Death - the most mysterious, unknowable, and terrifying event in human experience. Some philosophers believe society is shaped, ultimately, by the fear of death. So what actually happens when you die? Is there anything after? Learn more in this classic episode.
In part 2 of our interview with John Hieronymus, we discuss how to organize a union, the power of collective action, and the importance of anti-racism and feminism in the union movement.
Australian police plan to use DNA sequencing to predict a suspect's physical appearance. In New York it appears someone is secretly listening to prisoners' phone calls. Breakthroughs in artificial intelligence have resulted in new discoveries in the field of mathematics... at the same time that AI is also making stunning, disturbing breakthroughs in weapon design. All this and more in this week's Strange News,
If you're like most people, you've interacted with a countless number of memes -- screenshots, gifs, classic pop culture moments in film and so on. While society often regards these ephemeral units of information as little more than a passing fad, it turns out memes have enormous potential. They can influence thought and behavior. They can become weapons of war.
Why was Gandhi convinced one woman had truly been reincarnated? Are memes actually alive? What's going on at the Steelcase Pyramid? All this and more in this week's listener mail.
Baratunde continues his journey to discover how we can embed more justice into the data driving our increasingly automated lives and focuses on the most intimate data there is: our DNA. He talks with Krystal Tsosie, an indigenous geneticist, and bioethicist who fights for data sovereignty and the rights of indigenous peoples to have agency over their personhood and knowledge.
Guest: Krystal Tsosie
Bio: Indigenous (Diné/Navajo) geneticist-ethicist at Vanderbilt University and incoming faculty at Arizona State. Co-Founder of the Native BioData Consortium.
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ACTIONS
- PERSONALLY REFLECT
What’s your data worth?
Ask yourself, “how much is my data privacy worth to me, and how do I feel about nonconsensual surveillance based on my data?” Now add in the element of genetic information. How would you feel if any of your biological kin donated genetic information that was tied to information about you that can be bought and sold?
- BECOME INFORMED
Learn about nonconsensual data collection
Read this NY Times article about Indigenous tribes in the Amazon who felt “duped, lied to, exploited” when they realized their donated blood samples were being sold for $75 a vial while the medicines they were promised in exchange never arrived. Or learn about Henrietta Lacks, a Black woman whose cervical cancer cells (“HeLa”) changed the field of biology and have been commodified by laboratories, but without the knowledge of her or her family. Now let’s make it more personal. Find out what Big Tech knows about you with some of the suggestions in this article.
- PUBLICLY PARTICIPATE
Support ethical data practices
Empower science led by Indigenous scientists working with tribal communities to ensure that the benefits of biomedicine and public health benefit Indigenous peoples. Consider making a donation to the Native BioData Consortium. And help protect yourself and slow the market for selling our data by installing the Global Privacy Control. This is a feature of certain web browsers that lets you signal to a site not to trade information about you, and it’s backed by law!
