This week on Prosthetic Gods, Nir and J discuss the tradeoffs of GLP1 drugs. Their use has reversed the obesity epidemic and has proven to have myriad medical and psychological benefits. But they also come with risks, and are seen as a technofix replacing the need for diets. Are GLP1s another step to the posthuman body, and is that a good or bad thing?

Errata: The first GLP1s were approved by the FDA in 2005, semaglutide/Ozempic in 2017, and oral orforglipron/Foundayo was approved in April 2026. More than two thirds of American adults are overweight or obese by BMI, and 40% are obese.

GLP-1s Are a Lot Weirder Than Anyone Thought | The Ezra Klein Show

Ethical Considerations in the Use of Weight Loss Medications

The Ethics of Ozempic and Wegovy

WHO issues global guideline on the use of GLP-1 medicines in treating obesity

Review of 64 studies finds GLP1s effective for weight loss for almost all groups

Obesity rate declining in US

Hard Fork Podcast

Rest is History Podcast

As always, listeners can contact us at prostheticgods@gmail.com with questions, comments, and suggestions for future topics.

Hosted by James Hughes and Nir Eisikovits Music & Production by Jake Burley

This week on Prosthetic Gods, Nir and J discuss the role of disgust in morality. Neuroscience suggests that feelings of disgust underlie many moral judgments, especially in the treatment of sexuality. Conservatives have long defended disgust as a source of moral intuition, while liberals seek to minimize it. Can we suppress disgust? Should we?

Hiding from Humanity: Disgust, Shame, and the Law by Martha Nussbaum

“The Wisdom of Repugnance,” by Leon Kass

The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt

“Daedalus, or, Science and the Future,” JBS Haldane

What We Are Seeking, Cameron Reed

Wolfendon Report of the Committee on Homosexual Offenses and Prostitution

Jeremy Bentham’s Auto-Icon

As always, listeners can contact us at prostheticgods@gmail.com with questions, comments, and suggestions for future topics.

Hosted by James Hughes and Nir Eisikovits Music & Production by Jake Burley

Dr. Nicholas Christakis is the Sterling Professor of Social and Natural Science at Yale University and the Director of the Human Nature Lab. His research sits at the intersection of the social, biological, and computational sciences, exploring how our evolutionary biology and social network structures shape human behavior, health, and society. His groundbreaking work on "social contagion," demonstrates how everything from obesity and smoking to happiness and cooperative behavior spreads through human networks. Most recently, his work has focused on the emergence of "hybrid systems" of humans and machines, examining both the Burkean risks of how AI might degrade our interpersonal social graces and the technoprogressive potential of using "dumb bots" to optimize human coordination.

The Human Nature Lab at Yale University An overview of Dr. Christakis's current research on social networks, computational social science, and the biology of social interactions.

Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society, by Nicholas Christakis. His 2019 book detailing how evolution has biologically pre-wired humans for a "good society" based on love, friendship, and cooperation.

Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives, by Nicholas Christakis His 2009 book exploring the "three degrees of influence" rule and how social contagion dictates our behavior.

Dr. Christakis on Bluesky - @nachristakis.bsky.social

For the Love of Science Vlog

As always, listeners can contact us at prostheticgods@gmail.com with questions, comments, and suggestions for future topics.

Hosted by James Hughes and Nir Eisikovits Music & Production by Jake Burley