TNS#68: It's Not You, It's Biology

TheNextStep#68 was taped 1/13/2010 with Joe Quirk, author of It's Not You, It's Biology... the paperback edition of his previous hardcover book Sperm Are From Men, Eggs Are From Women. From Joe's website, www.joequirk.com: Here's what you should've learned in high school biology! It's Not You, It's Biology provides insight, ammunition, snappy comebacks, and interesting cocktail party banter for everyone who ever wondered why we behave the way we do. It's Freakonomics for the Relationship-Challenged. "Joe takes a look at the whole issue of relationships through the lens of sociology, biology, anthropology, and some pretty awful dates."
From the book jacket: "Ultimately, Quirk concludes that all living things are conservative, efficient, safe, and drab until it's time to breed, at which point they become extravagant, wasteful, risky, and beautiful." Well put!

I especially like Joe's analysis of how both men and women have powerful but antithetical reproductive strategies: attracted both to risky, challenging partners and to safe, dependable relationships. Homo sapiens is just one out of 235 species of primates, and Joe does a great job illuminating the biological factors behind our choices in looking for a partner or mate.