Barbara J. King
Barbara J. King is a contributor to the NPR blog 13.7: Cosmos & Culture. She is a Chancellor Professor of Anthropology at the College of William and Mary. With a long-standing research interest in primate behavior and human evolution, King has studied baboon foraging in Kenya and gorilla and bonobo communication at captive facilities in the United States.
Recently, she has taken up writing about animal emotion and cognition more broadly, including in bison, farm animals, elephants and domestic pets, as well as primates.
King's most recent book is How Animals Grieve (University of Chicago Press, 2013). Her article "When Animals Mourn" in the July 2013 Scientific American has been chosen for inclusion in the 2014 anthology The Best American Science and Nature Writing. King reviews non-fiction for the Times Literary Supplement (London) and is at work on a new book about the choices we make in eating other animals. She was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for her work in 2002.
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If hyper-arousal is a normal state for many children, how can we help our kids learn to be genuinely calm? Anthropologist Barbara J. King explores a new book on self-regulation. -
Barbara J. King talks with 13.7's own Marcelo Gleiser about his new book, in which he addresses his view of spirituality — one that doesn't invoke "the existence of supernatural spirits." -
College teachers are often stressed and demoralized, says anthropologist Barbara J. King, and a new book on the corporate university provides startling answers as to why. -
We love our dogs, cats and bunnies, sure. But are we fooling ourselves in thinking that pet-keeping is good for animals? Anthropologist Barbara J. King takes a look at a bioethicist's new book. -
With his new novel, author Yann Martel joins the genre that anthropologist Barbara J. King calls "chimpanzee fiction" — and through an ape's eyes shows us new possibilities. -
What does the world's most famous free solo climber do when he's not on the wall? Anthropologist Barbara J. King talks to Alex Honnold about climbing — and his interest in energy and the environment. -
Whether humans are apes depends on culturally embedded ways we frame our work in science, says anthropologist Barbara J. King. -
Does it really make sense to feel such outrage for one lion that was killed in Africa? Anthropologist Barbara J. King explains why the answer is "yes."
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When you fly, is it all about the cramped cabin? Anthropologist Barbara J. King interviews a pilot whose book reconnects us to the joys of flying through the clouds. -
Anthropologist Barbara J. King interviews Harvard University's Susan Greenhalgh, author of the new Fat-Talk Nation, who says one surprise is that compliments on weight loss may do more harm than good.
