#319 A Special Hell

05/29/15 • 60 min

This week we're talking about the use - and appalling misuse - of genetics in pursuit of human perfection. We'll speak to Claudia Malacrida, sociology professor and eugenics researcher, about her book "A Special Hell: Institutional Life in Alberta's Eugenic Years." And we'll talk to Hannah Brown, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Adelaide, about the ethical issues raised by the creation of a genetically modified human embryo.

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#318 Come As You Are

This week we're looking at the intersection of human sexuality, research and education. We're joined by sexuality educator and blogger Emily Nagoski, to talk about her book "Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science that Will Transform Your Sex Life." And we'll speak to medical humanities and bioethics professor Alice Dreger, about her experience live-tweeting her son's abstinence-focused sex-ed class.

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#320 Dataclysm

This week we're looking at how powerful computers and massive data sets are changing the we study each other, scientifically and socially. We're joined by machine learning researcher Hanna Wallach, to talk about the definition of "big data," and social science research techniques that use data about individual people to model patterns in human behavior. And we'll speak to Christian Rudder, co-founder of OkCupid and author of the OkTrends blog, about his book "Dataclysm: Who We Are (When We Think No One's Looking)."