Best Genetics Podcasts (2024)

1
Aria Babu: pro-natalism in the shadow of empire 1:00:27

16d ago1:00:27

1:00:27

Today Razib talks to Aria Babu, a British think-thank professional who is part of the growing number of young men and women who are taking an interest in population decline and promoting pro-natalism. Babu has a degree in chemistry from University College London, and has long worked in areas related to the study of economic growth and entrepreneurs…

1
Will It Sequence? 700-year-old DNA 21:17

27d ago21:17

21:17

In this episode of Naked Genetics: A mammoth discovery in ancient DNA structure; on the subject of ancient DNA, what can we sequence for a centuries old body? And, in quirks of evolution, the animal that drinks its own offspring's blood... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists…

1
Louise Perry: overcrowded Britain and the ennui of a post-imperial nation 1:34:31

1M ago1:34:31

1:34:31

On this episode of Unsupervised Learning Razib talks to Louise Perry. A British journalist known for her commentary on feminism and gender issues, Perry is the author of the book The Case Against the Sexual Revolution. She also contributes to The New Statesman, UnHerd, and The Daily Mail, and has a Substack at Maiden Mother Matriarch. Perry is a gr…

1
Bryan Ward-Perkins: The material consequences of the fall of Rome 1:07:41

2M ago1:07:41

1:07:41

On this episode of Unsupervised Learning Razib talks to archeologist and historian Bryan Ward-Perkins about his 2005 book The Fall of Rome: And the End of Civilization. Ward-Perkins was born and grew up in Rome, a son of architectural historian and archaeologist, John Bryan Ward-Perkins. Educated at Oxford University, Ward-Perkins eventually became…

1
Will It Sequence: How effective is handwashing? 19:24

2M ago19:24

19:24

In this episode of Naked Genetics: The risk factors between schizophrenia and substance use disorder have had a fresh genetic examination; I put Illumina to the test and ask, 'what difference does washing our hands really make?' And, the the extraordinary way in which dung beetles use the night sky to orientate themselves... Like this podcast? Plea…

1
J. P. Mallory: Indo-Europeans found? 1:03:25

2M ago1:03:25

1:03:25

On this episode of Unsupervised Learning Razib welcomes back a returning guest, J. P. Mallory, to discuss his reaction to the recent preprint The Genetic Origin of the Indo-Europeans. Mallory is the author of In Search of the Indo-Europeans: Language, Archaeology, and Myth, The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European …

1
Sean Anthony: the Muhammad of history 1:14:12

2M ago1:14:12

1:14:12

On this episode of Unsupervised Learning Razib talks to professor Sean Anthony about his book Muhammad and the Empires of Faith: The Making of the Prophet of Islam. Anthony is a historian in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at The Ohio State University. He earned his Ph.D. with honors in 2009 at the University of Chicago in Nea…

1
Nikolai Yakovenko: the stillborn promise of the LLM age 1:16:49

3M ago1:16:49

1:16:49

On this episode of Unsupervised Learning Razib talks to Nikolai Yakovenko, a returning guest to the podcast, about his new AI startup, DeepNewz, and the state of the LLM-driven AI landscape circa the summer of 2024, where we are in relation to earlier expectations and where we might be in the next decade. Yakovenko is an AI researcher who has worke…

1
Chad Niederhuth: genetics in plants, from Mendel to GMOs 1:01:40

3M ago1:01:40

1:01:40

On this episode of Unsupervised Learning Razib talks to Chad Niederhuth, an erstwhile academic plant geneticist now working in industry. Niederhuth and Razib discuss the reality that in 2024 it is often human genetics that gets the glory, even though experiments on plants go back to the field’s very origins with Gregor Mendel and his peas. Niederhu…

1
Jonathan Keeperman: becoming Lomez 1:24:12

3M ago1:24:12

1:24:12

On this episode of Unsupervised Learning Razib talks to Jonathan Keeperman, an former lecturer in writing at UC Irvine and proprietor of Passage Press. Keeperman also posts on the internet under what was until recently an anonymous pseudonym, Lomez. Unlike many anonymous accounts on X, “Lomez” developed a decade-long identity, to the point where Ke…

