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Jennifer Doleac and Kathryn Paige Harden in Conversation About Their New Books

    Probable Causation | 7 April 2026 | 1h 09m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
    Jennifer Doleac and Kathryn Paige Harden discuss their respective books The Science of Second Chances and Original Sin. Explores the intersection of genetics and criminal justice; how genetic predispositions, like the MAOA-related Brunner syndrome, influence aggression; how DNA databases and leniency for first-time offenders significantly reduce recidivism; critiques society’s evolved retributive appetite, arguing that punishment is often used for dopamine-driven satisfaction rather than public safety; advocates for a forward-looking justice system prioritizing human dignity and innovative solutions like pharmacological treatments for impulsivity.

    Kathryn Paige Harden – Original Sin

      A Book with Legs | 16 March 2026 | 1h 25m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
      Interview with Kathryn Paige Harden about her book Original Sin: On the Genetics of Vice, the Problem of Blame, and the Future of Forgiveness. Discusses notions of right, wrong, and sin, given that much of our temperament and behaviour is passed through DNA. Considers appropriate punishment for behaviours shaped by genetic forces outside our control.

      See also earlier episodes about her excellent book The Genetic Lottery.

      David Bessis on Nature, Nurture, and Identical Twins

        EconTalk | 19 January 2026 | 1h 04m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
        Interview with David Bessis about his Substack essay Twins Reared Apart Do Not Exist. Delves into the “twins reared apart” literature, showing how multiple flaws in those studies undercut their claims about heritability. Demonstrates why the natural experiments are never perfect, and why differences across people in a particular time and place are no guarantee of what will happen to any one human being. Discusses psychologist Eric Turkheimer’s three laws of behavior genetics, emphasizing the role of unique experiences in shaping who we become.

        See also the earlier episode with David Besis about his book Mathematica.

        How Should We Think About IQ?

          Many Minds | 17 October 2024 | 1h 33m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
          Interview with Eric Turkheimer about his book Understanding the Nature-Nurture Debate. Discusses intelligence and its putatively genetic basis; doubts that we are anywhere close to an account of the biology of IQ; what makes intelligence such a formidable construct in psychology and why essentialist understandings of it are so intuitive; Francis Galton and the long shadow he’s cast on the study of human behavior; Twin Studies and their quantitative estimates of the heritability of complex traits; genetic techniques that suggest genes are less important; the Flynn Effect, birth order, the problem of missing heritability, whether we should still be using IQ scores; and the role of behavior genetics in the broader social sciences.

          Superconvergence: Biotechnology Is About to Transform the World. Are We Ready?

            The Next Big Idea | 29 August 2024 | 0h 55m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
            Interview with Jamie Metzl about his book Superconvergence: How the Genetics, Biotech, and AI Revolutions Will Transform our Lives, Work, and World. Discusses biotechnologies in development that could change our lives – caviar harvested in a lab, skyscrapers made out of living materials that grow from the ground up, and computers that run on DNA.

            See also the The Jordan Harbinger Show interview with Metzl about his earlier book Hacking Darwin: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Humanity.

            David Epstein: The Sports Gene

              Dialogue with Marcia Franklin | 28 January 2024 | 0h 29m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
              Interview with David Epstein about his book The Sports Gene. Discusses the controversial research on what role genetics plays in the development of athletic talent and the so-called “10,000 Hour Rule,” which contends that 10,000 hours of practice can produce mastery in a field, including sports.

              Gregory Radick – Disputed Inheritance: The Battle over Mendel and the Future of Biology

                The Dissenter | 5 February 2024 | 1h 12m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
                Interview with Gregory Radick about his book Disputed Inheritance: The Battle over Mendel and the Future of Biology. Discusses the inter-relationships between the work of Mendel, Darwin and Francis Galton; the early 20C debate between William Bateson and W. F. R. Weldon about whether Mendelian genetics should be the standard entry point for learning about genes. Argues that if Weldon had lived longer and his view of Mendelian genetics as a special case ignoring environmental effects won out, we would have framed genetics fundamentally differently, with less of a framing of heredity as destiny.

                Noor Siddiqui on Embryo Screening, the Fertility Crisis, and Parenting

                  “Upstream” with Erik Torenberg | 15 December 2023 | 1h 07m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
                  Interview with Noor Siddiqui, founder and CEO of Orchid, discussing Orchid’s recent breakthrough in embryo whole genome sequencing, the fertility crisis, parenting, dating, and more.