Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That?
And Other Reflections on Being Human
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Narrated by:
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Jesse Bering
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By:
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Jesse Bering
About this listen
Why do testicles hang the way they do? Is there an adaptive function to the female orgasm? What does it feel like to want to kill yourself? Does "free will" really exist? And why is the penis shaped like that anyway?
In Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That?, the research psychologist and award-winning columnist Jesse Bering features more than thirty of his most popular essays from Scientific American and Slate, as well as two new pieces, that take listeners on a bold and captivating journey through some of the most taboo issues related to evolution and human behavior. Exploring the history of cannibalism, the neurology of people who are sexually attracted to animals, the evolution of human body fluids, the science of homosexuality, and serious questions about life and death, Bering astutely covers a generous expanse of our kaleidoscope of quirks and origins.
With his characteristic irreverence and trademark cheekiness, Bering leaves no topic unturned or curiosity unexamined, and he does it all with an audaciously original voice. Whether you're interested in the psychological history behind the many facets of sexual desire or the evolutionary patterns that have dictated our current mystique and phallic physique, Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That? is bound to create lively discussion and debate for years to come.
©2012 Jesse Bering (P)2012 Macmillan AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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“This book could fuel a score of dinner-party conversations…this is more than some scientific stocking-filler: it uses science to unsettle our most embedded assumptions. It is deeply thought-provoking.” —Sunday Times (UK)
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- Unabridged
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Sexual activity is central to our very existence; it shapes how we think, how we act and how we live. With advances in technology come machines that may one day think independently. What will happen to us when we form close relationships with these intelligent systems? Sex robots are here and here to stay, and more are coming. This audiobook explores how the emerging and future development of sexual companion robots might affect us and the society in which we live. It explores the social changes arising from emerging technologies and our relationships with the machines that may someday care for us and about us.
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Nuanced, Smart, and Compassionate
- By Karen on 01-20-19
By: Kate Devlin
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How Sex Works
- By: Sharon Moalem
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Can twins have different fathers? From the composition and function of human sex organs to the fascinating biochemistry behind sexual attraction, How Sex Works presents captivating new ideas and surprising answers to questions about contraception, fertility, circumcision, menopause, STDs, homosexuality, orgasms, and more. This is an entertaining, comprehensive exploration of culture, biology, and history that takes us far beyond our common understanding of sex.
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An interesting and easy listen
- By colleen on 06-15-12
By: Sharon Moalem
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The Self Illusion
- Why There Is No "You" Inside Your Head
- By: Bruce Hood
- Narrated by: Bruce Hood
- Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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The Self Illusion provides a fascinating examination of how the latest science shows that our individual concept of a self is in fact an illusion. Most of us believe that we possess a self - an internal individual who resides inside our bodies, making decisions, authoring actions and possessing free will. The feeling that a single, unified, enduring self inhabits the body is compelling and inescapable. But that sovereignty of the self is increasingly under threat from science as our understanding of the brain advances.
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Disappointing
- By David R Pinsof on 05-10-12
By: Bruce Hood
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Why We Love
- The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love
- By: Helen Fisher
- Narrated by: Marie Hoffman
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Elation, mood swings, sleeplessness, and obsession - these are the tell-tale signs of someone in the throes of romantic passion. In this revealing new book, renowned anthropologist Helen Fisher explains why this experience - which cuts across time, geography, and gender - is a force as powerful as the need for food or sleep.
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Key message.
- By Anonymous User on 02-22-20
By: Helen Fisher
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Riveted
- The Science of Why Jokes Make Us Laugh, Movies Make Us Cry, and Religion Makes Us Feel One with the Universe
- By: Jim Davies
- Narrated by: Matthew Josdal
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Professor Jim Davies's fascinating and highly accessible book, Riveted, reveals the evolutionary underpinnings of why we find things compelling. Drawing on work from philosophy, anthropology, religious studies, psychology, economics, computer science, and biology, Davies offers a comprehensive explanation to show that in spite of the differences between the many things that we find compelling, they have similar effects on our minds and brains.
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Fun and excellent listen!
- By Alejandro Franco on 04-13-18
By: Jim Davies
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Mating Intelligence Unleashed
- The Role of the Mind in Sex, Dating, and Love
- By: Scott Barry Kaufman PhD., Glenn Geher PhD., Helen Fisher PhD. - foreword
- Narrated by: Bernard Setaro Clark
- Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins
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Psychologists often paint a picture of human mating as visceral, instinctual. But that's not the whole story. In courtship and display, sexual competition and rivalry, we are also guided by what Glenn Geher and Scott Barry Kaufman call Mating Intelligence - a range of mental abilities that have evolved to help us find the right partner. Mating Intelligence is at work in our efforts to form, maintain, and end relationships. It guides us in flirtation, foreplay, copulation, finding and choosing a mate, and many other behaviors.
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Tedious with the gems buried deep within
- By Matt J on 09-26-15
By: Scott Barry Kaufman PhD., and others
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What Do Women Want?
