Punctuated Equilibrium

Adam Rutherford's personal Substack: science, history, politics, culture.

By Adam Rutherford

A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: 10 years on

Publication week for a major, tectonic update of my most popular book, ten years on...

May 18•Adam Rutherford

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Most Popular

Dire wolves remain very extinct

Apr 8, 2025•Adam Rutherford

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Human evolution: a one-million-year clusterf**k

Mar 19, 2025•Adam Rutherford

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The Irony of Hitler’s Junk

Nov 13, 2025•Adam Rutherford

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Punctuated equilibrium

Mar 11, 2025•Adam Rutherford

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LatestTopDiscussions

Johnny Cash: 20th century nexus wizard

‘Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July, and I just hit town and my throat was dry…’

May 15•Adam Rutherford

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On working science into great movies, and also with Jared Leto

The joys of being a science advisor on movies, and the HORROR.

Feb 23•Adam Rutherford

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The Irony of Hitler’s Junk

A slightly different take on the news that Hitler’s DNA reveals some genetic anomalies. The most interesting thing to me is that history has a profound…

Nov 13, 2025•Adam Rutherford

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Gatsby, White supremacy and the American dream

On the 100th anniversary of the publication of the Great Gatsby, it has never been more relevant.

Apr 15, 2025•Adam Rutherford

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Dire wolves remain very extinct

Despite what you are being fed, de-extinction is a con, full of gloss, bullshit and ghoulish greed.

Apr 8, 2025•Adam Rutherford

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The most revolutionary idea anyone ever had (now in podcast form)

No, not the electric toaster, it’s evolution by natural selection. Fight me.

Mar 30, 2025•Adam Rutherford

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Genes, money, status... and comics

This week we published a big paper about nature and nurture, genes and socio-economic status. We think it’s important and deserves a broad audience, so…

Mar 29, 2025•Adam Rutherford

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Human evolution: a one-million-year clusterf**k

A new incredibly subtle and elegant analysis of our living genomes reveals yet another major piece in the jigsaw of human evolution, completely hidden…

Mar 19, 2025•Adam Rutherford

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We need new science stories

I am midway through writing my 8th book. Please send help.

Mar 16, 2025•Adam Rutherford

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