1
Ryan Burge: Losing Our Religion 1:12:44

3M ago1:12:44

1:12:44

On this episode of Unsupervised Learning Razib talks about religion with Ryan Burge, professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University, and author of The Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, and Where They Are Going and 20 Myths About Religion and Politics in America. Burge also has a Substack, Graphs about Religion, where he post…

1
Will It Sequence? What grows on your food? 24:41

3M ago24:41

24:41

In this episode of Naked Genetics: What the latest genetics research has to say about restless leg syndrome; I put Illumina to the test and ask, 'what really grows on our food?'; And, what makes a tardigrade so tough? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked ScientistsBy Will Tingle

1
Lost civilizations and the promise of new knowledge 52:59

4M ago52:59

52:59

On this episode of Unsupervised Learning Razib discusses the idea of “lost civilizations,” the possibility that there were complex societies during the Pleistocene Ice Age. This topic recently rose to salience after a dialogue between writer Graham Hancock and archaeologist Flint Dibble on Joe Rogan’s podcast. Hancock is a longtime guest on Rogan’s…

1
Akshar Patel: Modi's India in the 21st century 1:14:57

4M ago1:14:57

1:14:57

On this episode of Unsupervised Learning Razib talks to Akshar Patel of The Emissary about his recent sojourn in India. Patel began The Emissary because he felt there were many gaps in the media representation of India. Razib asks whether The New York Times’ claim that Modi is a strongman is correct, and whether India is an illiberal democracy. Pat…

1
Jeremy Carl: The Unprotected Class - How Anti-White Racism Is Tearing America Apart 1:06:54

4M ago1:06:54

1:06:54

On this episode of Unsupervised Learning Razib talks to Jeremy Carl, Senior Fellow at the Claremont Institute, where he focuses on immigration, multiculturalism, and nationalism in America. Previously, Carl was a Research Fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institute where he analyzed and wrote about energy policy. He has BA with distinction from Yale Univ…

1
The Genetic Origin of the Indo-Europeans 39:14

4M ago39:14

39:14

On this episode of Unsupervised Learning Razib talks about the April 2024 preprint The Genetic Origin of the Indo-Europeans. This blockbuster publication introduces nearly 300 new ancient DNA samples, uncovers the origins of the Yamnaya, and delves into how they transformed the genetic and cultural landscape of Eurasia ~5,000 years ago. Razib addre…

1
John Massey: Chinese dreams through Western eyes 1:01:36

4M ago1:01:36

1:01:36

On this unusual “from the vault” episode of Unsupervised Learning, Razib talks to John Massey, a retired Australian engineer who has been a long-time correspondent. Massey and Razib recorded this podcast in the spring of 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, Australia and China were enacting strict lockdowns to halt the spread…

1
Colin Wright: In the trenches of the gender wars 1:26:58

4M ago1:26:58

1:26:58

On this episode of Unsupervised Learning Razib talks to Colin Wright, a returning guest, host of the Reality’s Last Stand Substack and a fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Before digging deep into the biology of sex and the cultural politics of gender ideology, Razib and Wright touch on what’s been happening to Jonathan Pruitt, Wright’s erstwhile a…

1
Will It Sequence? Hunting drug resistant bugs 22:37

5M ago22:37

22:37

In this month's edition of Naked Genetics: Why a genetic bottleneck created decades ago means some whales are in deep water; how wastewater is helping genetic sequencer track down deadly diseases; And, surf's up! how one beach dwelling creature is shredding the gnar in order to find food... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked …

1
Eric Cline: After 1177 B.C. 1:35:00

5M ago1:35:00

1:35:00

On this episode of Unsupervised Learning Razib talks to George Washington University archaeologist Eric Cline. The author of 1177 B.C. - The Year Civilization Collapsed, Cline has a new book out, After 1177 B.C. - The Survival of Civilizations. While 1177 B.C. closed with the end of the first global civilization, that of the Eastern Mediterranean a…

