Gregory Cochran: 15 Years After The 10,000 Year Explosion
In this episode, host Razeeb Khan talks with evolutionary geneticist Dr. Gregory Cochran about the newly published 2026 Reich Lab paper, “Ancient DNA Reveals Pervasive Directional Selection Across Western Eurasia,” and its implications for the 10,000‑Year Explosion hypothesis that Cochran co‑authored in 2009. They discuss how the paper confirms strong recent selection on immune‑related genes, the methodological advances and controversies surrounding citation practices, and why many human geneticists—especially those from a medical background—have historically overlooked signals of recent adaptation. Cochran also reflects on the broader patterns of selection among European hunter‑gatherers, Neolithic farmers, and Yamnaya steppe peoples, and how these findings intersect with debates over polygenic risk scores and population differences.
Megan McArdle: The Follies of Populism, Impending Fiscal Crisis, and the Whirlwind of AI
In this episode, Megan McArdle discusses the shifting media landscape, the rise of podcasts and YouTube as primary news channels for younger audiences, and the challenges posed by populism and looming fiscal crises. She highlights how traditional newspapers have lost...
Chris Bradley: Better Science for Longevity
In this episode, host Rizim Tom chats with Chris Bradley of MatterBio about the science of longevity, focusing on how genomic damage drives the hallmarks of aging. Bradley explains that while cells constantly renew, DNA damage from internal sources like...
Chris Masterjohn: COVID-19 to Mitochondrial Health, Communicating and Applying "the Science"
Chris Masterjohn, a nutritional scientist and mitochondrial biologist, launched Mitome, a consumer‑focused platform for mitochondrial health testing. In a conversation with Razib Khan, he critiqued the COVID‑19 response, alleging authorities overstated certainty and faced attempts at censorship. Masterjohn also argued...
Mike White: Academia and Genomics in the 21st Century
In a recent Unsupervised Learning episode, Razib Khan interviews Washington University genetics professor Mike White about his lab’s work on the biophysical architecture of regulatory DNA. White’s interdisciplinary approach combines functional genomics, synthetic biology, computational biology and deep‑learning to predict...