Laura: Here’s a wild thought: What if the single worst decision in human history wasn't a war or a political blunder, but the invention of bread? That the shift to agriculture, the very foundation of civilization, is what’s making us sick, anxious, and miserable today. Sophia: Whoa, hold on. My morning toast is a historical tragedy? That’s a pretty bold claim. I feel like I should apologize to my sourdough starter. Laura: It sounds dramatic, but that's the provocative argument at the heart of Go Wild: Free Your Body and Mind from the Afflictions of Civilization by Dr. John J. Ratey and Richard Manning. Sophia: And this isn't just some fringe theory from the internet. Ratey is a clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and Manning is an award-winning science journalist. They're bringing some serious credentials to this whole "rewilding" idea. Laura: Exactly. They argue we've built a world our bodies were never designed for, and it's time to reclaim our evolutionary heritage. They believe we’re not suffering from diseases so much as injuries inflicted by our modern lifestyle. Sophia: Okay, 'afflictions of civilization' is a big phrase. I'm intrigued. Where exactly did we take this supposed wrong turn?

Laura: The book points to a moment about ten thousand years ago: the agricultural revolution. To understand the impact, the authors present this powerful image from 1947. It's a photograph of a group of San people in the Kalahari Desert, before major contact with the modern world. Sophia: What did they look like? Laura: They're described as lithe, strong, with perfect posture. They’re gathered in a circle, completely captivated by a storyteller. There's this incredible sense of connection, vitality, and health. They were, in essence, perfectly adapted to their world. Sophia: And what happened to them? Laura: The book states that once civilization encroached, with its processed foods and sedentary life, they became as sick as the rest of us in a shockingly short time. They developed heart disease, obesity, diabetes—the full spectrum of modern ailments. Sophia: So the book is saying their genes didn't change, their environment did. And their bodies couldn't handle it. Laura: Precisely. And it's not just a modern phenomenon. The authors bring up this fascinating archaeological site in Illinois called the Dickson Mounds. Anthropologists there were able to compare the skeletons of hunter-gatherers with the farmers who lived in the exact same area a few hundred years later. Sophia: I'm guessing the farmers weren't thriving. Laura: Not at all. The farmers' skeletons showed they were shorter, had more deformities, more evidence of nutritional deficiencies, and even their teeth were worse. They were living on a corn-based diet, and it was making them sick. They were less healthy than their hunter-gatherer ancestors. Sophia: But wait, agriculture gave us stability, art, cities! Are they really saying it was a net negative? That seems a bit extreme. Laura: They frame it as a "mixed blessing." It allowed for civilization, yes, but it came with staggering health costs. The main culprit they identify is starch. Suddenly, human diets were dominated by a handful of starchy crops—wheat, rice, corn. These break down into glucose, and our bodies were simply not designed to handle that constant flood of sugar. Sophia: That’s so counterintuitive. The food pyramid I grew up with was literally built on a foundation of bread, cereal, and pasta. It was supposed to be the cornerstone of a healthy diet. Laura: And that’s one of the book's most controversial points. It suggests that decades of nutritional advice, which demonized fat and promoted carbs, was based on flawed science, like Ancel Keys's infamous Seven Countries Study. The book argues that our bodies thrive on healthy fats and a huge variety of foods, not a monotonous diet of starch. Sophia: So we traded the diverse, nutrient-rich diet of the wild for a predictable but ultimately harmful diet of beige food. Laura: That's the argument. We traded quality for quantity, and our health has been paying the price ever since. The book even links this dietary shift to things you wouldn't expect, like the early onset of menstruation in girls, which in turn increases the lifetime risk for certain cancers because of prolonged hormone exposure. Sophia: Wow. So it’s not just about weight, it’s a systemic issue that affects everything from our metabolism to our hormones. It’s a much bigger problem than just fitting into your jeans. Laura: It's a complete paradigm shift. The book asks us to see these problems not as personal failings, but as a predictable outcome of a fundamental mismatch between our biology and our environment.

