The role of cooperation in Surviving Apocalyptic Times with Athena Aktipis, Author & Professor

Episode 70
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About the episode

This episode features an interview with Athena Aktipis, author of A Field Guide to the Apocalypse: A Mostly Serious Guide to Surviving Our Wild Times. She is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Arizona State University, director of the Cooperation and Conflict Lab and co-director of the Human Generosity Project, the first large-scale collaborative project to investigate the interrelationship between biological and cultural influences on human generosity. Athena also created and co-hosts the Zombified Podcast.

In this episode, Shawn sits down with Athena to discuss the dynamics of need-based transfers in societies, the study of zombification, and strategies for building trust in communities.

The role of cooperation in Surviving Apocalyptic Times with Athena Aktipis, Author & Professor

Playlist

  • 02:52
    Getting to know Athena
  • 09:21
    Athena dives into cooperation
  • 18:36
    What inspired Athena to study zombification and write A Field Guide to the Apocalypse
  • 32:51
    How the idea of cooperation translates to the workplace
  • 35:13
    Athena’s recommendations for building trust
  • 41:14
    Other takeaways from Athena’s book

Guest information

Athena Aktipis

Athena Aktipis is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Arizona State University, director of the Cooperation and Conflict Lab and co-director of the Human Generosity Project, the first large-scale transdisciplinary project to investigate the interrelationship between biological and cultural influences on human generosity. Professor Aktipis also works on cooperation and conflict in biological systems including cancer evolution and the human microbiome. She is a cooperation theorist, social psychologist, theoretical evolutionary biologist, and cancer biologist who now works at the intersection of these fields. Professor Aktipis is also the co-founder and director of Human and Social Evolution at the Center for Evolution and Cancer at the University of California, San Francisco.

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