About this Event
Join us on June 11th at 6pm as we host Elizabeth Preston in conversation with Phoebe Hall to discuss her new book, The Creatures' Guide to Caring. Signed copies of the book will be available for purchase.
About the book:
A lively and revelatory journey through the evolution of caretaking on Earth, from animal parents to modern-day humans, making the case that caring for children and one another made us who we are
Poison frog fathers carry tadpoles on their backs. Killer whale grandmothers hunt to feed their adult sons. Tropical birds incubate their friends’ eggs. Spider moms let their hatchlings eat them alive. Around the world, animals from the exotic to the familiar go to astonishing lengths to keep their young alive. Their biology, brains and behaviors show us what we have in common with other creatures, as well as what’s unique about Homo sapiens.
With warmth, humor, and occasional run-ins with bodily fluids, science journalist Elizabeth Preston leads a highly accessible tour of cutting-edge research into how and why we and other animals care for young. She discovers that humans evolved to raise our kids in cooperative groups, and that the tools we’ve inherited for caretaking aren’t only for moms or parents in general—they’re the basis for our human society.
About the author:
Elizabeth Preston is a science journalist who contributes regularly to The New York Times and has written for Science, The Boston Globe, The Atlantic, Orion, Slate, Audubon, Discover, National Geographic and others. She is a winner of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Kavli Science Journalism Gold Award. Preston is also a humor writer whose work has appeared in outlets such as McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Parents, and Real Simple and was the editor of Muse, a magazine about science and ideas for kids. She lives in Massachusetts.
About the moderator:
Phoebe Hall is an award-winning science and health reporter at Brown University. With degrees in biology and journalism, she worked in newspapers, environmental chemistry labs, and a zoo before achieving a semblance of work-life balance at alumni magazines. She lives in Riverside with her husband, two cats, and too many houseplants.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Symposium Books, 240 Westminster Street, Providence, United States
USD 0.00 to USD 33.85
