction? Why do so many of us live with dogs? From empathy to introversion to social media to isolation (and what to do about it), we’ve got it all this week with guest Ben Rein, author of the new book Why Brains Need Friends.

Ep174 "Can Evolution Teach AI?" with Athena Aktipis
52:59

Re-Release "Why Do Brains Dream"
52:12

Ep173 "Why Do We Have Emotions?" with Robert Kurzban
54:24