Episode 11: The Most Dangerous Thing Donald Trump Believes
Genetic Frontiers
Part of Genetic Frontiers Season 2: Genetics in American Politics & Culture, Sue Currell, PhD, discusses the disturbing echoes of eugenic thinking in American politics today. She calls eugenics “the backbone of political control and a progressive meritocracy,” and argues that “grip of eugenic ideas on American politics today is a political failure to imagine a world where value is not profit.” Visit to hear more episodes on the promise, power, and perils of genetic information. KEY TOPICS Reading of excerpts from “ How should we understand the...
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Episode 10: Eugenic Thinking & The Race to Build AGI
Genetic Frontiers
Timnit Gebru, PhD, AI expert, advocate, and founder of the Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR) and Émile P. Torres, PhD, a philosopher, discuss how eugenic ideologies are influencing Silicon Valley and driving the push for artificial general intelligence. They talk about how eugenic thinking pervades American culture, including Big Tech and medicine, and is foundational to the worldviews of some of the powerful people in the United States today. KEY TOPICS Introduction to main idea of TESCREAL paper: the cultural push to develop artificial general intelligence is undergirded by...
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Episode 9: Breeding "Better" Humans & Other Dangerous Ideas Driving American Politics
Genetic Frontiers
A conversation with an award-winning science journalist and author, Angela Saini, about the alluring but dangerous pursuit of “improving” the human species through genetics and how it's driving American politics and policy today. TOPICS The ideology of eugenics is fundamentally driven by a pursuit that can seem deceptively desirable: the “improvement of the human species.” What does it really mean to “improve” people? How does the pursuit of perfection drive eugenic thinking? How are you thinking about efforts today to scrub scientific research of engagement with...
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Episode 8: The Black Genome Project
Genetic Frontiers
In this episode, Chelsey Carter, PhD, and Brett Maricque, PhD, founders of the Black Genome Project ( talk about their work to understand how Black communities value their genomes and genetic data, how genetic research is impacting Black communities in St. Louis, and whether genomic sequencing is valuable for everyone. TOPICS Introduction to the Chelsey Carter, PhD; Brett Marique, PhD, and the Black Genome Project Discussion of how the Black Genome Project is collaborating with the Black community in St. Louis, its local nature, and how the team is collecting data Discussion...
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Episode 7: Genetic Difference, Disability, and Inclusion
Genetic Frontiers
In this episode, Arielle Silverman, PhD, Director of Research for the American Foundation for the Blind, discusses genetic difference and disability, including her own congenital blindness and the need to move towards a more inclusivity-focused mindset. She shares insights from her book Just Human: The Quest for Disability Wisdom, Respect, and Inclusion as well as her research. KEY TOPICS Introduction to genetic difference & disability, Dr. Arielle Silverman, Director of Research for the American Foundation for the Blind [00:00 - 4:15] Excerpt from Arielle Silverman’s book,...
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Episode 6: The Eugenesis of Genetic Counseling
Genetic Frontiers
Eugenics is at the core of the emergence of the genetic counseling profession. In this episode, Alexandra Minna Stern, PhD, the Humanities Dean at UCLA, a historian, and researcher, discusses how this entanglement casts a long shadow over the profession and offers important historical context for some of the present day challenges facing the fields of genetics and genomics. KEY TOPICS Introduction to the Professor Alexandra Minna Stern and background on the genetic counseling profession and the eugenics movement [0:00 - 04:05] Reading of excerpt from ...
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Episode 5: Informed Consent & Prenatal Genetic Testing
Genetic Frontiers
“Informed consent” has long been held up as the gold standard of patient care in Western medicine. In this episode of Genetic Frontiers, Blair Stevens, MS, CGC, Director of Prenatal Genetic Counseling Services at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston talks about what informed consent means when it comes to making hundreds of choices about genetic testing around pregnancy. She also discusses the computer module a team at UTHealth Houston created to support prenatal genetic decision-making and the genetic counseling process. KEY TOPICS Introduction to the history of informed...
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Episode 4: Cancer in the Family? What You Need to Know About Hereditary Risk
Genetic Frontiers
Episode Summary In this episode, Lisa Schlager, the Vice President of Public Policy at FORCE, a national advocacy organization, discusses genetic testing, prevention, treatment, and legal protections for people at risk for hereditary cancer. KEY TOPICS Introduction: concerns of people at risk of hereditary cancer; FORCE, a national advocacy organization; and Lisa Schlager, VP of Public Policy at FORCE [00:00 - 3:15] Tell us about your personal journey with hereditary cancer, and how you got involved in advocacy work? [3:15 - 11:23] What is GINA, the Federal Genetic...
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Episode 3: Prenatal Genetic Counseling Unlike Therapy in Any Other Setting
Genetic Frontiers
Episode Summary In this episode, Kendra Schaa, ScM, LGC, a prenatal genetic counselor at a major medical center talks about the importance of the therapeutic model in meeting patients where they are. She also discusses how prenatal genetic counseling is influenced by the profession’s roots in biology over psychology, the skyrocketing number of genetic tests, and the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Full episode & transcript at: https://www.geneticfrontiers.org/episode3-kendra-schaa KEY TOPICS Introduction to personal story of prenatal genetic counseling and history of genetic counseling...
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Episode 2: How DNA Testing is Shaking Up the Sperm Banking Industry
Genetic Frontiers
In this episode of Genetic Frontiers, Katie Lee Hornberger, a certified genetic counselor with the Seattle Sperm Bank talks about how genetic testing has shaken up the sperm banking industry. DNA testing has changed everything, forcing the industry to move from a paradigm that prized anonymity towards one of greater transparency about biological relationships, genetic risks, and family medical history. Go to episode details on KEY TOPICS Introduction to the sperm banking industry Introduction to Katie Lee Hornberger, CGC How has genetic testing changed the sperm banking...
info_outlineIn this episode, Nerine Gregersen, MD, a former pediatrician, clinical geneticist, and logotherapist, discusses how learning genetic information about oneself can have profound emotional and existential impacts.
She talks about how logotherapy, a form of psychotherapy that emphasizes finding meaning as people’s primary motivation, can help support people navigating difficult diagnoses or profound life shifts triggered by genetic discoveries.
Go to episode details on Genetic Frontiers.