CICASP | Center for International Collaboration and Advanced Studies in Primatology

Between 3-6 December 2012, Chris and Andrew took their mobile podcast unit on the road to Kyoto for a conference at the International Institute for Advanced Studies (IIAS) on the Evolutionary Origins of the Human Mind. During the conference, we were able to sit down with five prominent primate scientists who were invited to the conference to speak about their work. This marks the first installment of this podcast series in which we chatted with Dr. Frans de Waal.

Dr. de Waal is the C. H. Candler Professor of Primate Behavior in the Department of Psychology at Emory University, and director of Living Links at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center. We chatted with Dr. de Waal about his groundbreaking comparative work into the evolution of human empathy, special considerations when working with chimpanzees, and his ties to Japan and Japanese primatology. Dr. de Waal was featured by Time Magazine as one of the world's 100 most influential people in 2007, is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences, and has written many popular scientific books, including "Chimpanzee Politics", "Peacemaking among Primates", "The Ape and the Sushi Master", "The Age of Empathy", and many more. Find out more about Dr. de Waal and his work on his profile at Emory University and Living Links.

Additional Content

In addition to the interview, you can check out some photos and video from our trip with Dr. de Waal to Dr. Hiroshi Ishiguro's robotics lab, at which we were able to interact with two androids, the Geminoid and Telenoid. Find those here at Facebook and YouTube. Don't miss out!

Join us and Dr. Frans de Waal on The PrimateCast, and feel free to visit us at Facebook and Twitter and leave comments and feedback on this or any other podcast in the series. You can also subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.