The Sunday Read: 'Beauty of the Beasts'
The Daily21 Maalis 2021

The Sunday Read: 'Beauty of the Beasts'

The bright elastic throats of anole lizards, the Fabergé abdomens of peacock spiders and the curling, iridescent and ludicrously long feathers of birds-of-paradise. A number of animal species possess beautifully conspicuous and physically burdensome features.

Many biologists have long fit these tasking aesthetic displays into a more utilitarian view of evolution. However, a new generation of biologists have revived a long-ignored theory — that aesthetics and survival do not necessarily need to be linked and that animals can appreciate beauty for its own sake.

Today on The Sunday Read, a look at how these biologists are rewriting the standard explanation of how beauty evolves and the way we think about evolution itself.

This story was written by Ferris Jabr and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jaksot(2757)

Friday, June 30, 2017

Friday, June 30, 2017

As a limited travel ban goes into effect, the Trump administration has defined what constitutes a “bona fide” relationship: who’s close family, and who’s not, for visitors from six predominantly Musli...

30 Kesä 201719min

Thursday, June 29, 2017

Thursday, June 29, 2017

The United States says its goal in Syria is to help its allies defeat the Islamic State, not to fight the government. But it’s getting harder stay out of the civil war. Guests: Helene Cooper, the Pent...

29 Kesä 201720min

Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Wednesday, June 28, 2017

The Senate vote on the health care bill is off — for now. We focus on Maine, where Senator Susan Collins has been a vocal opponent of the proposal. And what happens to family members who witness polic...

28 Kesä 201719min

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

On the last day of its term, the Supreme Court said it would take the case about the legality of President Trump’s travel ban. We discuss the path of the travel ban through the lower courts, the key r...

27 Kesä 201717min

Monday, June 26, 2017

Monday, June 26, 2017

President Trump’s promise to repeal Obamacare could come down to one issue: abortion. And how the families of people killed by undocumented immigrants have become an emotional cornerstone of another s...

26 Kesä 201719min

Friday, June 23, 2017

Friday, June 23, 2017

The secret is out. The Senate has unveiled its health care bill. And after all the waiting, what was promised to be a drastic revamp of the House bill looks a lot like the House bill. Plus: The second...

23 Kesä 201723min

Thursday, June 22, 2017

Thursday, June 22, 2017

We replay the dramatic hours at a hotel room in Chicago leading up to Travis Kalanick’s resignation as the chief executive of Uber. Plus: Part I of a two-part series on the opioid crisis ravaging Amer...

22 Kesä 201718min

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Former prisoners subjected to “enhanced interrogation” techniques developed after Sept. 11 have filed a lawsuit — not against the C.I.A., which is protected, but against two psychologists. We discuss ...

21 Kesä 201722min

Suosittua kategoriassa Politiikka ja uutiset

aikalisa
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
tervo-halme
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
politiikan-puskaradio
viisupodi
et-sa-noin-voi-sanoo-esittaa
otetaan-yhdet
rss-podme-livebox
rss-vaalirankkurit-podcast
rss-asiastudio
the-ulkopolitist
rss-kaikki-uusiksi
rss-tekkipodi
io-techin-tekniikkapodcast
rikosmyytit
rss-mina-ukkola
rss-fingo-podcast
rss-hyvaa-huomenta-bryssel
rss-merja-mahkan-rahat