Your inner ape

Your inner ape

Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? This time the focus shifts to some very hairy cousins, as All In The Mind uses apes and monkeys to shed light on what makes human minds – and human relationships – so unusual. Science journalist Volker Wildermuth joins host Natasha Mitchell to chat with leading primatologists including Andrew Whiten, Michael Tomasello, Joan Silk, Sonja Koski, Dorothy Cheney and Robert Boyd.

Together they compare chimp and human abilities in culture, cooperation, empathy and language, asking why chimps can share traditions yet never quite reach our level of cumulative culture. As Professor Whiten puts it, chimpanzees can sustain “the most complex, the biggest cultural repertoire” outside humans, but they tend to stick with what works instead of adding new layers of innovation. The episode has plenty to interest anyone thinking about connection and social support in recovery.

You’ll hear how baboons’ close grooming friendships are linked with better infant survival, echoing findings in humans that strong social ties support health. Joan Silk notes that “females who spend the most time associating with others and grooming others are more likely to rear their infants successfully,” highlighting just how vital bonded groups can be. There’s also a fresh look at empathy and consolation.

Sonja Koski shows that comforting after conflicts might be less about pure kindness and more about self-protection, prompting questions about what truly lies behind caring behaviour – in apes and in us. Michael Tomasello’s work with children and chimps hints that our eagerness to copy, point, and share goals may sit at the heart of human culture and cooperation.

With a playful tone (yes, including a burst of “The Funky Gibbon”), this episode suits people curious about why community, shared meaning and group norms matter so much for human wellbeing. It might leave you asking: how much of your “inner ape” still shapes the way you connect, care and belong?