Adam Rutherford is a geneticist at the University College London, which has one of the most prestigious population, genetics and evolution departments in the world.
However, the university was also the home of ideas such as eugenics and race science.
Times have changed, and although our current understanding of genetics and biology should have consigned them to history, these insidious ideas are making their way back into the mainstream.
In his new book, How to Argue with a Racist (£12.99, Weidenfeld & Nicolson), Adam wants to show his readers that what we understand as race doesn’t really hold up with the genomic data, why professional sport is not a particularly good data set for studying race, and whether we can ever truly remove racism from science.
He speaks to our editorial assistant Amy Barrett.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Listen to more episodes of theScience Focus Podcast:
- Marcel Danesi: Why do we want to believe lies?
- Gaia Vince: What part does culture play in our evolution?
- Robert Elliott Smith: Are algorithms inherently biased?
- Caroline Criado Perez: Does data discriminate against women?
- Angela Saini: Is racism creeping into science?
- John Higgs: Are Generation Z our only hope for the future?
