Episode 49 - Scatch that itchy worm in your head

In this episode, Matt and Kevin are joined by Nicole Ackermans to discuss her recent review paper tracing human thoughts about headbutting from 10,000 BCE to the present day. How are animals like bighorn sheep and woodpeckers protected from brain injury? Actually, wait... are they protected from brain injury?

It’s a wonderful romp of a paper, but with some serious undertones, since misinformation about animal biology is being commercialized and promoted to make people feel better about gladiatorial sports like football.

Links

• The Paper - A history of thought on headbutting animals

• Ologies episode with Joy Reidenberg: https://www.alieward.com/ologies/functional-morphology

• Ologies episode with Nicole: https://www.alieward.com/ologies/headbutts

• The birds aren’t real

• The actual ratio of microbes to human cells