The Good Show

19 December 2025 - 1 hour 2 mins
Podcast Series Radiolab

The standard view of evolution is that living things are shaped by cold-hearted competition. And there is no doubt that today's plants and animals carry the genetic legacy of ancestors who fought fiercely to survive and reproduce. But in this hour that we first broadcast back in 2010, we wonder whether there might also be a logic behind sharing, niceness, kindness ... or even, self-sacrifice. Is altruism an aberration, or just an elaborate guise for sneaky self-interest? Do we really live in a selfish, dog-eat-dog world? Or has evolution carved out a hidden code that rewards genuine cooperation?

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1 hour 2 mins

Series Episodes

23 Weeks 6 Days Playing

23 Weeks 6 Days

A tiny baby, born at 23 Weeks and 6 days—roughly halfway to full term. And a whole universe of medical and moral questions.

1 hour 3 mins

11 September Finished

60 Words Playing

60 Words

It’s been 25 years since 9/11. Today we talk about the 60 words that ushered in everything that came after.

58 mins

4 September Finished

Patient Zero Playing

Patient Zero

The greatest mysteries have a shadowy figure at the center, Patient Zero. We hunt for Patient Zeroes from all over the map.

51 mins

21 August Finished

Nigel and the Real Gannet Playing

Nigel and the Real Gannet

A love story about a rogue bird and his concrete lover.

25 mins

14 August Finished

Red Herring Playing

Red Herring

A deep-sea Cold War mystery with subs and bombs and science.

36 mins

7 August Finished

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