Bio(un)ethical

Feb 27 2025 20 ep. 79 mins 13

Bio(un)ethical Podcast artwork

The podcast where we question existing norms in medicine, science, and public health.

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#19 Emily Largent and Govind Persad: Is bioethics ok?

Feb 27 2025 81 mins

In this episode, we speak with two leading bioethics scholars about the state of bioethics today. Dr. Emily Largent is the Emanuel and Robert Hart Associate Professor of Medical Ethics and Health Policy and the Chief of the Division of Medical Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. Dr. Govind Persad is an Associate Professor at the University of Denve

#18 David Thorstad: Evidence, uncertainty, and existential risk

Feb 11 2025 98 mins

In this episode, we speak with Dr. David Thorstad: Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University, Senior Research Affiliate at the Global Priorities Institute, and author of the blog, Reflective Altruism. We discuss existential risks–threats that could permanently destroy or drastically curtail humanity’s future–and how we should reason about these risks under si

#17 Rochelle Walensky: How can we fix American public health infrastructure?

Jan 28 2025 78 mins

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Rochelle Walensky, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We discuss the state of American public health infrastructure, the challenges it faces, and what we can do to improve it. (00:00) Our introduction (03:45) Interview begins (09:32) Core challenges: Maintaining and growing the workforce (18:41) Core challenge

#16 Quayshawn Spencer: What is race?

Jan 14 2025 102 mins

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Quayshawn Spencer, Robert S. Blank Presidential Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania, about what race is, why he’s a radical racial pluralist, and what this could imply in science and medicine. (00:00) Our introduction (11:23) Interview begins (20:21) Methodology: What are philosophers of race trying to do? (32:05)

#15 Jeff McMahan: On the ethics of choosing our children's genes

Dec 17 2024 87 mins

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Jeff McMahan, Emeritus Sekyra and White’s Professor of Moral Philosophy at Oxford University, about whether germline gene editing is ever morally preferable to embryo selection and whether and when we should control the genetic outcomes of our children. (00:00) Our introduction (06:48) Interview begins (10:06) Same-child choices and different-ch

#14 James Diao: When should race be used in medical algorithms?

Dec 10 2024 87 mins

In this episode, we speak with researcher and physician Dr. James Diao about when and why race should be included or excluded from clinical algorithms. We focus on his work evaluating the implications of including race as a variable in two clinical algorithms: one used to assess lung function, and another used to assess cardiovascular disease risk. (00:00) Our introduction (05:10)

#13 Sarah McGrath: Are there moral experts?

Nov 27 2024 78 mins

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Sarah McGrath, professor of philosophy at Princeton University. We discuss whether and when it makes sense to defer to others about the answers to moral questions, whether moral deference is any less appropriate than deference in other domains, like math or science, and whether we have reason to think bioethicists are moral experts. (00:00) Our in

#12 David Wendler: Are we overprotecting kids in research?

Nov 12 2024 105 mins

In this episode, we speak with Dr. David Wendler, Head of the Section on Research Ethics in the Department of Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center and philosopher by training. We discuss the ethics of pediatric research: how much risk we should expose kids to in research; what we should do when the federal research regulations don’t make sense; and what

#11 Richard Leiter: Is a better death possible?

Oct 29 2024 88 mins

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Richard Leiter, senior palliative care physician at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. We discuss the state of end-of-life care in the US today, why patients often receive care that doesn’t align with their values, whether some of the care that doesn’t

#10 Danielle Allen: Should laypeople make health policy decisions?

Jan 16 2024 58 mins

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Danielle Allen, professor of political philosophy, ethics, and public policy at Harvard and Director of the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation, about the extent to which we should involve laypeople in decisions about health and science policy through democratic, participatory processes. (00:00) Our introduction (08:47) Interview begins (12:23) Pow