Episode 4: Genetics, Race, and Ancestry

Episode 5A: The Meanings and Messages of Prenatal Genetic Testing

In this episode, my peer Samantha Ratner joins me to jointly interview two guests: Dr.Tamar Goldwaser and Dr.Felicity Boardman. In the first part of this episode, we give an overview of what prenatal testing is and how it works. We also highlight some of the experiences that Dr.Goldwaser, a medical geneticist and OB/GYN, has had with patients who seek or decline prenatal testing. In the second part we loop in Dr.Boardman, a professor in medicine ethics and society in Warwick Medical School, who explains expressivism and comments on the broader social meanings and messages of prenatal testing.

Episode 0: A Prospective Retrospective

I give a quick intro to genethics, the study of ethical issues in genetics, and reflect on my journey in making this podcast. At the time of me posting this episode, I haven't yet completed this podcast series, so I offer reflections and also outline future directions. If you want to know what genethics is and how I plan to talk about it, tune in!

Episode 4: Genetics, Race, and Ancestry

I interview Dr.Adam Van Arsdale, a Professor of Anthropology at Wellesley College who researches how personal genomic information affects our understanding of ourselves and what it means to be human. In this episode, we explore how genetic testing, especially direct-to-consumer testing, can affect how we think about concepts like race, ancestry, and identity. We also consider the extractionist tendencies of genetics, leaving off with some examples of how Indigenous communities are resisting biocolonialism.  Credits: Sound bites of President Clinton and Francis Collins come from the NIH's recording of the Draft of the Human Genome Sequence Announcement at the White House. Licensed under Creative Commons. Sound bites of President Clinton and Francis Collins come from the NIH's recording of the Draft of the Human Genome Sequence Announcement at the White House. Licensed under Creative Commons. Clips of the Havasupai song come from the New York Times's video Blood Journey, a short documentary following the Havasupai scandal. Produced by Kassie Bracken and Amy Harmon. Clips of Carletta Tilousi speaking about the Havasupai scandal come from a segment of NPR’s ‘Tell Me More’:  'Blood Victory' In Medical Research Dispute. Hosted by Celeste Headlee.

Episode 3: Testing...testing...

In this episode, I continue my interview with Dr.Hilary Archbold, the genetics course coordinator at UofM (featured in Episode 1) and also bring in Dr.Scott Roberts, a Professor in Health Behavior & Health Education at UofM's School of Public Health, to talk about genetic testing. We begin with a technical overview of how genetic sequencing and genotyping work and also describe differences between traditional clinical testing and direct-to-consumer testing (like 23andMe and Ancestry). The rest of the episode is dedicated to exploring biases in genetic testing, the social and ethical implications of receiving testing results, and concerns about privacy.

Episode 2: Intro to Moral Philosophy

Dr.Dan Lowe, a lecturer in philosophy at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor talks with me about the basics of moral philosophy. We introduce some of the main moral theories (and debates therein) which will inform our discussion of genethics issues. We'll begin exploring genethics issues starting with Episode 3, "Testing...testing...", but for now this episode gives an intro to ethics for listeners who might not be familiar.