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MICHAEL MUTHUKRISHNA: Can we cooperate our way out of this? (Warning: a tricky episode!)

May 12, 2026

Guest

Michael Muthukrishna

Michael Muthukrishna, behavioural scientist and cultural evolution researcher at NYU and LSE, explores how cooperation, energy and institutions shape societies. He discusses cultural norms, energy return on investment, AI’s dual futures, and experiments in cities and policy labs. Short, provocative takes on equality, decline and practical pathways toward collective resilience.

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INSIGHT

Cultural Software Explains Human Success

Human cultural "software" lets us outsource cognition across generations, enabling rapid cooperative scale without bigger brains.
Michael Muthukrishna ties this to four laws: energy, innovations that leverage energy, cooperation scale, and evolving rules that shape societies.

insights

INSIGHT

Energy Return Shapes Inequality And Cooperation

Declining energy return on investment (EROI) reduces surplus available for broad cooperation and fuels rising inequality.
Michael uses oil discovery rates (from 1:1000 to ~1:5) and the 1970s oil shocks as turning points that weakened workers' returns.

question_answer

ANECDOTE

French Nuclear Power Enabled Barbecues On Strike Days

France's heavy investment in nuclear created energy stability enabling frequent strikes and social bargaining while maintaining output.
Michael recounts the French tram-track barbecue anecdote to show how abundance supports civic protest and leisure.

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Overview of A Theory of Everyone

06:33 • 2min

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Cultural Norms and Brain Changes

08:56 • 1min

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Cooperation, Equality and Civilisational Survival

10:05 • 2min

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Energy Return on Investment (EROI) Explained

12:22 • 3min

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Energy, Inequality and the 1970s Inflection

15:15 • 2min

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Betting on AI and Renewed Energy Investment

17:22 • 3min

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Abundance Enables Civic Life

20:03 • 31sec

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Growth vs. Zero-Sum Dynamics

20:34 • 3min

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Populism, Demand and Political Failure

23:40 • 2min

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AI's Dual Paths: Concentration or Enfranchisement

25:30 • 6min

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Clean Growth and Environmental Constraints

31:10 • 4min

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Progress Versus Growth

35:31 • 57sec

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How Past Societies Cooperated in Crisis

36:27 • 4min

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Constraining Power to Restore Fairness

40:18 • 3min

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Norms, Corruption, and Practical Change

43:37 • 6min

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Experimental Cities and Policy Laboratories

49:28 • 3min

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Tradeoffs: Equality, Sustainability and Competition

52:55 • 6min

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Existing Technologies Can Deliver Abundance

58:39 • 5min

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Africa, Urbanization and Opportunity

01:03:14 • 2min

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Competition That Discovers Mutual Benefit

01:05:42 • 4min

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Constraining Harmful Actors and Evolving Institutions

01:09:59 • 4min

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Personal Action and Staying Engaged

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A Theory of Everyone

The New Science of Who We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We’re Going

Michael Muthukrishna

In 'A Theory of Everyone,' Michael Muthukrishna presents a bold and original work that integrates research from across the sciences, humanities, and the field of cultural evolution. The book argues that human dominance is rooted in our unique ability to create and pass on culture—a shared body of knowledge, skills, and experiences. Muthukrishna proposes four 'laws of life'—energy, innovation, cooperation, and evolution—as essential for solving the practical and existential challenges facing humanity, such as polarization, inequality, productivity stagnation, and the energy crisis. The book is divided into two parts: the first explains 'who we are' and 'how we got here,' while the second explores practical policy solutions for our current predicament. Muthukrishna's approach is characterized by a scientific method, a wide range of academic research, and an engaging writing style that makes complex ideas accessible to readers.

Michael Muthukrishna (behavioural scientist, cultural evolution researcher) has a unified “theory of everyone” that says we evolved as a species, surviving crises and collapses, through cooperative norms that made sure inequality did not blow out, in conditions of energy abundance.

Michael is Professor of Economic Psychology at New York University (NYU) and the London School of Economics, co-founder of London School of Artificial Intelligence (LSAI), technical director of The Database of Religious History and co-founder of the London School of Artificial Intelligence (LSAI). He’s also the author of A Theory of Everyone: The New Science of Who We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We Are Going, and in this episode I ask how everyone – humanity – can survive this multi-crisis pile-up when energy is running out. The answer is…complex.

Show Notes

Get your copy of A Theory of Everyone: The New Science of Who We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We Are Going
Learn more about Michael’s work here and his video trailer here

You can catch up on my episode about Moloch I mentioned: LIV BOEREE: Explaining Moloch, the mysterious game theory force breaking the world (plus a fix!)

And these episodes on how we’re fundamentally more cooperative than we tend to get told might be of interest, too.

ADAM MASTROIANNI: Do we need to make the world great (and kinder) again?
RUTGER BREGMAN: Author of Humankind on how to trust each other

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