Sophia: Okay, so our diet is a mess. But the book's title is Go Wild, which implies more than just changing what's on our plate. What about movement? Laura: This is where it gets really mind-bending. The book makes this radical claim, quoting neuroscientist Daniel Wolpert, that our brains exist for one reason and one reason only: to produce adaptable and complex movements. Sophia: Come on. What about poetry, and philosophy, and love? You’re telling me my brain is just a fancy motor controller? Laura: In an evolutionary sense, yes! The book offers this incredible, almost creepy, example: the sea squirt. Sophia: I'm almost afraid to ask. What is a sea squirt? Laura: It’s a small marine animal. In its larval stage, it has a primitive brain and nervous system, and it swims around looking for a good place to settle down. Once it finds a nice rock to attach itself to for the rest of its life, it does something astonishing. Sophia: What? Laura: It digests its own brain. Sophia: It eats its own brain? That's the most metal thing I've ever heard. Laura: Because once it becomes stationary, it no longer needs it! The brain's primary job—movement—is done. The book quotes another scientist, Rodolfo Llinás, who says, "That which we call thinking is the evolutionary internalization of movement." Sophia: So all my deep thoughts are just a side effect of my ancestors needing to run away from saber-toothed tigers? That’s… humbling. Laura: And it explains why inactivity is so devastating. When we're sedentary, our brains aren't getting the signals they evolved to receive. Exercise isn't just for our muscles; it's like fertilizer for our neurons. It triggers the release of a protein called BDNF—brain-derived neurotrophic factor—which promotes the growth of new brain cells. Sophia: So exercise literally makes your brain bigger and better. Laura: Yes! They cite the Naperville school district, which implemented a comprehensive daily exercise program. The results were stunning. Their students' academic performance shot through the roof. They showed a direct, stair-stepped relationship: the more physically fit a student was, the better their test scores. Sophia: That should be front-page news for every parent and educator. It reframes P.E. from a fun break to a core academic subject. Laura: Absolutely. And it’s not just about running on a treadmill. The book emphasizes varied, playful, and engaging movement—like CrossFit, which the head of Reebok famously adopted, or just running on an uneven trail. The monotony of the gym is another form of tameness. Sophia: Okay, so we need to move. But what about when we're not moving? I've heard the book has some wild ideas about sleep, too. Laura: It really does. It challenges our modern ideal of sleeping alone in a silent, pitch-black room. The authors call this the "lie down and die" model of sleep, and they argue it's completely unnatural. Sophia: What’s the alternative? Laura: They look at hunter-gatherer groups like the Ju/wasi, who sleep communally. There’s always someone stirring, the fire is crackling, there are the sounds of the environment. This creates a sense of safety that allows for truly restorative sleep. The book quotes an anthropologist who says that in many cultures, the Western practice of making babies sleep alone is seen as a form of child abuse. Sophia: Wow. That’s a powerful reframing. So our obsession with perfect sleep hygiene might actually be making our sleep worse because it triggers a primal feeling of being isolated and vulnerable? Laura: That's the idea. And it’s compounded by our biggest sleep enemy: artificial light, especially the blue light from our screens. It wrecks our melatonin production and throws our circadian rhythms into chaos, which is linked to everything from depression to heart disease. Sophia: So the solution isn't a better mattress, it's a darker room and maybe sleeping with a partner or even a pet nearby. It’s about recreating a sense of safety. Laura: Exactly. It's about listening to our ancient biology, not the latest tech-bro sleep app.

