Podcasts

GBBP 210: Robin Cook

The Great Big Beautiful Podcast, Episode 210: Robin Cook

You can find us online at www.thegbbpodcast.com! You can listen on iTunesGoogle Play, Spotify, TuneInStitcher, and YouTube; you can follow the RSS feed; or you can listen right here!
We’re gettin’ nerdy this week, people! We’re donning our lab coats and venturing into a scientific conversation we have no business discussing: CRISPR/Cas9. Which is why we brought in the brain trust—i.e., Kishore Hari, science guru over at Tested.com and host of the Inquiring Minds podcast. We start off with a bit of context and discuss what CRISPR/Cas9 actually is. What’s the basic science behind the technology and process, how does it work, what’s its promise, and what are its dangers? We also touch on recent, very real-world events in which Chinese scientist He Jiankui announced that he had used the technology to genetically modify a pair of twin girls. We then talk to author Robin Cook, whose newest novel, Pandemic, is a thriller about the unintended side effects caused by genetic engineering and the CRISPR technology. Throughout his career, Cook has had an uncanny ability to be incredibly timely with his novels. Pandemic is no different. We talk to Cook about how the black market in human organs (a theme in Pandemic) has changed in the 40 years since he wrote Coma, why it wasn’t much of a surprise that someone used CRISPR/Cas9 to genetically modify humans, where we go from here, the continuing ignorance about vaccines, and how medicine and public health will change over the next generation.
Connect:
Liked it? Take a second to support GeekDad and GeekMom on Patreon!

This post was last modified on January 31, 2019 3:16 pm

Jamie Greene

Jamie is a publishing/book nerd who makes a living by wrangling words together into some sense of coherence. When he's not knee deep in a convoluted grammatical mess of a sentence, he's likely on an adventure with his two adorable ragamuffins. You can check out more of his ramblings on The Roarbots, StarWars.com, Syfy Wire, and Babble.

Share
Published by

Recent Posts

Kickstarter Tabletop Alert: Lewis and Clark … and Monsters in ‘Corps of Discovery’

You probably learned in school that Lewis and Clark were commissioned by the President to…

April 23, 2024

Review – The Flash #8: Closing In

As the search for Wally continues, Amanda Waller sets her sights on the Flash Family.

April 23, 2024

Review – The Penguin #9: Family Business

Penguin has returned to Gotham—but his daughter intends him to have a short stay.

April 23, 2024

Review – Harley Quinn #39: The New Gig

Harley has a new purpose—and a first client, in the form of Maxie Zeus.

April 23, 2024

Review – Power Girl #8: Unlikely Allies

It's time for Power Girl to enter the House of Brainiac—for a team-up with Crush.

April 23, 2024

Review – Batman: Dark Age #2 – The Lost Boy

Bruce Wayne finds his escape from prison in the Army—but Vietnam proves to be more…

April 23, 2024

This website uses cookies.