Chimp Change—What Great Ape Adolescence Reveals About Us

Rachna Reddy has spent more than a decade observing chimpanzees in the wild, tracking how they grow up, navigate friendship, rivalry, loss, and even the anxieties that come with adolescence—emotions that might feel surprisingly familiar to us. In this episode, she shares how her research sheds light on what it means to come of age—not just for chimps but for humans, too, revealing the roots of our own empathy, conflict, and connection.



Released on November 20, 2025.



Episode Transcript (https://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/new...)



Guest



Rachna Reddy teaches anthropology and environment, society, and sustainability at the University of Utah, and she also codirects the Ngogo Chimpanzee Project. Through her study of chimpanzees and bonobos, our closest living relatives, she is trying to understand the evolutionary foundations of human social relationships and development.



Related Content



Fellowship Biography: Rachna Reddy (https://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/peo...)



Ngogo Chimpanzee Project (http://ngogochimpanzeeproject.org/)



Series: Chimp Empire (https://www.netflix.com/title/81311783)



Credits



Ivelisse Estrada is your cohost and the editorial manager at HRI, where she edits Radcliffe Magazine.



Alan Catello Grazioso is the executive producer of BornCurious and the senior multimedia manager at HRI.



Heather Min is your cohost and the senior manager of digital strategy at HRI.



Anna Soong is the production assistant at HRI.



Special thanks to Cabin 3 Media for their invaluable contributions to the editing of this podcast episode.