The Gene: Unlocking the Human Code, with Siddhartha Mukherjee

The Gene: Unlocking the Human Code, with Siddhartha Mukherjee

Genetics has revolutionised not just how we think of biology but how we think of ourselves. We are, in the words of one geneticist, the first organism that has ‘learned to read its own instructions’. Now, with the breakthrough of gene-editing technology — whose precision allows us to alter a single letter of DNA — we can now not only decipher but rewrite our genetic code. We may soon be able to treat diseases such as cancer not simply with drugs, but with genetic manipulation. Yet behind this medical revolution lies the prospect of something altogether more worrying. Already, we possess the technology to add to our genetic code at will, and thus create the world’s first generation of ‘transgenic’ humans. As we intervene genetically on ourselves with ever more accuracy, do we risk changing what it means to be human? In a potential quest for the genetically ‘normal’, will we risk annihilating the very diversity and mutations on which evolution depends? These are some of the questions that the Pulitzer... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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An Evening with Alan Davies (Part Two)

An Evening with Alan Davies (Part Two)

Alan Davies is one of the UK’s most-loved comedians best known for starring in the BBC series Jonathan Creek, and for his regular appearances on comedy quiz show QI since 2003.  In September 2025 he ...

18 Jan 36min

An Evening with Alan Davies (Part One)

An Evening with Alan Davies (Part One)

Alan Davies is one of the UK’s most-loved comedians best known for starring in the BBC series Jonathan Creek, and for his regular appearances on comedy quiz show QI since 2003.  In September 2025 he ...

16 Jan 38min

How is Artificial Intelligence Transforming our Relationships? With James Muldoon

How is Artificial Intelligence Transforming our Relationships? With James Muldoon

It is over ten years since the release of Spike Jonze’s film Her, in which a lonely man begins a relationship with a computer programme voiced by Scarlett Johansson. Since then, AI companions have sur...

14 Jan 48min

Julia Ioffe and Clarissa Ward on Putin, Russia and the Women Fighting For A Better Future (Part Two)

Julia Ioffe and Clarissa Ward on Putin, Russia and the Women Fighting For A Better Future (Part Two)

Russian-born journalist Julia Ioffe is one of America’s most influential voices on Russia-US relations, reporting on Putin’s regime for over 15 years. Her new book, Motherland – which has been longlis...

12 Jan 37min

Julia Ioffe and Clarissa Ward on Putin, Russia and the Women Fighting For A Better Future (Part One)

Julia Ioffe and Clarissa Ward on Putin, Russia and the Women Fighting For A Better Future (Part One)

Russian-born journalist Julia Ioffe is one of America’s most influential voices on Russia-US relations, reporting on Putin’s regime for over 15 years. Her new book, Motherland – which has been longlis...

11 Jan 38min

Jonathan Freedland on The Secret Rebels who Defied Hitler (Part Two)

Jonathan Freedland on The Secret Rebels who Defied Hitler (Part Two)

Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist, broadcaster, and author of the widely acclaimed book The Escape Artist which tells the remarkable story of Rudolf Vrba and fellow inmate Alfred Wetzler who ...

9 Jan 33min

Jonathan Freedland on The Secret Rebels who Defied Hitler (Part One)

Jonathan Freedland on The Secret Rebels who Defied Hitler (Part One)

Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist, broadcaster, and author of the widely acclaimed book The Escape Artist which tells the remarkable story of Rudolf Vrba and fellow inmate Alfred Wetzler who ...

7 Jan 36min

The Remarkable True Story of The Extremists Who Hijacked the 1970’s, with Jason Burke (Part Two)

The Remarkable True Story of The Extremists Who Hijacked the 1970’s, with Jason Burke (Part Two)

In the 1970s, a network of radical extremists terrorised the West with plane hijackings and hostage-takings. Among them were the beautiful young Leila Khaled with her jewellery made from grenade rings...

5 Jan 35min

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