1
Kristian Kristiansen: DNA and European prehistory 1:14:57

5M ago1:14:57

1:14:57

On this episode of Unsupervised Learning Razib talks to Kristian Kristiansen, an archaeologist at the University of Gothenburg and affiliate professor at the Lundbech Center for Geogenetics, Copenhagen University. A past guest on this podcast, Kristiansen has recently contributed to an astonishing lineup of landmark papers published in Nature just …

1
Samo Burja: Palladium Magazine, China, Russia and the future of Eurasia 1:00:31

5M ago1:00:31

1:00:31

Today on Unsupervised Learning, Razib talks to long-time podcast favorite Samo Burja. Burja is the founder of Bismarck Analysis and Bismarck Brief, a Research Fellow at the Long Now Foundation and The Foresight Institute. He is also now the chair of the editorial board of Palladium Magazine. Already a four-time guest on Unsupervised Learning (he ha…

1
ADHD advantages, and mining microbiomes 22:40

5M ago22:40

22:40

This episode of Naked Genetics: has the evolutionary advantage to ADHD been uncovered? Also, We look at the microbiome of mining. And, the only vertebrate in the world that would thank you for saying that it looked like crap... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked ScientistsBy Will Tingle

1
Steve Hsu: IQ, artificial intelligence and academia 1:34:00

6M ago1:34:00

1:34:00

On this episode of Unsupervised Learning Razib talks to Steve Hsu, physicist, entrepreneur and public intellectual. Hsu is an Iowan who earned his undergraduate degree from Caltech and his Ph.D. from Berkeley. Later he was a Harvard Junior Fellow, before moving on to professorships at Yale and the University of Oregon, and finally settling down at …

1
Murtaza Hussain: Gaza and the global left 1:19:18

6M ago1:19:18

1:19:18

Today Razib talks to Murtaza Hussain about the social, cultural and political context of recent fissures in the US around the conflict in Israel and Gaza. Hussain is a reporter at The Intercept and has his own Substack. They begin their conversation talking about Hussain’s response to the 10/7 Hamas attacks on Israel, and Israel’s subsequent invasi…

1
Chris Stringer: human evolution in 2024 1:13:57

6M ago1:13:57

1:13:57

On this episode of Unsupervised Learning Razib welcomes back paleoanthropologist Chris Stringer. Affiliated with the Natural History Museum in London, Stringer is the author of African Exodus. The Origins of Modern Humanity, Lone Survivors: How We Came to Be the Only Humans on Earth and Homo Britannicus - The Incredible Story of Human Life in Brita…

1
Zoe Booth and Iona Italia: Quillette's dynamic duo 1:44:38

6M ago1:44:38

1:44:38

On this episode of Unsupervised Learning, Razib talks to Zoe Booth and Iona Italia. Booth is community engagement officer and Italia is managing editor at Quillette. An Australian, Booth has degrees in French, Politics and Law from the University of Newcastle. Italia is an erstwhile academic of British nationality and mixed Parsi and Scottish herit…

1
Nick Cassimatis: fear not AI, this too shall pass 1:25:56

7M ago1:25:56

1:25:56

On this episode of Unsupervised Learning Razib talks to Nick Cassimatis, erstwhile artificial intelligence researcher and currently an entrepreneur. Cassimatis has undergraduate and doctoral degrees in cognitive and computer science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a master’s degree in child psychology from Stanford. He studied for h…

1
The roamin' Roman Empire, and Charles Darwin's love life 28:36

7M ago28:36

28:36

In this edition of Naked Genetics: The surprising findings of a roman empire diversity study; Are hybrid animals the way out of the biodiversity crisis? And, was charles darwin as romantic as he was scientifically brilliant? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked ScientistsBy Will Tingle

1
James Miller: the end of world as we know it 1:15:38

7M ago1:15:38

1:15:38

On this episode of Unsupervised Learning Razib talks about AI, the singularity and the post-human future, with James D. Miller, a Smith College economist, host of the podcast Future Strategist and the author of Singularity Rising: Surviving and Thriving in a Smarter, Richer, and More Dangerous World. Miller and Razib first met at 2008’s “Singularit…

