ON CRISPR: The Story of Jennifer Doudna with Walter Isaacson | Podcast Guru

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A single scientific breakthrough changed the future of humanity, setting off the third great revolution of modern times. As with any revolution, things didn’t happen neatly or quietly. One figure stood at the center of it all: Jennifer Doudna, the Nobel Prize-winning biochemist who co-created CRISPR. Her invention signified the arrival of a newfound ability to edit our genes, as simply as we edit a sentence, with a word processor. From Walter Isaacson - the bestselling biographer behind Musk, Einstein and Steve Jobs – and journalist Evan Ratliff (Mastermind, co-host of the beloved Longform podcast) comes a behind the scenes look at the story of Jennifer Doudna. Her personal trajectory, and that of her collaborators and competitors, tells the story of how we arrived at this new frontier of gene editing. It’s a story filled with global stakes and fiery competition. And a story that touches upon the ethical considerations that gene editing brings. Season 2: He didn’t have a role in Hamilton, but America wouldn’t be the same without him! From Walter Isaacson– the bestselling biographer behind Musk, Einstein and Steve Jobs– and journalist Evan Ratliff (Mastermind, co-host of the beloved Longform podcast) comes a behind the scenes look at the story of Ben Franklin, and how his genius shaped our national character. From Franklin’s adventures as a mischievous apprentice, to his evolution over 84 years into America’s best writer, inventor,scientist, diplomat, and business strategist… as well as Founding Father, Isaacson covers everything from the wit behind Poor Richard’s Almanac to the wisdom behind the Declaration of Independence; not to mention, how a former slave owner evolved into the shepherd of a near-perfect Constitution. In this intimate behind the scenes interview, Isaacson provides a look at how he came to understand Franklin’s remarkable life, how it shaped America’s national identity, and why Ben Franklin matters so much right now. Season 1: What is it like to shadow Elon Musk for two years? To sit courtside as he builds a rocket? Or tears apart an engineer? Or couch surfs at the homes of billionaires? And how on earth do you make sense of it all? Walter Isaacson is the biographer of giants: DaVinci, Franklin, Doudna, Jobs...and now Musk, former enfant terrible, rocket launcher, electric car innovator, and Twitter—er, X—disruptor, to put it gently. In this four-part series, author Evan Ratliff (“Mastermind,” “Longform” Podcast) sits down with Isaacson to draw out the behind-the-scenes stories of this epic biography, and what the writer has learned as an outsider inside Silicon Valley.

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ON CRISPR Episode 5: The Conversation

In the four years since the book’s publication, CRISPR has revolutionized the world of medical treatments and possibilities. But our world has changed drastically, too. As AI’s impact grows, U.S scientists are facing funding cuts like never before. For our final episode, we bring you a live conversation between Walter Isaacson and Jennifer Doudna at the New Orleans Book Festival. In her own words, you’ll hear Doudna explain how CRISPR blossomed from an idea to a phenomenon, and the challenges scientists faces in this politically fraught moment. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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ON CRISPR Episode 4: Franken Monsters

As the gene editing field kept growing, so did the dangers. Back in 2018, Jennifer Doudna received an email from a Chinese scientist claiming that he had genetically edited two twin babies. The news reverberated across the world and made Doudna and her colleagues urgently consider the implications of what their discovery could mean for humanity. Walter Isaacson sits down with Evan and tells him why the field has always been ripe with ethical questions, and how the COVID-19 pandemic pushed researchers to recalibrate their priorities. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

36 MIN

ON CRISPR Episode 3: Patent Wars

Jennifer Doudna thought she had won the race. She thought she had beaten out all scientific competitors when she and her co-author had shocked the world with their groundbreaking technology for gene editing. But turned out, the race had just gotten fiercer. Walter Isaacson sits down with Evan to talk about how one of the most cutthroat scientific competitions in biotech got started around one goal — making CRISPR work for humans, and getting the credit for it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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ON CRISPR Episode 2: The Discovery

Back in the 1990s, a young microbiologist in Alicante, Spain became obsessed with a strange pattern he observed in the genes of tiny organisms — a series of inexplicable clusters. And he wasn’t alone. All around the world, a network of scientists were growing curious as to what these genetic knots could be and all of their potential functions. Their curiosity would prove to be the foundation for a history altering discovery: the ability to edit our genetic code. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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