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Podcasts (also available on our YouTube channel: @PlutopiaNewsNetwork)

    FutureHealthPodcastScience

    Neal Baer: The Promise and Peril of CRISPR

    by Plutopia News Network June 2, 2025
    written by Plutopia News Network

    In this wide-ranging Plutopia podcast episode, Dr. Neil Baer — television writer and producer, physician, and public health advocate — discusses The Promise and Peril of CRISPR, a book he edited that explores the ethical, medical, and social implications of gene editing. While CRISPR holds transformative potential to cure diseases like sickle cell anemia and beta thalassemia, Baer warns of a slippery slope when it comes to altering human embryos, raising difficult questions about disability, human variation, and who decides what traits are worth preserving. The conversation touches on potential abuses such as eugenics, designer soldiers, bioterrorism, and corporate exploitation, while also examining CRISPR’s impact on biodiversity, animal welfare, and transhumanism. Baer emphasizes the need for public understanding, strong ethical frameworks, and compassionate storytelling in navigating the complex intersection of science, identity, and politics in an era where scientific facts are increasingly challenged.

    https://media.blubrry.com/plutopia_news_network/plutopia.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Neal-Baer.mp3

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download

    Neal Baer:

    You know, evolution is so long, and this is what makes me nervous when we start to tinker with evolution as well. I’m not saying we shouldn’t have CRISPR to alleviate suffering. I think we should have CRISPR to alleviate the suffering of sickle cell disease or beta thalassemia or many other genetic diseases. Should we use it to get rid of these these diseases? Well I think there would be no one who would argue that Tay-Sachs is a good thing. But in our book, Ethan Weiss, who’s a cardiologist at UC San Francisco, has a child with albinism. And he says that he and his wife would have probably decided to abort had they known that she was carrying a fetus with albinism. But once their child was born — they can’t imagine life without her. So should we get rid of albinism? Should we get rid of Down Syndrome? This is the slippery slope of CRISPR.

    Relevant Links

    • CRISPR
    • Genetically modified organism
    • Genus
    • Genetically Modifying Livestock for Improved Welfare: A Path Forward
    • Eugenics
    • New Yorker article on people who feel no pain
    • Michael Sandel, The Atlantic, “The Case Against Perfection”
    • Hollywood, Health, and Society
    • ER
    • ER: Blizzard
    • ER: Hell and High Water
    • The Pitt
    • St. Elsewhere
    • Dr. Kildare
    • The Boys From Brazil
    • Gattaca
    • Law and Order SVU: Selfish
    • Law and Order SVU: Transitions
    • JK Rowling’s essay explaining her views on trans issues

    Background image by Elena I Leonova, license: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

    June 2, 2025 0 comments
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  • ActivismLaw and PolicyPodcastPoliticsTechnology

    Jonathan Kamens: A Technologist’s Warning

    by Plutopia News Network May 26, 2025
    by Plutopia News Network

    Cybersecurity expert Jonathan Kamens, a longtime technologist with a background in software engineering and digital security, was dismissed from his role at the Department of Veterans Affairs by Elon Musk’s …

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  • ActivismLaw and PolicyPodcastTechnology

    Cindy Cohn and Kevin Welch: Settling the Electronic Frontier

    by Plutopia News Network May 19, 2025
    by Plutopia News Network

    The Electronic Frontier Foundation has worked for more than three decades to defend free speech online, fight illegal surveillance, advocate for users and innovators, and support freedom-enhancing technologies. EFF has …

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  • CommunityCulturePodcastPolitics

    Sandy Stone: Finding Girl Island

    by Plutopia News Network May 12, 2025
    by Plutopia News Network

    The legendary Sandy Stone returns to the Plutopia podcast this time as we discuss “Girl Island,” an upcoming partially-animated film based on her life and early visions of gender identity. …

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  • Podcast

    Will Kreth: Human and Digital

    by Plutopia News Network May 5, 2025
    by Plutopia News Network

    In this episode of the Plutopia News Network, Will Kreth—founder and CEO of HAND (Human and Digital) — joins Plutopians to discuss the future of identity, digital media, and the …

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  • CommunityPodcastPolitics