1
Rob Henderson: foster-kid to Ivy League graduate 1:54:31

7M ago1:54:31

1:54:31

On this episode of Unsupervised Learning Razib talks to Rob Henderson, author of the new book Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class. Henderson is a commentator known for coining the term "luxury beliefs," a tendency among elites to use their beliefs to signal social status, with real-life costs of those beliefs born by non-eli…

1
Wilfred Reilly: a social scientist in the culture wars 1:12:14

7M ago1:12:14

1:12:14

In this episode, Razib talks to Wilfred Reilly, political scientist, author and fearless cultural commentator. Reilly holds a Ph.D. in political science from Southern Illinois and a J.D. from the University of Illinois. Raised in a working-class neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side, he discusses his ten-year diversion from academia, including his s…

1
Erich Schwarz: in the beginning was the worm (C. elegans) 1:08:36

8M ago1:08:36

1:08:36

Today Razib talks to geneticist Erich Schwarz, a Research Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Cornell University since 2012. Schwarz has a molecular biology degree from Harvard and a Ph.D. from Caltech. After working with the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster in graduate school, he switched to the nematode Caenorhabditi…

1
Seth Stephens-Davidowitz - Who Makes the NBA?: Data-Driven Answers to Basketball's Biggest Questions 1:29:23

8M ago1:29:23

1:29:23

Today, Razib talks to Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, author of Who Makes the NBA?: Data-Driven Answers to Basketball's Biggest Questions and Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are. Stephens-Davidowitz, formerly of Google and The New York Times, is a freelance data scientist and author. He has a degr…

1
Alexander: the psychology of dating 52:15

8M ago52:15

52:15

Do 20% of the men on dating apps get 80% of the dates? Is the Zoomer generation the sexless generation? What are the best predictors of relationship success? These are some of the questions Razib asks Alex of DatePsychology on this episode of Unsupervised Learning. A psychologist who studied cognitive and behavioral neuroscience in graduate school,…

1
David Lightbringer: mythopoetic interpretations 1:27:31

8M ago1:27:31

1:27:31

On this episode of Unsupervised Learning Razib talks to David Lightbringer, a YouTube content creator who focuses on the world of The Game of Thrones and the mythologies of ancient peoples. Though Lightbringer writes essays, and distributes his thoughts via podcast (and you can also read his views in short-form on numerous topics via his tweets on …

1
Cesar Fortes-Lima: the three thousand-year odyssey of the Bantu 1:00:27

8M ago1:00:27

1:00:27

On this episode of Unsupervised Learning Razib talks to human geneticist Cesar Fortes-Lima about his new paper, The genetic legacy of the expansion of Bantu-speaking peoples in Africa. Fortes-Lima has a Ph.D. in Biological Anthropology and his primary research areas include African genetic diversity, African diaspora, transatlantic slave trade, dem…

1
S6.27: Next Generation Sequence: Forging new paths in genetics 37:30

8M ago37:30

37:30

Please fill out our listener survey at geneticsunzipped.com/survey before January 31st This episode is all about the next generation, as we meet three up-and-coming scientists who have been supported by the Genetics Society, and learn all about Bermuda skinks, the Black Death and life after a genetics PhD. Full show notes, transcript and references…

1
The origin of Europe's MS disease, and South Pole sequencing 27:42

8M ago27:42

27:42

This episode of Naked Genetics, the origins of multiple sclerosis markers in northern Europe is revealed, and why it might have helped more people than it hindered; we also look at organisms surviving in Earth's most extreme conditions; and ask just why might a bunch of organisms be turning into crabs? Like this podcast? Please help us by supportin…

1
S6.26: The battle for biology: How Mendel came to rule the world 42:54

8M ago42:54

42:54

Please take a minute or two to fill out our listener survey and help shape the future of the podcast: https://geneticsunzipped.com/survey In this episode, we talk to Greg Radick from the University of Leeds to explore the impact that Gregor Mendel and his populariser William Bateson have had on the past century of genetics, and ask whether there co…