- Adventures in the Science of Female Desire
- By: Daniel Bergner
- Narrated by: Charles Pasternak
- Length: 6 hrs and 45 mins
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When it comes to sex, common wisdom holds that men roam while women crave closeness and commitment. But in this provocative, headline-making book, Daniel Bergner turns everything we thought we knew about women's arousal and desire inside out. Drawing on extensive research and interviews with renowned behavioral scientists, sexologists, psychologists, and everyday women, he forces us to reconsider long-held notions about female sexuality.
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Masterfully read, depressing yet thoughtful book
- By Boom Depleter on 10-10-14
By: Daniel Bergner
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The Bonobo and the Atheist
- By: Frans de Waal
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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In this lively and illuminating discussion of his landmark research, esteemed primatologist Frans de Waal argues that human morality is not imposed from above but instead comes from within. Moral behavior does not begin and end with religion but is in fact a product of evolution. For many years, de Waal has observed chimpanzees soothe distressed neighbors and bonobos share their food. Now he delivers fascinating fresh evidence for the seeds of ethical behavior in primate societies that further cements the case for the biological origins of human fairness.
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Great research on apes, bad research on humans
- By Christian Bonnell on 07-18-14
By: Frans de Waal
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The Mind Club
- Who Thinks, What Feels, and Why It Matters
- By: Daniel M. Wegner, Kurt Gray
- Narrated by: David Marantz
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Nothing seems more real than the minds of other people. When you consider what your boss is thinking or whether your spouse is happy, you are admitting them into the "mind club". It's easy to assume other humans can think and feel, but what about a cow, a computer, a corporation? What kinds of minds do they have? Daniel M. Wegner and Kurt Gray are award-winning psychologists who have discovered that minds - while incredibly important - are a matter of perception.
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Who is the self in me? Am I part of something bigger?
- By Philomath on 03-24-16
By: Daniel M. Wegner, and others
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Suspicious Minds
- How Culture Shapes Madness
- By: Joel Gold, Ian Gold
- Narrated by: Joel Gold, Ian Gold
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Mr. A. was admitted to Dr. Joel Gold’s inpatient unit at Bellevue Hospital in 2002. He was, he said, being filmed constantly, and his life was being broadcast around the world "like The Truman Show" - the 1998 film depicting a man who is unknowingly living out his life as the star of a popular soap opera. Over the next few years, Gold saw a number of patients suffering from what he and his brother, Dr. Ian Gold, began calling the "Truman Show Delusion," launching them on a quest to understand the nature of this particular phenomenon and the nature of madness itself.
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Intriguing
- By L. K. on 04-18-16
By: Joel Gold, and others
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Blindspot
- By: Mahzarin R. Banaji, Anthony G. Greenwald
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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I know my own mind. I am able to assess others in a fair and accurate way. These self-perceptions are challenged by leading psychologists Mahzarin R. Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald as they explore the hidden biases we all carry from a lifetime of exposure to cultural attitudes about age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, social class, sexuality, disability status, and nationality. Blindspot is the authors’ metaphor for the portion of the mind that houses hidden biases.
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Difficult to interpret.
- By Ryan Arnold on 12-21-15
By: Mahzarin R. Banaji, and others
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Vagina Obscura
- An Anatomical Voyage
- By: Rachel E. Gross
- Narrated by: Siho Ellsmore
- Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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The Latin term for the female genitalia, pudendum, means “parts for which you should be ashamed”. Until 1651, ovaries were called female testicles. The fallopian tubes are named for a man. Named, claimed, and shamed: Welcome to the story of the female body, as penned by men. Today, a new generation of (mostly) women scientists is finally redrawing the map. With modern tools and fresh perspectives, they’re looking at the organs traditionally bound up in reproduction—the uterus, ovaries, vagina—and seeing within them a new biology of change and resilience.
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poor narration
- By Jane on 08-23-22
By: Rachel E. Gross
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Why Beautiful People Have More Daughters
- By: Alan S. Miller, Satoshi Kanazawa
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Contrary to conventional wisdom, our brains and bodies are hardwired to carry out an evolutionary mission that determines much of what we do, from life plans to everyday decisions. With an accessible tone and a healthy disregard for political correctness, this lively and eminently readable book popularizes the latest research in a cutting-edge field of study: one that turns much of what we thought we knew about human nature upside-down.
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Not bad but didn't live up to the reviews
- By Ana Mohammed on 01-08-12
By: Alan S. Miller, and others
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Our Inner Ape
- A Leading Primatologist Explains Why We Are Who We Are
- By: Frans de Waal
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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We have long attributed man's violent, aggressive, competitive nature to his animal ancestry. But what if we are just as given to cooperation, empathy, and morality by virtue of our genes? What if our behavior actually makes us apes? What kind of apes are we?
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I loved this book
- By Ruth on 06-22-07
By: Frans de Waal
What listeners say about Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That?
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- James
- 10-01-13
Title Caught My Attention, The Content Was Great!
Okay, you got me! I have to admit that the title of the book caught my attention, but once I got into it, I realized that this book is chock full of information on the body and body parts that I typically don’t give much thought to. I do now!