    Michael Tobis: The Canada Divide

    by Plutopia News Network April 28, 2025
    by Plutopia News Network

    This time on the Plutopia podcast, climate scientist Michael Tobis, our man in the Great White North, joins us to talk about U.S.-Canadian relations. As Canadians go to the polls …

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  • CommunityPodcastTravel

    Travels with Ray Thompson

    by Plutopia News Network April 21, 2025
    by Plutopia News Network

    Ray Thompson, a revenue and operations executive and managing partner at Buy Build Sell LLC, joined the Plutopia podcast while on a 23,000-mile road trip across the U.S. with his …

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  • ActivismCommunityMusicPodcast

    Axon: For All

    by Plutopia News Network April 14, 2025
    by Plutopia News Network

    On this episode of the Plutopia podcast, singer-songwriter Axon Chamberlain (aka “The Herban Cowboy”) rejoins Plutopians to debut tracks from his newly released CD “Pub Fare,” recorded live in tap …

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  • CulturePodcastPolitics

    Darryl Cunningham on Musk the Oligarch

    by Plutopia News Network April 7, 2025
    by Plutopia News Network

    British author and cartoonist Daryl Cunningham has created a graphical biography of Elon Musk, originally published in France under the title Elon Musk, Investigation into a New Master of the …

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  • ActivismLaw and PolicyPodcast

    Paul Alan Levy: Defending Free Speech

    by Plutopia News Network April 1, 2025
    by Plutopia News Network

    Paul Alan Levy, a public interest attorney at Public Citizen, specializes in defending internet-related free speech cases, particularly those involving individuals targeted by lawsuits for their online expression. While personally …

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  • HistoryPodcastPolitics

    JFK Died for Our Sins

    by Plutopia News Network March 24, 2025
    by Plutopia News Network

    In 1975, the United States Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with respect to intelligence activities began a formal inquiry into abuses committed by the CIA, NSA, FBI, and …

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  • CultureFutureLiteraturePodcastScience FictionTechnology

    Pat Cadigan: Cyberpunk Redux

    by Plutopia News Network March 17, 2025
    by Plutopia News Network

    Pat Cadigan is a renowned science fiction and cyberpunk author known for works like Synners and Mindplayers. In 2023 she released a novelization of the classic Japanese Ultraman TV series, …

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  • ActivismPodcastPolitics

    Red Flag Warning: Wildfire Politics

    by Plutopia News Network March 11, 2025
    by Plutopia News Network

    Austin activist Suzy Shelor joins the Plutopia podcast to discuss a range of pressing issues with the politics of the moment, including Elon Musk’s increasing influence over government, Trump’s authoritarian …

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  • ArtCultureDesignPodcastTechnology

    Alan Watts on Meow Wolf

    by Plutopia News Network March 3, 2025
    by Plutopia News Network

    Arts and Entertainment Company Meow Wolf creates large-scale interactive and immersive art installations. They recently opened their fifth installation in Houston. Austin based hardware and software developer, Alan Watts, created …

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  • ActivismLaw and PolicyPodcastPoliticsTechnology

    The Barking DOGE

    by Plutopia News Network February 25, 2025
    by Plutopia News Network

    Plutopians are joined by EFF-Austin president Kevin Welch. Elon Musk’s team of alleged geniuses continue to disrupt many U.S. government agencies. With that in mind, we discuss Musk’s disruptive influence …

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  • ActivismCommunityHealthPodcast

    Empowered Patients and AI

    by Plutopia News Network February 17, 2025
    by Plutopia News Network

    In this episode of the Plutopia News Network Podcast, we discuss how AI is revolutionizing healthcare by empowering patients to take control of their medical decisions. Our guests, Dave DeBronkart …

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  • Home
  • About
    • Jon Lebkowsky
    • Scoop Sweeney
    • Wendy Grossman, Contributing Editor
  • Podcast
  • Blog
  • YouTube
  • Support via Patreon
  • Support via Paypal
  • Contact
  • Merch
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Plutopia News Network
  • Home
  • About
    • Jon Lebkowsky
    • Scoop Sweeney
    • Wendy Grossman, Contributing Editor
  • Podcast
  • Blog
  • YouTube
  • Support via Patreon
  • Support via Paypal
  • Contact
  • Merch
  • Bookshop

Copyright, 2009-2020, Plutopia News Network, LLC.


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Our Legalese, Humorless Privacy Policy