What the Navigators Knew
David Lewis’s classic study of Pacific wayfinding shows how Indigenous knowledge can be taken seriously—neither romanticised nor dismissed.
Patrick Whittle
Patrick Whittle is a freelance writer with an interest in the social and political implications of modern biological science and in human evolution.
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9 articles
Selective Pressure, Selective Silence
David Reich and the politics of recent human evolution.
Bodies of Evidence
When combined thoughtfully with traditional historical methods, analysis of ancient DNA can illuminate the lives, characters, and motivations of people long dead.
The Sexual Paradise That Never Was
How Margaret Mead’s romanticised account of Samoan life became the founding myth of cultural determinism—and why it endures despite having been thoroughly debunked.
Evolved Brains in Evolved Bodies
Human populations differ in psychological as well as physical traits.
On Biology and Politics
Why the Left must take human evolution seriously.
Mortuary Archaeology
Death, DNA, and the culture wars.
Vaccine Rejectionism and the Left
The coronavirus pandemic has caused massive backtracking and spin-doctoring among progressive parties over bioengineered vaccines.
Taboo: Why Is Africa the Global COVID ‘Cold Spot’ and Why Are We Afraid to Talk About It?
Africa has not been affected on anything like the scale of most countries in Asia, Europe, and North and South America.