Audio only

Human Errors

A Panorama of Our Glitches, from Pointless Bones to Broken GenesBy Nathan H. LentsNarrated by Daniel Henning
Length7h 38m

About this audiobook

A biology professor’s illuminating tour of the physical imperfections—from faulty knees to junk DNA—that make us human. ¶“A funny, fascinating catalog of our collective shortcomings that’s tough to put down.”—Discover ¶ We humans like to think of ourselves as highly evolved creatures. But if we are supposedly evolution’s greatest creation, why do we have such bad knees? Why do we catch head colds so often—two hundred times more often than a dog does? How come our wrists have so many useless bones? Why is the vast majority of our genetic code pointless? And are we really supposed to swallow and breathe through the same narrow tube? Surely there’s been some kind of mistake? As professor of biology Nathan H. Lents explains in Human Errors, our evolutionary history is indeed nothing if not a litany of mistakes, each more entertaining and enlightening than the last. The human body is one big pile of compromises. But that is also a testament to our greatness: as Lents shows, humans have so many design flaws precisely because we are very, very good at getting around them. A rollicking, deeply informative tour of humans’ four-billion-year-and-counting evolutionary saga, Human Errors both celebrates our imperfections and offers an unconventional accounting of the cost of our success. Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

Audiobook details

Rating★★★★ 4.0 (7.1K)
Includes Goodreads, Amazon, StoryGraph, LibraryThing
GenreScience and Nature, Health and Wellness
Length7 hrs 38 mins
Narrated byDaniel Henning
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateSep 15, 2026
LanguageEnglish

More from Nathan H. Lents

A Brief History of IntelligenceMax S. Bennett12h 18m4.6 (6.6K)$29 · $0.00
The Story of BirdsSteve Brusatte11h 49m4.6 (401)$29 · $0.00
Pastoral SongJames Rebanks8h 35m4.5 (12K)$26 · $0.00
How Stella Learned to TalkChristina Hunger7h4.5 (10.9K)$24 · $0.00
Craig & FredCraig Grossi8h 6m4.5 (9.6K)$26 · $0.00
Celebrating BirdsNatalia Rojas, Ana Maria Martinez6h 47m4.6 (330)$24 · $0.00
Saving JemimaJulie Zickefoose4h 59m4.5 (749)$20 · $0.00
Will's Red CoatTom Ryan8h 23m4.5 (2.3K)$26 · $0.00
Of Time and TurtlesSy Montgomery10h 34m4.5 (5K)$29 · $0.00
THE WOLF TRILOGY: Call of the Wild, White Fang & The Son of the WolfJack London17h 31m4.5 (2.4K)$0.99 · $0.00
Zen and the Art of Saving the PlanetThich Nhat Hanh9h 20m4.5 (3.9K)$29 · $0.00
BLACK BEAUTY (With Original Illustrations)Anna Sewell7h 31m4.5 (1.3K)$0.99 · $0.00
Bottle of LiesKatherine Eban14h 25m4.4 (12K)$33 · $0.00
IngrainedCallum Robinson8h 10m4.5 (1.1K)$26 · $0.00
The Lion Tracker's Guide To LifeBoyd Varty3h 1m4.4 (4.8K)$18 · $0.00
Born for LoveBruce D. Perry, Maia Szalavitz11h 42m4.4 (4K)$29 · $0.00
The Mountains of California (With Original Drawings & Photographs) (Annotated)John Muir11h 35m4.5 (1.1K)$2 · $0.00
The New GuysMeredith Bagby16h 50m4.4 (1.2K)$40 · $0.00
Blue PasturesMary Oliver3h 23m4.4 (3.8K)$18 · $0.00
The Rise and Reign of the MammalsSteve Brusatte13h 26m4.4 (11.1K)$33 · $0.00
Consent Laid BareChanel Contos7h 11m4.5 (1.7K)$24 · $0.00
How to Make Disease DisappearRangan Chatterjee5h 26m4.5 (3.5K)$24 · $0.00
The Complete Herbal (Annotated)Nicholas Culpeper29h 8m4.5 (1.4K)$2 · $0.00
A Plague Upon Our HouseScott W. Atlas MD10h 37m4.5 (3.4K)$20 · $0.00
The Gift of TherapyIrvin Yalom7h 39m4.5 (38.8K)$26 · $0.00
EarlySarah DiGregorio9h 47m4.5 (1.3K)$29 · $0.00
Bottle of LiesKatherine Eban14h 25m4.4 (12K)$33 · $0.00
The 36-Hour DayNancy L. Mace, Peter V. Rabins17h 13m4.4 (9.2K)$28 · $0.00
FlooredSara Reardon10h 36m4.5 (1K)$29 · $0.00
Radical RemissionKelly A. Turner9h 26m4.4 (8.1K)$29 · $0.00
The Sinatra SolutionStephen T. Sinatra MD9h4.5 (899)$20 · $0.00
The Songaminute ManSimon McDermott6h 12m4.5 (280)$24 · $0.00
Sometimes BrilliantLarry Brilliant12h 27m4.5 (954)$29 · $0.00
Live Your LifeAmanda Kloots, Anna Kloots10h 54m4.4 (13.7K)$29 · $0.00
All in Her HeadElizabeth Comen13h 25m4.4 (18.2K)$33 · $0.00
The Wisdom of Your BodyHillary McBride9h 14m4.4 (6.7K)$29 · $0.00
The Alzheimer's SolutionDean Sherzai, Ayesha Sherzai9h 47m4.4 (1.9K)$29 · $0.00
Rewire Your MindsetBrian Keane6h 49m4.5 (896)$23 · $0.00
Tuning The Human Biofield: Healing With Vibrational MedicineCENTER FOR SOUND THERAPY13h 28m4.4 (2.5K)$34 · $0.00
VaccinatedPaul A. Offit8h 30m4.4 (3.7K)$26 · $0.00

