Deeply Human

WHAT: Writer and musician Dessa continues her exploration of human behavior, instincts, and culture in season two of her podcast, “Deeply Human,” premiering today. In the weekly podcast, a collaboration of BBC World Service, iHeartMedia and American Public Media (APM), Dessa investigates our tendencies to create social hierarchies and to use intoxicants; she speaks to experts on monogamy, accents, and the dark forces at play in the way we perceive and pursue beauty.

In season two, Dessa, speaks to psychologists, animal behaviorists, mathematicians, historians, and one legendary DJ to ask the evergreen question: Why do you do what you do? Why does music animate our bodies? Why are we so keen to form social hierarchies? Why do humans use intoxicants? Throughout the season, Dessa is talking about monogamy, sleep deprivation, high fashion, avant-garde Japanese dance and overall, everyone’s favorite topic—you. In the debut episode, which launched today, Dessa investigates why we speak the way we do - how our accents and dialects serve us; hamper us; and might even, in rare cases, lead to life-or-death consequences. Listen HERE.

LISTEN: Season two’s first episode is available today, Feb. 18, on iHeartRadio, BBC Sounds, and all major podcast platforms. Binge all of season one now on iHeartRadio and everywhere else podcasts are available.

PODCAST EMBED WIDGET: <iframe allow="autoplay" width="100%" height="300" src="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-deeply-human-77473739/?embed=true" frameborder="0"></iframe>

About Dessa

Dessa is a rapper, singer, and writer who’s made a career of defying genre conventions and audience expectations. As a writer, she has contributed to The New York Times, National Geographic Traveler, and literary journals across the United States. As a musician, she’s collaborated with full orchestras, contributed to The Hamilton Mixtape on the invitation of Lin-Manuel Miranda, appeared on the Billboard Top 200 charts, and toured five continents. Dessa's work is driven by an interest in finding unexpected connections--between love and science; big ideas and mundane moments, instinct and philosophy. Her TED Talk, which investigates the neuroscience of love, has clocked more than 4 million views. Dessa’s delivery balances wit, tenderness, intellectual rigor, and poetic sensibility. She splits her time between Minneapolis and Manhattan. @dessa on Instagram, @dessadarling on Twitter/Facebook.

About BBC World Service

BBC World Service delivers news content around the world in English and 41 other language services, on radio, TV, and digital. BBC World Service reaches a weekly audience of 364m. As part of BBC World Service, BBC Learning English teaches English to global audiences. For more information, visit bbc.com/worldservice. The BBC attracts a weekly global audience of 489m people to its services available internationally, including BBC World Service, BBC World News television channel, bbc.com/news, BBC Studios, and the international charity, BBC Media Action.

About American Public Media

American Public Media® (APM) is the national programming and distribution division of Minnesota Public Radio® and reaches over 17 million listeners with nearly 1,000 public radio stations and over 400 commercial stations nationwide each week. APM is one of the largest producers and distributors of public radio programming in the world, with a portfolio that includes BBC World Service, Marketplace®, and the leading classical music programs in the nation. APM Studios, a division of APM, offers a diverse array of podcasts featuring the best in food, culture, entertainment, business, and investigative journalism. For more information on APM, visit americanpublicmedia.org.

Source: Data are copyright Nielsen Audio, Nationwide DMA data, Persons 12+, Spring ‘21.

NEW YORK and ST. PAUL, Minn. — January 31, 2022 — Writer and musician Dessa continues her exploration of human behavior, instincts, and culture in season two of her podcast, “Deeply Human.”

This weekly podcast, a collaboration of BBC World Service, iHeartMedia and American Public Media (APM), will return on February 18. Throughout the course of the new twelve-episode season, Dessa investigates our tendencies to create social hierarchies and to use intoxicants; she speaks to experts on monogamy, accents, and the dark forces at play in the way we perceive and pursue beauty. Listen to the season two trailer HERE

The episodes feature researchers with expertise in neuroscience, evolution, cultural history, criminology, sleep, hoarding--and even a legendary New York DJ--to uncover the sociological and physiological drivers of our behaviors. The season builds on a successful first season which attracted a dedicated fanbase by exploring the human experience with rigor, humor, intimate stories, and the occasional spit take.  

“Deeply Human” is coproduced by BBC World Service, American Public Media, and iHeartMedia and is distributed by the iHeartPodcast Network. “Deeply Human” brings together BBC’s century-long expertise in audio storytelling, APM’s success in the American podcast market, and iHeartMedia’s position as the No. 1 podcast publisher globally.

Listeners can find “Deeply Human” on iHeartRadio, BBC Sounds, Apple Podcasts, and all major podcast platforms. Binge all of season one now on iHeartRadio and everywhere else podcasts are available.

About Dessa  

Dessa is a rapper, singer, and writer who’s made a career of defying genre conventions and audience expectations. As a writer, she has contributed to The New York Times, National Geographic Traveler, and literary journals across the United States. As a musician, she’s collaborated with full orchestras, contributed to The Hamilton Mixtape on the invitation of Lin-Manuel Miranda, appeared on the Billboard Top 200 charts, and toured five continents. Dessa's work is driven by an interest in finding unexpected connections--between love and science; big ideas and mundane moments, instinct and philosophy. Her TED Talk, which investigates the neuroscience of love, has clocked more than 4 million views. Dessa’s delivery balances wit, tenderness, intellectual rigor, and poetic sensibility. She splits her time between Minneapolis and Manhattan. @dessa on Instagram, @dessadarling on Twitter/Facebook.

