Come See the Cavemanboy!

Summary

---

Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: Come See the Cavemanboy!

Date: November 4, 2025 | Host(s): Armstrong & Getty | Podcast by: iHeartPodcasts

---

Overview

"Come See the Cavemanboy!" explores the scientific, ethical, and societal implications of resurrecting Neanderthals in the modern era. Prompted by lighthearted banter about a one-man play and recent scientific claims, Armstrong and Getty take a deep dive into whether reviving an extinct human species is possible, what the challenges are, and—most importantly—whether we should even try. The conversation is peppered with humor, hypotheticals, and thoughtful questions about personhood, belonging, and ethics in genetic engineering.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Scientific Background: Could Neanderthals Return?

• Setting the Scene: The episode opens with Armstrong referencing a speculative "one man play" about a Neanderthal living today. They clarify recent headlines about the supposed feasibility of resurrecting a Neanderthal.
• Science Update ([01:12]):
  • Past attempts to resurrect extinct animals (like the dire wolf and mammoth) have fallen short.
  • Neanderthals are one of several human species; modern humans have up to 4% Neanderthal DNA.
  • Armstrong mentions, humorously, that Getty has a high percentage of Neanderthal DNA:

    "Jo Getty at one point was in the 99th percentile... which explains my fits of rage and my enormous head. No, it really doesn't." (Armstrong, [01:31])

• Intelligence & Misconceptions ([02:41]):
  They dispel myths about Neanderthals being dumb, noting that “racist scientists” shaped early negative views.

2. Scientific & Technical Challenges

• Major Hurdles ([03:49]):
  • Technical limitations: you can’t just insert Neanderthal DNA into a human egg.
  • Immune incompatibility is a significant barrier in cross-species pregnancy—such pregnancies usually fail.
• CRISPR & Alternatives ([07:32]):
  • Direct cloning is impossible without a live Neanderthal cell.
  • CRISPR could potentially modify human embryos to have more Neanderthal traits, but this would produce a human with Neanderthal characteristics, not a pure Neanderthal.
• Complexities of Human/Neanderthal Hybrids ([05:27]):
  There’s debate over whether Neanderthals and modern humans should even be considered separate species.

3. Ethical Objections & Moral Dilemmas

• Unethical to the Core? ([03:41]):
  • Cloning a Neanderthal is considered "one of the most unethical things I can possibly think of"—potential for suffering, short lifespan, and incapacity for consent.
  • Experiments like Dolly the Sheep led to numerous deformed or non-viable embryos before success ([10:13]).
• What Kind of Life? ([04:44], [10:44]):
  • “All these experiments have that... deformed human or... a human being that dies very early.” (Getty)
  • A revived Neanderthal would likely face isolation, lack of peers, and exploitation as a sideshow or scientific curiosity.
• Personhood & Rights ([12:26]):
  • The hosts muse about whether such a being would "belong" to anyone, ponder legal status and rights, and joke about mascot-like or celebrity roles.

  • "Who does this person belong to? Who's this person belong to?" (Getty, [12:26])

  • "Is it a human? ... Does it have the rights of a ... The fact that you even asked. Who would it belong to? Who do I belong to? Nobody." (Armstrong, [12:54])

4. Hypotheticals, Humor, and Social Commentary

• Celebrity Status or Sideshow? ([11:04]):
  • The revived Neanderthal could be a worldwide sensation:

    "The world's only Neanderthal comes out... Ooga booga, Ooga booga. Just kidding, Jimmy. It's great to be with you tonight." (Armstrong, [11:14])

  • Jokes about endorsement deals and reality TV for the Neanderthal ensue.
• Zoo or Integration Debate ([13:10], [15:31]):
  • Getty and Armstrong express discomfort at the idea of exhibiting a Neanderthal in a zoo-like setting.
  • Discussions on possible exploitation, both humorous and serious, highlight questions of dignity and autonomy.

5. Legal Perspective & Geopolitics

• Is It Legal? ([16:58]):
  • Human embryo editing is illegal in the US and EU, but not universally regulated worldwide:

    "It's unlikely that every country in the world has relevant laws on their books." (Armstrong, [16:58])

  • Concerns are raised about countries like China or North Korea disregarding such ethical boundaries ([17:29]).

