I am an interdisciplinary scholar with a background in literature, folklore, evolutionary psychology/anthropology, and hunter-gatherer studies. My research examines universal forms of cultural expression—storytelling, visual art, song, dance, games—in terms of the role they played in the evolution of cumulative culture. I have a PhD in literature from UC Santa Barbara, where I also trained at the Center for Evolutionary Psychology. For three decades, I have taught classes at UC Santa Barbara and the University of Oregon on various modes of storytelling, including oral tradition, epic poetry, theater, cinema, the short story, and the novel. I also teach classes on hunter-gatherers, ethnoecology, and the evolution of symbolic behavior. I have published widely on the origins of storytelling and its significance in hunter-gatherer education. In my spare time, I enjoy hiking and foraging for wild foods in my local habitat.