logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2019
34m 12s

G: Unnatural Selection

Wnyc Studios
About this episode
This past fall, a scientist named Steve Hsu made headlines with a provocative announcement. He would start selling a genetic intelligence test to couples doing IVF: a sophisticated prediction tool, built on big data and machine learning, designed to help couples select the best embryo in their batch. We wondered, how does that work? What can the test really ... Show More
Up next
Feb 27
Black Box
In this episode, first aired in 2014, we examine three very different kinds of black boxes—spaces where we know what’s going in, we know what’s coming out, but can’t see what happens in-between. From the darkest parts of metamorphosis to a sixty-year-old secret among magicians, a ... Show More
1h 5m
Feb 20
Gray's Donation
Before he was even born, Sarah and Ross Gray knew that their son Thomas wouldn’t live long. But as they let go of him, they made a decision that reverberated through a world that they never bothered to think about. Years later, after a couple of awkward phone calls, they go on a ... Show More
27m 20s
Feb 13
Time is Honey
In the early 2000s, Sunil Nakrani felt stuck. Back then, websites crashed all the time. When Sunil noticed this, he decided he was going to fix the internet. But after nearly a year of studying the architecture of the web, he was no closer to an answer. In desperation, Sunil sent ... Show More
38m 31s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2021
How Science Created Morons
REBROADCAST: This episode looks at how one of the worst ideas in science got a big push from a bad study… and intellectuals of the day lapped it up. We speak to science writer Carl Zimmer and Prof. J. David Smith, whose research helped get to the bottom of this messed-up story. C ... Show More
35m 52s
Mar 2020
Boost Self-Control by Asking for Support, Gene-Stealing Organisms, and How Lipreading Works in the Brain
Learn about a research-backed way to achieve better self control by asking for help from others; how Ambystoma salamanders “steal” DNA from other species via kleptogenesis; and how your brain can process visual information as sound.For better self control, ask for support from ot ... Show More
10m 22s
Jun 2024
Is gene therapy the future?
Last week, a girl who was born deaf had her hearing restored following gene therapy. In the US, the first commercial gene therapy for sickle cell disease has just begun. And Great Ormond Street Hospital has found great success in their trials and a gene therapy for children lacki ... Show More
28m 9s
Aug 2021
Jay Gargus, “Autism: A Genetic Perspective” (Open Agenda, 2021)
Autism: A Genetic Perspective is based on an in-depth filmed conversation between Howard Burton and Jay Gargus, Professor of Physiology, Biophysics and Pediatrics and Director of the Center for Autism Research and Translation at UC Irvine. This wide-ranging conversation examines ... Show More
2h 10m
Oct 2021
How engaging with the natural world benefits you-- and science (with Mary Ellen Hannibal)
When you think of a scientist, do you think of a person in a lab coat? How about a teenager with a smartphone-- or even, yourself? Mary Ellen Hannibal is a science writer who argues that everyday people collecting data with simple tools like phones can make a big impact in the sc ... Show More
31m 53s
Aug 2020
What If We Had to Evacuate Earth? - Guest: Bill Nye
Sign up for the Great Courses Plus today and enjoy the first month for free: https://bit.ly/podcast-great-courses-plus We know the history of this planet and asteroids isn't good...just ask the dinosaurs. So, what if we were faced with the same situation now? How much time wou ... Show More
34m 10s
Dec 2020
What If You Never Aged? - with Jamie Metzl
What If you could live forever? Since the days of Ponce De Leon and the search for the Fountain of Youth, human beings have pursued longer lives, doing whatever they could to cheat time and extend their lives. Now, with genetic engineering/CRSPR technology etc. this is no longer ... Show More
45m 57s
Jun 2022
The Joy of Science, with Jim Al-Khalili
Professor Jim Al-Khalili is the physicist who makes science look easy. He’s the author of several books, the latest of which is The Joy of Science, which offers eight core scientific principles that can be applied to everyday life. As a broadcaster Jim is perhaps best known as th ... Show More
41m 55s