Although, evolutionary biologists Heather Heying & Bret Weinstein talk about this topic, it is indeed a topic that is most likely going to become mainstream amongst the scientific community in the future as more evolutionary biologists and other scientists become aware of this idea.
I think the idea is certainly not new in evolutionary biology circles.
My summary of the idea based upon my knowledge and interpretation from listening to Heather and Bret’s work.
Culture is a mode of facilitating the success of genes, in regards to the spread of genes and the persistence of them.
Persistence, meaning, how long does a certain type of gene exist in the world in the form of a lineage (children, their children, etc).
Where did culture come from? Humans, universally, use language to communicate all sorts of things amongst one another. Eventually, through the span of hundreds to thousands of years, this has developed rather complex and intricate cultures that are still around today.
Cultures function as manifestations of the genome’s wishes in terms of what is best in maximizing efficiency of the spread and persistence of itself. It’s not always simple to decipher culture in terms of these things because not everything within can be mapped onto the genome landscape perfectly or neatly.
The overarching theme of culture has been to develop a system of being or acting in one’s tribe, group, environment, etc. This might promote a certain atmosphere that makes it better for an increased chance of success evolutionarily for the genome or genomes involved.
Altruism is not purely altruism as an end in and of itself.
It can be explained via evolutionary/adaptive reasonings.
Example question may be
“Is it advantageous for us to be nice to other people?”
“By risking my life, what advantages am I accruing? Perhaps not for myself but how about my family, which will carry my genes/lineage?”