Barbara Fischer (KLI Group Leader for Evolutionary Biology) was interviewed for the first episode of the new podcast “Was wir Wissen” [translated as “What we know”] from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) magazine scilog. The first season explores the big question of “What do we know about being human?” 

The first episode of the first season delves into the fundamental question of human origins. How did humans come into existence? How did they evolve into such complex beings through environmental and cultural influences? How does evolution continue today? And why has evolution made childbirth so challenging for humans? These are questions central to Barbara’s research, on which she shares her expertise.

The podcast aims to take listeners on a journey with scientists. It shares new knowledge, hidden connections, and background facts. Each season focuses on a major theme in science. The two hosts, Francesca Grandolfo and Thomas Zauner, visit researchers at their workplaces over six episodes to gather as much knowledge as possible, from the origins of life four billion years ago to the history of civilization, the development of language and cognition, right up to artificial intelligence and the impact of humans on the environment in the Anthropocene.

“Was wir wissen” asks questions to science and shows how research works, its limits, and the benefits it provides to society. In doing so, the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) is striking a chord at a time when many people perceive science as abstract, unstable, and aloof.

Listen to the podcast (in German) on: https://scilog.fwf.ac.at/magazin/der-ursprung-der-menschheit