The book goes into good enough detail on how and why humans do what we do, and how we evolved to be that way. I found it to be very informative and it kept my attention throughout.
Guess what?... I did find out why the penis is shaped that way! And, that alone is worth the price of the book.
If you want a book that talks about and explains so many of the body functions that usually only bring about a blush to ones face, or have you speaking in code “down there”, “private parts” or “unmentionables”, then this book is for you.
The author, Jesse Bering, writes about everything under the sun from anal sex, bestiality, foot fetishes, gay/straight stuff, religion, death and dying… and so much more. Plus, you’ll even find out why the penis is shaped that way. (smile!)
Enjoy the book and get over some “hangups” that you might have about why people are the way that they are, and that when it comes down to it, there’s really nothing wrong with it and it’s nature playing its role the way that nature does.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Michael
- 09-18-12
Hilarious and informative
This book was a lot of fun. It's sort of a "questions you were afraid to ask" kind of book and Jesse does an excellent job narrating it. It's full of cheesy but funny puns and addresses all sorts of issues you've likely never read about but were interested in. Definitely worth a listen!
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3 people found this helpful
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- Heizenberg
- 08-01-12
Entertaining
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Entertaining, revealing, changing
What was one of the most memorable moments of Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That??
The author's own experiences realizing he was gay at a young age and relating what it was like growing up gay. I love his total openness in relating his own experiences and beliefs. He lays it right out there, like more people should.
Have you listened to any of Jesse Bering???s other performances before? How does this one compare?
No
Any additional comments?
I enjoyed the book. Perhaps not all of his research is scientifically spot on as some reviewers pointed out, but most of it is, plus the story was very entertaining and it left me with some new perspectives. I love books that really make you think and this book accomplishes that!
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6 people found this helpful
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- sam
- 08-26-12
It appears there is a reason for almost everything
Jesse Bering lays out years of research in an informative and entertaining fashion that occasionally made me say "eww, who would volunteer to do that?" and often made me laugh. Jesse pun's and humor kept the book moving and I always looked forward to the next installment.
Not all the topics were comfortable but isnt that really what makes us want more and how we grow?
I found the insights into how somethings were researched to be very interesting. Insights into the authors awareness of his own sexuality was equally interesting.
I purchased the book because the title was catchy and I needed to use a credit. I quickly found it was a well spent credit. Once again, the author reading his own work was a total bonus.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Jonathan
- 01-14-14
One of the most thought provoking books I've read!
What made the experience of listening to Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That? the most enjoyable?
After the first couple chapters I made my husband listen with me in the car, and watching the expression on his face of "WOW, I never thought of that!" was the most enjoyable. (aside from feeling that way myself)
What was one of the most memorable moments of Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That??
While this has nothing to do with the book - I was waiting in the car and listening to the book with the volume a little too loud, and then an elderly woman walked past my open window with a distinctive look on her face...LOL
Which scene was your favorite?
The chapter that discussed tribal rituals about ingesting semen as a source of masculinity and vitality.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
"ear muffs!" -Old School Movie
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1 person found this helpful
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- Elizabeth
- 03-11-13
Real entertainment for real nerds.
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
My boyfriend, a very soon to be doctor, and I listened to this one on a road trip. It's very well-written-- he makes a lot of big words seem somehow accessible and unpretentious-- and unique. I consider myself pretty well-read and there were tons of studies and ideas featured that I have never heard of before. It gives you a whole new perspective on sexual deviants and functions that we take for granted.
Any additional comments?
I really can't wait for his next book!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Erica
- 02-13-16
Not a story,per say, but interesting facts
Facts about sex, about our bodies, relationships, and evolutionary advantage. While its a lot to take in it somehow manages to be entertaining, and even funny. For the frank, and curious. Prudes beware- it will definitely make YOU blush.
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- Scott
- 02-22-13
Completely Sex Dominated
I guess from the title I should not have been surprised that this book was completely dominated by the topic of sex. If you are interested in why some humans have foot fetishes, are attracted to animals or so many other sexual oddities, this book is definitely for you. If you are looking for a great read on sexual selection as it relates to human nature, I strongly suggest The Red Queen by Matt Ridley.
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- Matthea
- 08-28-12
mostly about sex -- discussed with puns
Any additional comments?
Since the title mentions "being human," I was expecting a broader focus, but I did appreciate Bering's matter-of-fact manner in writing and speaking. Once I found myself disagreeing with him, but not about his scientific research - just his "suspicions." And he mentions readers' feedback, so I know that if I choose to write to him, he'll actually read it.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Kenneth Sakoda
- 09-10-12
Interesting
Would you try another book from Jesse Bering and/or Jesse Bering?
No.
Would you be willing to try another book from Jesse Bering? Why or why not?
Although interesting in the beginning chapters, the author descends to subjects that didn't have any appeal to me.
What does Jesse Bering bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
I think the fact that the author reads his own words helped to understand where he was coming from. This also had a negative effect towards the end of the read.
Do you think Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That? needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?
Not for me.
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1 person found this helpful