Category Archives: extinction

The dawn of de-extinction

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Hank Greely and Jake Sherkow discuss the science, morals, and ethics of de-extinction: bringing extinct species back to life.  As lawyers with an interest in biotechnologies, Hank and Jake explain how they first got involved with de-extinciton, how scientists propose to bring species back, and discuss the potential for de-extinction technology to help restore damaged ecosystems.  While discussing some potential side effects of this new process, Hank and Jake recall how a man obsessed with William Shakespeare transformed the ecosystem of New England, and how de-extinction might do the same.

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Extremophiles of the Anthropocene

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If we’re looking for how life will respond to rapid environmental changes, we should probably look to bacteria adapted to live in extreme environments – what scientists call extremophiles.  Astrobiologist Dirk Schulze-Makuch examines the Anthropocene with thought experiments of bacteria throughout the solar system, using scientific principles documented on Earth.  He discusses known extremophiles, certain problems posed by asteroid impacts, and the importance of keeping an open mind when analyzing evolutionary trajectories on Earth.

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Masters of the Anthropocene Boundary

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It’s our 50th episode!  To celebrate we sit down with four members of the Anthropocene Working Group: the scientists and experts who are deciding whether or not we formally adopt the Anthropocene into the geologic time table.  We discuss what makes the Anthropocene boundary different from all of the other boundaries in geologic history, how they deal with the increased public attention to this particular boundary, and some cultural ripple effects of the Anthropocene dealing with the Law of the Sea.  As we wrap up, the Generation Anthropocene producers take a minute to reflect on all of the rapid changes we’ve witnessed over the past 50 episodes.

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The Apocalypse (or how I learned to stop worrying and love the Anthropocene)

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One month after the Mayan apocalypse of 2012, the Generation Anthropocene team of Leslie Chang, Mike Osborne, and Miles Traer chat about the relations between the Anthropocene and apocalyptic pop-culture stories.  Mike reveals the apocalyptic history of the podcast, Miles explains how he thinks the narrative of apocalypse has changed in the shadow of the Anthropocene, and Leslie does her best to keep them both on the rails instead of discussing zombies… again.

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