Today, we’re asking a fun—and maybe slightly provocative—question: are vegans smarter than most people? You’ve probably seen those articles listing brilliant minds who were vegetarian for ethical reasons—people like Einstein, Tolstoy, Mary Shelley, or Leonardo da Vinci. And if you’ve been with us for a while, you might remember episode 37, where we talked about one of those great minds: the literary genius Al‑Ma’arri, often considered the first vegan in recorded history.

So today we’re wondering: did their intellect lead them to the ethical principles we hold? And beyond these outliers, do we see the same pattern in the general population?

To explore this, I’m joined by Chris Bryant. Chris is a social scientist and an expert on meat reduction and alternative proteins. He leads Bryant Research, and he’ ...