You may also like

Essays of Michel de Montaigne — CompleteMichel de Montaigne53h 20m4.4 (28.8K)Free
Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and PhrasesPeter Mark Roget26h 5m4.2 (617)Free
Letters on EnglandVoltaire4h 2m3.9 (3.6K)$0.60 · $0.00
Human Nature And ConductJohn Dewey9h 22m4.1 (1.8K)$1.20 · $0.00
The Wealth of NationsAdam Smith41h 45m4.1 (128.8K)$2.30
Home Buying For Dummies 3rd EditionEric Tyson, Ray Brown3h 14m3.9 (1.2K)$18 · $0.00
You Play Roblox. Now Build OneEmem Alex Stonfold7h 56m$9
V.e.m IdiomasCarlos Ney Sousa4m$9 · $0.00
Real Estate: A Practical Guide to Building Wealth Through Property, Cash Flow, and Long-Term GrowthCurtis Austin3h 15m$3.40 · $0.00
How to Make Money Flipping Reclaimed Building Materials - How to Identify Valuable Materials, Recover Them Safely, Prepare Them, and Resell for ProfitJACK FLIPWELL1h 55m$7.80 · $0.00
The Senior-Friendly Guide to Computer BasicsWalter Hemsley3h 49m$13
I am learning Mandarin ChineseJM Gardner3h 57m$18 · $0.00
I Have a Degree, but the Interviewer Wants to Know What I Can Actually Do - How to Show Your Skills, Results, and Portfolio When Employers Care Less About a Linear Career Path and More About What You Can DoMax Paradox6h 35m$7.70 · $0.00
Homosexuality in ArtJames Smalls6h 57m3.7 (32)$18 · $0.00
RecruitBradley J Sugars4h 6m4.3 (56)Free
Essentials of Economic TheoryJohn Bates Clark14h 17m3.6 (41)$15 · $0.00
Medicare App Made SimpleWalter Hemsley4h 17m$11
All-American DogsAndrew Hager4h 55m4.1 (66)$20 · $0.00
Gothic ArtVictoria Charles, Klaus Carl3h 55m4.0 (33)$15 · $0.00
Reflections on the Formation and Distribution of WealthAnne Robert Jacques Turgot2h 38m3.7 (48)$12 · $0.00