About BBC World Service

BBC World Service delivers news content around the world in English and 41 other language services, on radio, TV, and digital.  BBC World Service reaches a weekly audience of 364m. As part of BBC World Service, BBC Learning English teaches English to global audiences. For more information, visit bbc.com/worldservice. The BBC attracts a weekly global audience of 489m people to its services available internationally, including BBC World Service, BBC World News television channel, bbc.com/news, BBC Studios, and the international charity, BBC Media Action.

About American Public Media 

American Public Media® (APM) is the national programming and distribution division of Minnesota Public Radio® and reaches over 17 million listeners with nearly 1,000 public radio stations and over 400 commercial stations nationwide each week. APM is one of the largest producers and distributors of public radio programming in the world, with a portfolio that includes BBC World Service, Marketplace®, and the leading classical music programs in the nation. APM Studios, a division of APM, offers a diverse array of podcasts featuring the best in food, culture, entertainment, business, and investigative journalism. For more information on APM, visit americanpublicmedia.org.   

Source: Data are copyright Nielsen Audio, Nationwide DMA data, Persons 12+, Spring ‘21. 

Musician Dessa hosts new podcast to explore the secrets of human impulses and behaviors

NEW YORK and ST. PAUL, Minn., Feb. 12, 2021— Today, the BBC World Service, iHeartMedia, and American Public Media jointly announce the new podcast Deeply Human. Hosted by writer and musician Dessa, the show strives to answer questions about the inner self: why we do the things we do and how the brain guides us and plays tricks on us. Deeply Human launches March 8 and will be distributed by the iHeartPodcast Network.

In short, Deeply Human will uncover the secrets of the human mind and heart. The first episode is all about finding love, and spans everything from Dating Apps to brain scans. It looks at how our hormones can determine what kind of person we want to date, the surprisingly easy-to-find parts of the brain governing attraction, and why picking a romantic partner isn’t all that different from picking a cereal at the grocery store. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, listen to a preview of Deeply Human here.

Deeply Human uses conversations with scientists, researchers and everyday people to explain why you do what you do. Other episodes will explore topics such as what déjà vu experiences can reveal and whether everyone feels pain the same way.

“It's funny how much of your own mind is stowed away in a backroom; so many of our behaviors are driven by forces we can't feel,” said Dessa. “On this show, I engage with brilliant people across all sorts of disciplines, traipsing around the dimly-lit subbasement of human nature –the parts not listed on the guided tour. People are endlessly fascinating : our accents, our ticks, the way we style our hair and spend our money—and the perspectives I've gained on this show help me understand them just a little bit better.”

Dessa has personal experience exploring the depths of the human mind. In 2018, she turned to neuroscience to help overcome her heartbreak over a past relationship. In a unique neurofeedback experiment, she was hooked up to electrodes and retrained her brain to strengthen her emotional resilience when seeing pictures of her ex. The experience was featured in her acclaimed memoir My Own Devices and inspired her 2018 album Chime.

“I’m very excited to be collaborating with APM, iHeart, and, of course, Dessa,” said Steve Titherington, senior commissioning editor at BBC World Service. “She and the team have created a complex, engaging and frankly startling programs which we can’t wait to share.”

“We couldn’t be more excited to launch this podcast with BBC World Service and American Public Media,” said Will Pearson, COO of the iHeartPodcast Network. “Partnering with two of the world’s best storytelling organizations to bring such a fascinating podcast to fruition has been an incredible experience.””

Deeply Human is a BBC World Service and American Public Media coproduction with iHeart Media. The program brings together the No. 1 podcast publisher globally with the BBC’s nearly century-long expertise in audio storytelling and APM’s success in making podcasts for the American market.

Listeners can find Deeply Human on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts and all major podcast platforms.

About BBC World Service

BBC World Service delivers news content around the world in English and 41 other language services, on radio, TV and digital. BBC World Service reaches a weekly audience of 351m. As part of BBC World Service, BBC Learning English teaches English to global audiences. For more information, visit bbc.com/worldservice. BBC News attracts a weekly global audience of 438m people to its international services including BBC World Service, BBC World News television channel and bbc.com/news.

About American Public Media

American Public Media® (APM) is the national programming and distribution division of American Public Media Group and reaches nearly 17 million listeners via approximately 1,000 radio stations nationwide each week. APM is one of the largest producers and distributors of public radio programming in the world, with a portfolio that includes BBC World Service, Marketplace®, and the leading classical music programs in the nation. APM offers a diverse array of podcasts featuring the best in food, culture, entertainment, business and investigative journalism. For more information on APM, visit americanpublicmedia.org. Source: Data are copyright Nielsen Audio, Nationwide DMA data, Persons 12+, average of Fall ’19 and Spring ’20.