6. Fun Facts & Quiz Segment

• The Neanderthal Quiz ([18:41]):
  Armstrong quizzes Getty on the origin of the name "Neanderthal" (Germany’s Neander Valley) and discusses recent discoveries about multiple simultaneous human species.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Higher Neanderthal DNA:

  "I, Jo Getty at one point was in the 99th percentile of modern people in terms of how much Neanderthal DNA I have, which explains my fits of rage and my enormous head. No, it really doesn't." (Armstrong, [01:31])

• Skepticism About Motives:

  "Other than to charge people to look at it in a cage. I can't come up with any reason why you would do this." (Getty, [07:59])

• On Rights and Belonging:

  "Who does this person belong to?... It belongs to all of us." (Getty, [12:26])

• Celebrity Neanderthal:

  "Would be the biggest celebrity on planet Earth that planet Earth has probably ever seen." (Getty, [12:00])

• Zoo-ification and Dignity:

  "The darker possibility is that we would keep any de extincted Neanderthals in zoos. Like animals." (Armstrong, [15:31])

• Humorous Stereotypes:

  "Some chicks going to want to get with the Neanderthal just so she can brag or become like a Kardashian, sort of have a sex tape. You know, the whole thing." (Getty, [18:09])

---

Important Segments & Timestamps

| Timestamp | Topic/Event | |-----------|------------| | 00:30 | Armstrong introduces the "caveman boy" play and the Neanderthal premise | | 01:47 | Explaining real Neanderthal lineages & DNA in modern humans | | 03:41 | Ethical concerns voiced by scientific experts | | 04:44 | Risks of deformed or short-lived experimental subjects | | 05:05 | Brief segue into China’s gene editing ambitions | | 10:44 | What would life be like for a single Neanderthal among humans? | | 11:04 | Celebrity and media exploitation scenarios | | 12:26 | Questions about personhood, rights, and belonging | | 15:31 | Grim hypothetical: Would revived Neanderthals be caged? | | 16:58 | Legal ambiguity across countries | | 18:41 | Neanderthal quiz: name origin and history |

---

Final Thoughts

This episode of Armstrong & Getty masterfully mixes scientific curiosity with bemused skepticism, keeping the tone lively as they wrestle with complex bioethical issues. For listeners, the big takeaway is not whether it’s possible to revive Neanderthals, but should we—given the ethical, scientific, and cultural minefields involved. The hosts’ humor and conversational chemistry make a dense topic accessible and thought-provoking.

---

Recommended For:
Anyone interested in genetics, ethics, or science-inspired hypotheticals—especially those who appreciate offbeat humor paired with real-world implications.

---

Transcript

[Armstrong]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Lenovo Ad]

In the heat of battle, your squad relies on you. Don't let them down. Unlock elite gaming [e-mail] Dominate every match with next level speed, seamless streaming and performance that won't quit. Push your gameplay beyond performance with Intel Core Ultra processors for the next era of gaming. Upgrade to smooth high quality streaming with Intel Wi Fi 6e and maximize game performance with enhanced overclocking. Win the tech search power [e-mail] lenovo.

[Armstrong]

Lenovo come see the caveman Boy, this sucks. It's One More Thing Armstrong and Getty One more thing what in the what.

[Getty]

In the world was this? One man play you unleashed for the.

[Armstrong]

Thief A somewhat lighthearted portrayal of what it would be like if scientists actually produced a Neanderthal in the modern world. There are so many scientific and ethical questions connected to this, but one of them would be what kind of life would that being have?

[Getty]

Can I make it do my laundry and stuff like that?

[Armstrong]

Oh my God, this sucks again. So we'll get there. We mentioned this during the ang show, the radio show, but didn't have time to deal with all of it. This is probably not going to happen. The same crack pots who claimed to clone a dire wolf and a woolly mammoth, but just produce like a slightly hairier elephant that was slightly bigger? That's right, the dire wolf in particular.

[Getty]

That was a giant news story that day. Everybody reported that.

[Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah, but so these people, in a desperate attempt for more more publicity, are talking about cloning or not cloning, but producing a Neanderthal? If you are not familiar with the history of pre human humans and human human humans during that period, Neanderthals were one of several very closely related sorts of human beings on earth. And indeed modern people these days share up to 4% of their DNA with Neanderthals. I have mentioned that I, Jo Getty at one point was in the 99th percentile of modern people in terms of how much Neanderthal DNA I have, which explains my fits of rage and my enormous head. No, it really doesn't. As far as we knew, Neanderthals were smart. As smart as or smarter than Homo sapiens back in the day.

[Getty]

Yeah, definitely.

[Armstrong]

And as we mentioned, the perception that Neanderthals were just stupid lunkheads was one racist scientist, a Brit, right. In the 1800s.

[Getty]

Correct. But yeah, Neanderthals were every bit as smart as Homo sapiens, if not smarter. And, and it could be a disease that for whatever reason genetically they couldn't handle Wipe them out. There's nothing to do with anything else or who knows what.

[Armstrong]

Right. And so now they're making noises. The head guy who's a Harvard researcher, a decade ago he said he was confident in Neanderthal resurrection was a near term possibility. Others have told live science.com that, that doing so is currently an insurmountably difficult task. But even if we could bring them back, there are many reasons we shouldn't. They argue. Here's one guy from the University of Kansas said, or I'm sorry, it's a woman. I've, I've misgendered her now twice while talking about her. That is one of the most unethical things I can possibly think of to attempt. Ethical stop.

[Getty]

Unethical. So not a, a practically bad idea, but unethical. Why is it, why is it not ethical?

[Armstrong]

Well first the technical stuff. You can't just put a Neanderthal genome in a human egg. It just wouldn't work. But one issue with the process is potential immune system incompatibility. And just, you know, I'm going to jump to the end here. Our point is not discussing whether they're going to unleash Neanderthals in the world. If you have any interest in science, a lot of this stuff is just interesting on its own. So one, one issue is potential immune system incompatible incompatibility which often dooms cross species pregnancies as the host uterus rejects the fetus.

[Getty]

I think I'm seeing the unethical part coming. Produce a like deformed human or somebody. An actual human being. Neanderthal as opposed to Homo sapien. But a human being that dies very early, right?

[Armstrong]

Oh yeah, yeah. All these experiments have that. Oh, that reminds me, I meant to bring this up on the show, but China is now working on gene editing higher IQ into kids, of course to develop a smarter, more hardy super soldier.

[Getty]

God, it's a race between that and AI for what's going to do mankind.

[Armstrong]

Maybe they team up, you start unleashing.

[Getty]

All kinds of extraordinarily high IQ human beings into the world. What's your experience with people with super high iq? That they're all just reasonable, wonderful humans that are great at everything in life.

[Armstrong]

And happy and relaxed.

[Getty]

Yeah, exactly.

[Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah. It's still debated by the way, and I don't know much about this debate. I could click on the link, but who has the time whether modern humans and Neanderthals can be called separate species or not. Anyway, although humans and Neanderthals did successfully interbreed in the past. Today there's at most 4% Neanderthal DNA in some human groups and they think it might not have been beneficial. So it was slowly purged out of the genome through the eons. Anyway, mentioned this on the show. I found it fascinating. Experts have discovered that humans Y chromosomes, that's your uro fellow chromosome. No matter how you identify, because you can't change your sex. Anyway, the human's Y chromosome lacks Neanderthal DNA. And there ought to be tiny bits at least, but it completely lacks it. Which may point to a fundamental immune system incompatibility between male Neanderthal fetuses and the female Homo sapiens carrying them, even in the distant past. In other words, Homo sapiens girl gets with hot, hot Neanderthal dude like myself. If they produce a girl, it may well survive, but there's a much, much smaller chance that a boy Neanderthal would survive. And obviously, you know, through the years you just a birth rate that fixed and low, your. Your genetic material would die out. And they say a genetic variant red blood cells in Neanderthal human hybrid mothers might have resulted in high rates of miscarriage. So those girls produced by the aforementioned really hot looking Homo sapien girl in the manly, manly Neanderthal might not have been able to reproduce successfully in the same numbers.

[Getty]

Neanderthals had bigger brains. Your brain takes a ton of your energy in your body, which I didn't realize. And they just couldn't feed themselves is one of the theories. They just couldn't possibly get themselves enough calories every day to feed their big brain. Oh, wow.