1
Cody Moser: the adaptive landscape of cultural evolution 1:10:31

8M ago1:10:31

1:10:31

On this episode of Unsupervised Learning, Razib talks to Cody Moser, co-author of a recent paper, Innovation-facilitating networks create inequality. Moser is an evolutionary psychologist and cultural evolutionist at UC Merced, where he is completing his doctorate. A previous guest on the podcast, Moser immediately digs deep into the abstruse and t…

1
Katherine Brodsky: After 10/7 in Israel, Europe and the US 1:55:24

8M ago1:55:24

1:55:24

Katherine Brodsky hosts the Substack Random Minds and is author of the soon-to-be-published book No Apologies: How to Find and Free Your Voice in the Age of Outrage―Lessons for the Silenced Majority. The daughter of Ukrainian Jewish immigrants to Israel and then Canada, Brodsky has worked as a photographer, in public relations and as a publisher. A…

1
Introducing GenRAIT: when technology drives science 52:50

8M ago52:50

52:50

Today, Razib cross-posts an episode of his other podcast. When not working on this Substack, Razib devotes his time to GenRAIT, a startup accelerating scientific discovery by providing infrastructure and tools to researchers. GenRAIT fosters science and discovery by making biological data accessible, usable, and minable. Razib and his cofounders, D…

1
S6.25: 2023 Unzipped 35:38

9M ago35:38

35:38

Please take a minute or two to fill out our listener survey and help shape the future of the podcast: https://geneticsunzipped.com/survey As 2023 draws to a close, we’re bringing you a smorgasbord of previously unaired clips from some of our favourite interviews this year. Full show notes, transcript and references online at GeneticsUnzipped.com Fo…

1
Testing for genetic diseases, and bats with big penises 27:50

9M ago27:50

27:50

This episode of Naked Genetics, we catch up with our genetics experts and look into the hot button genetics news; we look at how genetics affects our genes, and how genes affect our ageing; and, another extraordinary mating ritual in Quirks of Evolution... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists…

1
Philippe Lemoine: French food and American immigrants 1:44:14

9M ago1:44:14

1:44:14

On this episode of Unsupervised Learning Razib talks to Philippe Lemoine, a fellow at CSPI, a philosopher of science trained at Cornell. Lemoine often wades into controversial topics, like whether Chinese COVID data is trustworthy, but recently, he posted on Twitter that “Americans *genuinely* believe they have better food than France. They really …

1
S6.24: Genes, junk and the ‘dark genome’ 37:31

9M ago37:31

37:31

Please take a minute or two to fill out our listener survey and help shape the future of the podcast: https://geneticsunzipped.com/survey We discover how 500,000 whole genome from UK Biobank will help medical research, plumb the depths of the ‘dark genome’ with Nucleome, and Larry Moran tells us how much of our DNA is just junk. Please fill out our…

1
Mark Safranski: the 21st-century way of war and the exhaustion of the American Empire 1:21:33

9M ago1:21:33

1:21:33

On this episode of Unsupervised Learning Razib discusses war and diplomacy from 9/11 to 10/7 with Mark Safranski. Safranski is a long-time military affairs and foreign policy commentator who ran the popular weblog Zenpundit beginning in 2003. They survey how the 21st century, from the 9/11 attacks down to the Hamas atrocity against Israelis on 10/7…

1
Brent Roberts: let's talk about personality 52:38

10M ago52:38

52:38

Brent W. Roberts On this episode of Unsupervised Learning, Razib discusses personality with Brent Roberts, professor of psychology at the University of Illinois. Roberts explains what personality actually is as a psychological construct, and how it differs from personality traits, like extraversion. Razib and Roberts also address the Big Five Perso…

1
S6.23: 40 years of HIV: the disease that broke the rules 35:12

10M ago35:12

35:12

Please take a minute or two to fill out our listener survey and help shape the future of the podcast: https://geneticsunzipped.com/survey With 2023 marking 40 years since the discovery of HIV, we're looking back over four decades of AIDS, from the earliest whispers of a mysterious new disease to fighting back against this deadly virus. Full show no…

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