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Adaptable

The Surprising Science of Human Diversity

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Adaptable

By: Herman Pontzer
Narrated by: P.J. Ochlan
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

A groundbreaking tour of the overlooked science of human diversity

Real diversity isn’t skin deep. Over the past 100,000 years, as humans expanded into every biome on the planet, our bodies have been fine-tuned to our local environments. Our ability to adapt is at the heart of being human and the engine of our diversity.

As an evolutionary anthropologist working with human populations around the globe, Herman Pontzer has conducted research that reveals the wonder of our biological diversity, documenting the connections between lifestyle, landscape, local adaptations, and health. In this book, he takes us on a tour of the human body and the surprising ways in which it survives in an uncertain world: from the Andean groups who have developed increased lung capacity to the Sama divers who have larger spleens.

With so much variation that can be handed down genetically, for better or worse, the way we understand our biology holds huge importance for how we understand our world and one another, including the biggest questions of our day, such as social inequality. Eye-opening and profound, Adaptable is a revolutionary reappraisal of an overlooked science.

©2025 Herman Pontzer (P)2025 Penguin Audio Anthropology Biological Sciences Biology Evolution Evolution & Genetics Genetics Science

Critic reviews

Adaptable is ambitious, wide-ranging, and fun to read. Pontzer has a gift for explaining complicated and nuanced topics in fresh ways, and he tackles all the big questions about how our bodies work with a delicate—and entertaining—touch (Alex Hutchinson, author of Endure )
Pontzer has written a dazzling guide to the human body, in all its weird and wonderful glory. This is the fascinating story of how our bodies—products of evolutionary history and genes, environment and culture—work and why they differ. Brimming with wit and wisdom, Adaptable is essential reading for anyone interested in how we humans came to be the way we are (Kate Wong, senior editor at Scientific American )
Adaptable is the book I've been waiting for. It answers questions that nag us today about the human condition and describes how we got here. It’s an engaging and down-to earth read that bristles with up-to-date and thoughtfully provocative scholarship (Nina G. Jablonski, author of It's Just Skin, Silly! )

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Profile Image for Dr. Douglas M.

Another great read from Pontzer

Nice follow up to his book Burn. Definitely recommend interested the biology of diversity and cultural constructs surrounding it.

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