[Armstrong]

Yeah, I read that the other day. How much of your your energy, your metabolized energy?

[Getty]

It's like a third or something. It's amazing, right?

[Armstrong]

Y. Yeah, that is crazy. Another route would be cloning. But in order to clone one of our extinct cousins, you'd need a live Neanderthal cell. That ain't happening. So with CRISPR technology, it is possible to modify a human cell genome to make it more similar to Neanderthal. And that's what this business, this guy Firm Colossal modified it. Why?

[Getty]

Other than to charge people to look at it in a cage. I can't come up with any reason why you would do this.

[Armstrong]

Hence my fascinating one man play. Come see the caveman. Boy, this sucks. Exactly what is the kid just destined.

[Getty]

For a sideshow, right? Otherwise, what's the point?

[Armstrong]

So with CRISPR, it wouldn't be a Neanderthal. It'd be a human with a lot of Neanderthal Characteristics now maybe whatever those are, we don't.

[Getty]

We don't really know. One thing I've learned about from reading Homo sapiens and then my son is super into evolution stuff. For whatever reason, humans and dinosaurs and all that sort of stuff, there's almost nothing that's agreed upon. Practically everything you hear is like a. 15% of people believe this. So if you hear, you know, things and you. If you hear anything about dinosaurs or humans or anything and you think that's not what I heard. Yeah, it's probably not because there are lots of different theories and are constantly changing.

[Armstrong]

Right? Yeah. So they think in maybe 20 years CRISPR technology, you could probably maybe have a baby with Holy Neanderthal genome.

[Getty]

Yay. Wouldn't that be great? So we can what?

[Armstrong]

Says this scientist. But I don't think we will do it, even if it's plausible for both ethical and legal reasons. Legal de. Extincting. De Extincting.

[Getty]

You can't give me a ticket. I'm not a human, I'm not a Homo sapiens. Against Neanderthals driving this fast. Is that what they mean? Legal reasons?

[Armstrong]

Wow. That would cause the Supreme Court to dig deep into the law books, wouldn't it? De Extincting Neanderthals is ethically repugnant. Experts told Live Science it's morally abhorrent to even conceive of trying to create another kind of human based on DNA using uncertain technologies to which they could not consent.

[Getty]

Raft said, I don't know if I buy that. So. So they're not even looking into the you're going to have a whole bunch of deformed kids awfulness there. They just in general think it's unethical to bring another human species onto the planet. I don't know. Because it is. I don't know if I quite get what's the ethics around that.

[Armstrong]

Well, okay, they do get a little bit into the. These experiments like Dolly the Sheep, famously the clone sheep. That was after dozens, wasn't it, of deformed, horrible, poor creatures that never could survive.

[Getty]

Yeah. Doing that.

[Armstrong]

That were still born or born alive and rapidly died. And the rest of took them a lot of hacks to get an actual sheep. But here we go. Even if the Neanderthal embryos could develop into an otherwise healthy Neanderthal, the life they would face once in our world would be unbearably bleak.

[Getty]

Like try to get hired.

[Armstrong]

Being the only Neanderthal raised in a 21st century world of humans would likely be lonely and isolating, possibly like the lives of the Last Neanderthals in Europe.

[Getty]

You don't know that. Chicks might dig it. You might be a rock star.

[Armstrong]

This is all seems very speculative to me.

[Getty]

You might be, though. You're going on all the talk shows. Big guest tonight. The world's only Neanderthal comes out.

[Armstrong]

The caveman outfit. Ooga booga, Ooga booga. Just kidding. Jimmy. It's great to be with you tonight. What an honor this is. I love your work. Right.

[Getty]

Chicks wanting to get with the only Neanderthal man on earth.

[Armstrong]

Oh, yeah. The rumors would, you know, circulate rapidly. Endorsement, opportunity, show. Oh, yeah, like the Bachelor. But, you know, I needed.

[Getty]

I needed a four wheel drive rugged enough for my Neanderthal background, you know, endorsing Ford or whatever.

[Armstrong]

Yeah. But, gosh, you'd have to. You'd become globally known. So you. You'd be like a super celebrity and have to more or less hide out with other super celebrities.

