Tag: DNA

Elizabeth Jones on Ancient DNA: The Making of a Celebrity Science

Razib Khan’s Unsupervised Learning | 23 June 2023 | 0h 55m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
Interview with Elizabeth Jones about her book Ancient DNA: The Making of a Celebrity Science. Discusses the excitement in paleogenetics in the 1990s on the back of strong public interest caused by Michael Crichton’s 1990 novel Jurassic Park, its subsequent retrenchment as a field, and the prompt renaissance in the late 2000’s under the leadership of Svante Pääbo and Eske Willerslev.

See also other episodes on Ancient DNA.

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Kathryn Paige Harden on Genetics, Luck, and Fairness

Sean Carroll’s Mindscape | 20 September 2021 | 1h 25m | Listen Later | iTunes | Spotify
Interview with Kathryn Paige Harden about her book The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality. Argues that DNA matters to how we understand people, that we can clearly measure some of its effects, and understanding those effects is a crucial tool in fighting discrimination and making the world a more equitable place.

See also the excellent New Yorker profile of Hardin.

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A Short History of Humanity with Johannes Krause

The Innovation Show | 22 May 2021 | 1h 28m | Listen Later | iTunes | Spotify
Interview with Johannes Krause about his book A Short History of Humanity. Discusses insights on human evolution from his work with ancient DNA: the successive waves of migration and the inter-relationships between human groups; light skin as an adaptation to a vegetarian farming diet; patriarchy and inequality emerging with the transition to farming; warfare emerging with the metal age; and lactase persistence allowing farmers to have more children.

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Genetics, Genealogy, and Secrets Unknown

The Insight | 22 April 2020 | 0h 54m | Listen Later | iTunes
Interview with Libby Copeland about her book, The Lost Family: How DNA Testing is Upending Who We Are. Explores the social and moral complications from the emergence of home DNA testing.

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Jamie Metzl | Genetic Engineering and the Future of Humanity

The Jordan Harbinger Show | 19 September 2019 | 1h 02m | Listen Later | iTunes
Interview with Jamie Metzl about his book Hacking Darwin: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Humanity. Discusses genetic engineering’s rapid progress, why today’s beneficial genetic traits that may turn out to be ephemeral, the dangers of selectively editing out genes that cause disorders, why China is poised to excel in the application of genetic science, why equity and diversity remain important, and more.

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The Denisovans

Origin Stories | 29 November 2019 | 0h 31m | Listen Later | iTunes
A mysterious new human relative was discovered ten years ago from a pinky bone found in a Siberian cave. They’re called the Denisovans, and people around the world carry their DNA today. Until just a few months ago, the sum total of all the fossils the Denisovans left behind could fit in the palm of your hand. Now new research is unlocking more of their secrets.

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DNA Kits: Can You Trust Them?

Science Vs | 12 April 2019 | 0h 38m | Listen Later | iTunes
Millions of people send off their DNA to companies like Ancestry.com and 23andme to find out where they come from, and what diseases they might get. Explores how much you can trust these DNA kits with anthropologist Jonathan Marks and geneticist Adam Rutherford.

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Carl Zimmer on Heredity, DNA, and Editing Genes

Sean Carroll’s Mindscape | 6 August 2018 | 1h 31m | Listen Later  | iTunes
Interview with science writer Carl Zimmer, author of a comprehensive book about heredity: She Has Her Mother’s Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity. Discusses how our understanding of heredity has changed over the years, how there is much more to inheritance than simply listing all the information we pass down in our DNA, and what the future might hold in a world where genetic manipulation becomes widespread.

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