Make People Better Podcast - Designer Babies

Designer Babies

03/06/23 • 44 min

Let’s start our journey into the genomic revolution where the documentary film, Make People Better left off. First, we will speak with Dr. Jiankui He (nicknamed “JK”), the Chinese scientist who secretly created the first designer babies, named Lulu and Nana. As a result of the controversy that followed, JK spent the next three years in prison. We also speak with Dr. Ben Hurlbut. Ben is an ethics expert from Arizona State University. We will dive deep into why JK did what he did, the top U.S. scientist and communist party officials who supported him, what happened to the twin girls Lulu and Nana, and what lies ahead for humanity now that this door to human enhancement has been opened.
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Episode Guests

J. Benjamin Hurlbut, PhD is Associate Professor in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University. He studies the governance of biomedical research and innovation, examining the interplay of science and technology with democracy, religious and moral pluralism, and public reason.

Jiankui He is a Chinese researcher who created the first human genetically designed babies, the twin girls known by their pseudonyms, Lulu and Nana. The twins were enhanced to be immune to HIV, the virus that AIDS.

Reference links for this episode
Transcript (thanks B Bishop) https://diyhpl.us/wiki/transcripts/makepeoplebetter/episode-001/

https://www.science.org/content/article/untold-story-circle-trust-behind-world-s-first-gene-edited-babies
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/feb/04/scientist-edited-babies-genes-acted-too-quickly-he-jiankui
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/04/opinion/gene-editing-crispr-fertility-medicine.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

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Credits
Written and Edited by Cody Sheehy
Produced by Samira Kiani
Music By Tyler Strickland
Impact production by Megan Friend
Recorded by Cody Sheehy and Samira Kiani
Additional Recording By Galen McCaw
Sound design and mixing by Kim Christensen
Supporting materials by Cody Sheehy
Social media and marketing by Megan Friend, Amna Vegha, and Marci Fiamengo
Website by Craig Boesewetter
Legal by W. Wilder Knight II
Executive production by Randall Gebhardt and Christopher Gebhardt

Episode Guests

Reference links for this episode
Transcript (thanks B Bishop) https://diyhpl.us/wiki/transcripts/makepeoplebetter/episode-001/

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Previous Episode

Introducing Make People Better Podcast

Science fiction is becoming science fact. In 2018, the team behind this podcast uncovered that a Chinese scientist, Jiankui He (nicknamed “JK”), was creating the world’s first genetically enhanced babies. The experiment opened the door to what may become a commercial market for designer babies and for governments to enhance entire populations. In the controversy that followed, the Chinese government disappeared JK and later sentenced him to three years in prison. Dr. He is now out of prison and has started a new genetic engineering company. He sits down with us in our first episode to discuss his plans. But the story does not stop there. In recent years, gene editing has exploded into a technological revolution that is poised to transform society and redefine what it means to be human. In this 7-part podcast series, we investigate the race to unlock age reversal and immortality in humans, new tools that can re-engineer entire species of animals and plants in nature, the inevitability of bioterrorists creating synthetic viruses, an underground movement of do-it-yourself biohackers who are setting up labs in their garages, how pop culture has informed the genomic revolution, and much more.

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Next Episode

Immortality

As far back as we have recorded history, from ancient cave paintings to the pyramids, humans have quested for immortality. It is the ultimate prize for a species that can imagine the future and their own eventual death. In recent years, science has transformed that quest into a technological one. This episode starts with Max More, the former president of ALCOR Life Extension Foundation. Next stop is to meet with Dr. George Church, the legendary genomics pioneer, and take a trip to the forefront of age reversal. He has recently started a new company, Rejuvenate Bio, with his protegee Noah Davidsohn. The logic is that if people see the safety of radically increasing the lifespans of their pets, they will become much more comfortable trying the same therapy on themselves.
Andrew Hessel is a micro-biologist and geneticist and entrepreneur.

Max More is a philosopher and futurist who writes, speaks, and consults on advanced decision-making about emerging technologies.

George Church is an American geneticist, molecular engineer, chemist, and a serial entrepreneur who is widely regarded as the "Founding Father of Genomics", and a pioneer in personal genomics and synthetic biology.

Noah Davidsohn is the CSO & Co-Founder at Rejuvenate Bio. Previously, Noah was Research Scientist at Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering.

Daniel Oliver is Founder and CEO of Rejuvenate Bio. He holds a business degree from Harvard Business School.
Reference links for this episode

Transcript https://diyhpl.us/wiki/transcripts/makepeoplebetter/episode-002-longevity/
https://www.alcor.org

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230105006059/e

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