[Getty]

Would be the biggest celebrity on planet Earth that planet Earth has probably ever seen.

[Armstrong]

Right, Right. Yeah, but I mean, like the Bill Gates is of the world and the world's biggest movie stars. That's the only people you could hang out with because, you know, they're cool around other celebrities. But you got to get all. You got to get hairy by the pool. And the Seychelles with Brad Pitt and his squeeze.

[Getty]

You got to give him or her a name also, which would be a big deal.

[Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah. But they would. They might, you know, choose their own name anyway.

[Getty]

Well, that's. That's where you do get into the ethics. Who. Who does this person belong to? Who's this person belong to? So did they get.

[Armstrong]

You mean belong to.

[Getty]

That's what I'm getting in. It belongs to all of us.

[Armstrong]

Well, what an idiotic thing to say, Michael. And it was perfect.

[Getty]

Who does it belong to? Maybe it does belong to all of us. It's mankind. It's like space exploration or something like that. Is.

[Armstrong]

Is it a human? That's what I mean there. Does it have the rights of a. The fact that you even asked. Who would it belong to? Who do I belong to? Nobody.

[Getty]

But you're a Homo sapien. This is not so does it, like, dogs belong? Yeah, a pet belongs to someone.

[Armstrong]

Maybe like America's mascot, basically.

[Getty]

America's mask. What if he can run really, really fast? Does he get to compete for Team USA in the Olympics?

[Armstrong]

Oh, wow. Wow.

[Lenovo Ad]

In the heat of battle, your squad relies on you. Don't let them down. Unlock elite gaming [e-mail], dominate every match with next level Speed Speed Seamless streaming and performance that won't quit. Push your gameplay beyond performance with Intel Core Ultra processors for the next era of gaming. Upgrade to smooth high quality streaming with Intel Wi Fi 6e and maximize game performance with enhanced overclocking. Win the tech Search power [e-mail] Lenovo.

[Armstrong]

Lenovo.

[Anabe Ad]

Tired of spills and stains on your sofa? Wash away your worries with Anabe. Annabe is the only machine washable sofa inside and out where designer quality meets budget friendly prices. That's right, sofas start at just $699. Enjoy a no risk experience with pet friendly stain resistant and changeable slip covers made with performance fabric. Experience cloud like comfort with high resilience foam that's hypoallergenic and never needs fluffing. The sturdy steel frame ensures longevity and the modular pieces can be rearranged anytime. Shop washablesofas.com for early Black Friday savings up to 60% off site wide backed by a 30 day satisfaction guarantee. If you're not absolutely in love, send it back for a full refund. No return shipping or restocking fees. Every penny back Upgrade [e-mail] Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.

[Armstrong]

So yeah, this part's really speculative. It would likely be lonely and isolating. They wouldn't have prior generations or peers to learn from. But that's, that's begging the question.

[Getty]

It's.

[Armstrong]

It's leaping past. The question is, is it just a a different sort of human, but so similar that they live in a cage? We all look almost God? Or would it be more like racial differences between a Han Chinese and a black person from Africa? And like a Swede we'd have to.

[Getty]

Choose their name from when they're a little kid, we got to call them something. We can't just say hey to you to the only Neanderthal on earth. And then like at 18, do they get to do whatever they want?

[Armstrong]

The darker possibility is that we would keep any de extincted Neanderthals in zoos. Like animals.

[Getty]

Yes, we can.

[Armstrong]

Go look at this one, see if.

[Getty]

They throw their feces at us or anything. Oh gee, I'm not gonna throw my feces. You can stand here all day long. I'm not throwing my feces.

[Armstrong]

Look, you want me to check my feces, it's gonna cost you extra.

[Getty]

You give me 10 bucks, I'll throw my feces.

[Armstrong]

Right. Humans don't have a good track record over the centuries of treating other people. Well said this ethicist. So I have no confidence that we wouldn't be nasty to Neanderthals. I don't think we would in the United States.

[Getty]

No, absolutely not. China will. Yeah, they will. They will breed whatever until they get the strongest, fastest whatever and kill off or enslave the other ones.

[Armstrong]

Right, right. Another ethical problem, and I'm quoting scientists again. A Neanderthal being constructed in this way wouldn't be living in the past. They would be living in present and in an environment that's neither appropriate nor safe for them. Probably because we don't know anything about how their genes reacted with their environment.

