We've asked linguists about how language began, but what would an evolutionary biologist tell you? Prof Madeleine Beekman says it's part of a complex web of body, brain, and community, and at the heart of it is (perhaps surprisingly) childcare. Madeleine is the author of The Origin of Language: How We Learned to Speak and Why. Timestamps <ul> <li>Cold open: 0:00</li> <li>Intros: 0:42</li> <li>News: 9:07</li> <li>Related or Not: 30:02</li> <li>Interview with Madeleine Beekman: 49:43</li> <li>Words of the Week: 1:40:49</li> <li>Comments: 2:01:30</li> <li>The Reads: 2:08:07</li> <li>Outtakes: 2:17:38</li> </ul>

<description>&lt;p&gt;We've asked linguists about how language began, but what would an evolutionary biologist tell you? Prof &lt;strong&gt;Madeleine Beekman&lt;/strong&gt; says it's part of a complex web of body, brain, and community, and at the heart of it is (perhaps surprisingly) childcare. Madeleine is the author of The &lt;em&gt;Origin of Language: How We Learned to Speak and Why&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Timestamps&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li&gt;Cold open: 0:00&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Intros: 0:42&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;News: 9:07&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Related or Not: 30:02&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Interview with Madeleine Beekman: 49:43&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Words of the Week: 1:40:49&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Comments: 2:01:30&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;The Reads: 2:08:07&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Outtakes: 2:17:38&lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt;</description>

Because Language - a podcast about linguistics, the science of language.

129: They Started It: Children and Language Evolution (with Madeleine Beekman)

129: They Started It: Children and Language Evolution (with Madeleine Beekman)

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