Sophia: Okay, so we're eating the wrong things, not moving enough, and sleeping all wrong. It sounds a bit hopeless, honestly. What's the actual 'Go Wild' solution? How do we start fixing this? Laura: The book proposes that the solutions are simpler and more profound than we think. They focus on two powerful, ancient forces we've largely abandoned: Nature and Tribe. Sophia: Let's start with nature. I get that a walk in the woods feels good, but is there real science behind it? Laura: There is. The book introduces the concept of "biophilia," which is our innate, genetically encoded affiliation with other living things. It's not just a preference; it's a deep biological need. The authors tell this amazing story about an anthropologist who invited his Koyukon friends, caribou hunters from the Alaskan interior, to visit him on a coastal island. Sophia: What happened? Laura: When the Koyukon arrived, they were struck silent. For days, they just walked around the island, observing everything—the plants, the tides, the animals. They were completely absorbing the new environment. After several days of this silent observation, they finally spoke, and they were able to describe the island to their host with more detail and insight than he had gained in years of living there. Sophia: That’s incredible. It's like they had a superpower of awareness that we've lost. Laura: It's a state of mindfulness that was essential for survival. And the book argues that reconnecting with nature, even in small ways, can help us get some of that back. Studies show that living near green space lowers rates of disease, and even just a walk in a park can measurably improve cognitive function. Sophia: So that feeling you get on a hike, that sense of calm and clarity... that's not just in your head. It's your biology responding to its native environment. Laura: Exactly. And the other pillar is "Tribe." Our need for social connection is just as fundamental. Sophia: This goes beyond just having friends, right? Laura: Much deeper. The book points to the story of the Dmanisi Man, a 1.8-million-year-old hominid skull found in Georgia. The skull showed that this individual had lost all his teeth long before he died. Sophia: How could he have survived? Laura: He couldn't have, not on his own. He would have been completely dependent on others to find and process food for him. The fact that he lived for years after losing his teeth is profound evidence that his group cared for him. This wasn't even Homo sapiens; this was a much earlier hominid. It shows that empathy and cooperation are ancient, foundational parts of who we are. Sophia: That’s actually incredibly moving. It changes how you think about "survival of the fittest." It was never just about individual strength; it was about the strength of the group. Laura: Precisely. And this is regulated by our biochemistry, especially the neuropeptide oxytocin. It's often called the "love hormone," but it's more accurately the molecule of trust, bonding, and loyalty. It’s what binds us together. Sophia: But how do you find your 'tribe' or connect with 'nature' if you're living in a tiny apartment in a concrete jungle? What's the lever people can actually pull? Laura: The book is clear that it's not about abandoning our lives. It's about finding your personal "lever"—the one change that starts a cascade. For one of the authors, it was getting a heart monitor to run better. For someone else, it might be joining a hiking group, or a community garden, or even a CrossFit gym, which the book praises for its intense community aspect. Sophia: So it's about finding a modern-day proxy for the tribe. Laura: Yes. It’s about finding ways to reintroduce these essential wild elements into a tame world.

Laura: Ultimately, the book's message isn't to abandon civilization and go live in a cave. It's about consciously re-integrating these wild elements—real food, varied movement, true rest, nature, and community—into our modern lives. Sophia: It feels like the core idea is that our bodies aren't broken; they're just running on the wrong operating system. We're trying to run ancient software on modern hardware, and it's causing constant crashes. Laura: That's a perfect analogy. And the book is a guide to reinstalling the original, human-compatible OS. It’s about listening to the wisdom of your own body, which is still whispering instructions from a hundred thousand years ago. Sophia: So the takeaway isn't a rigid 10-step plan, but an invitation to start a personal process of discovery. To find your own 'lever.' Maybe it's just a walk in a park without your phone, or switching from soda to water, or calling a friend instead of texting. The book argues that one small, wild change can trigger a cascade. Laura: Exactly. It's a hopeful message. It's not about blaming ourselves for being sick or unhappy, but about understanding the environmental context and empowering ourselves to change it, one step at a time. Sophia: It’s a powerful idea. We'd love to hear what our listeners think. What's one 'wild' thing you could bring back into your life after hearing this? Let us know. Laura: This is Aibrary, signing off.