[Getty]

From a. From a, like, disease standpoint, I get that. But from a, like, it's not like they're going to, like, at the age of 10, say we're the dinosaurs or something like that. They don't have any of the cultural baggage that comes with having died out 200,000 years ago.

[Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah. What electric.

[Getty]

What are these flying machines? That's not the way it would work.

[Armstrong]

Right, right. And it's not like they could teach you their Neanderthal language. Yeah. Is it legal to bring back a Neanderthal? While it's wildly unethical, the legality of making one is unclear. According to Greeley, one of the scientists, human embryo editing of this nature is illegal in the US and the eu. It's unlikely that every country in the world has relevant laws on their books.

[Getty]

Unlikely. You Dunder pate.

[Armstrong]

Yes. No kidding, huh?

[Getty]

Yeah. So that's the problem. That's a problem with all of this stuff around crispr, around AI, around everything. We have these conversations for Europe and the United States. Doesn't matter at all to North Korea, Russia, China, any of those places. They're going to do whatever the hell they want.

[Armstrong]

All right, finally, here is your Neanderthal quiz. Are you ready? How are we going to do this? Is everybody going to try to answer or. Yeah, I'll try. All right. Or, Michael, do you want to take the Neanderthal quiz?

[Getty]

Who's going to get with the Neanderthal? What was your saying from earlier in the show?

[Armstrong]

Once you go Neanderthal, you never go back at all. Yeah.

[Getty]

Some chicks going to want to get with the Neanderthal just so she can brag or become like a Kardashian, sort of have a sex tape. You know, the whole thing.

[Armstrong]

Wow. Wow. You, you, you, you Homo sapien sluts.

[Getty]

Neanderthal would make a killing on Onlyfans. Oh, yeah. Oh, my God. Yes, I watch.

[Armstrong]

All right, hang on a Second, this thing freaked out on me. I hate when that happens. All right, so I can't do the whole quiz.

[Getty]

Neanderthal only fans.

[Armstrong]

All right, Michael? Okay. Where did the name Neanderthal come from? A mountain in Italy, a valley in Germany, a fjord in Sweden, or a desert in Ethiopia. Let's go with Germany, Yavul. The Neanderthal valley in Germany.

[Getty]

That's where they found the first bones. Does this have a year?

[Armstrong]

1988. No, I don't know. No, they don't.

[Getty]

1988. Well, so we haven't known this stuff for very long at all though, Right?

[Armstrong]

Right. And you say there are other species that were probably kicking around? I think there was well known six.

[Getty]

Different human beings, types of human beings existing on earth at the same time, which they didn't know up until a few years ago. We remember that. You've seen the poster of you got a monkey and then the monkey stands up a little straighter. Then you got a caveman and the.

[Armstrong]

Various hilarious variations of that.

[Getty]

That's the way we believed it happened for a long time. But it didn't happen anything like that at all.

[Armstrong]

Yeah. Yeah. So no Neanderthal zoos anytime soon. That's disappointing.

[Getty]

That'd be weird to go look at a human being in a cage. Look at that.

[Armstrong]

He's so much have it looking back at you. What are you looking at?

[Getty]

He's just flipping everybody off.

[Armstrong]

Wow, that's grim. This sounds. Sounds like a like heartbreakingly sad science fiction movie.

[Getty]

Yes, it does.

[Armstrong]

I meant or who's hilarious comedy.

[Getty]

Who's it belong to? Is a real question.

[Armstrong]

Encino man starring Pauly Shore. Yeah, here's my idea. Put him in the NBA as like maybe a backup center and they can get in during garbage time and entertain the fans. What the hell?

[Getty]

Well, I guess that's it.

[Lenovo Ad]

In the heat of battle, your squad relies on you. Don't let them down. Unlock elite gaming [e-mail] Dominate every match with next level speed, seamless streaming and performance that won't quit. Push your gameplay beyond performance with Intel Core Ultra processors for the next era of gaming. Upgrade to smooth high quality streaming with Intel WiFi 6e and maximize game performance with enhanced overclocking. Win the tech search. Power up at lenovo. Com.

[Armstrong]

This is an Iheart podcast.