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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Physician Neal Barnard argues that cheese is unhealthy and addictive. Anthropologist Barbara J. King takes a look at Barnard's provocative new book.
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In using pet-directed speech — similar to how some moms talk to babies — with our dogs, we may aim to optimize communication of our intentions and emotions, explains anthropologist Barbara J. King.
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Barbara J. King, a professor emerita of anthropology at William and Mary, discusses whether Neanderthals had "religious capacity."
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Music to our ears, yes. But birdsong may represent more complex communication than we ever thought, says anthropologist Barbara J. King.
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Do we really need to unplug to ensure the most satisfying vacations? Anthropologist Barbara J. King returns from Yellowstone National Park with a qualified "no."
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Can't see The Boss in concert? Pick up his new memoir, which begins with 7-year-old Springsteen watching Elvis on TV. From $3-a-night shows to swooning stadiums, it's a wild and well-written ride.
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If you're afraid of spiders, would you try a three-hour virtual reality app designed to reduce your fear? Anthropologist Barbara J. King takes a look at a new program called Itsy.
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Dog videos on the Internet are fun to discuss and debate — and sometimes, notes anthropologist Barbara J. King, they clue us in to what might be happening in canine minds.
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Chosen four decades ago for a sign language research project, gorilla Koko remains caught between ape and human worlds. Barbara J. King takes a look at her life as seen in a new documentary.
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As young-Earth creationism and its "humans and dinosaurs co-existed" discourse continues to be popular, anthropologist Barbara J. King takes a look at how to help kids understand evolution.