Anna Machen
Dr Anna Machin is a British evolutionary anthropologist at the University of Oxford and author of The Life of Dad and Why We Love.
1
APPEARANCES
1
PODCASTS
Feb 18, 2026
Matthew SyedHOST
Anna points to three myths about fatherhood that have been dispelled in recent decades through a number of studies.
Anna MachenGUEST
So there's a bit of a mantra that mothers are instinctive parents and fathers have to learn.
Anna MachenGUEST
Men are as biologically and psychologically primed by evolution to parent as mothers are.
Anna MachenGUEST
They go through an equivalent hormone change and they also go through nearly identical brain changes.
Anna MachenGUEST
And all of these are there to motivate them to care and to give them the set of skills they're going to need to care for a child.
Daddy PigVOICE_ACTOR
There was a problem with the frying pan.