From criminal cases to designer babies, DNA is reshaping humanity's future. Michael Regilio unravels this double helix of discovery on Skeptical Sunday! Welcome to Skeptical Sunday, a special edition of The Jordan Harbinger Show where Jordan and a guest break down a topic that you may have never thought about, open things up, and debunk common misconceptions. This time around, we’re joined by skeptic, comedian, and podcaster Michael Regilio! On This Week's Skeptical Sunday, We Discuss: DNA is simultaneously microscopic and massive in scale — while coiled up tightly in each cell's nucleus, if you unraveled all the DNA in a single human body and laid it end-to-end, it would stretch to the sun not once, but 600 times! This mind-bending fact perfectly illustrates how we're all walking around with an astronomical amount of genetic information packed into our cells. The ethical implications of DNA databases are more complex than a double helix — even if you never take a genetic test yourself, your relatives' DNA decisions can expose your genetic information. It's like playing genetic poker where someone else can accidentally show your hand. This raises serious concerns about privacy, insurance discrimination, and how genetic information could be weaponized by bad actors. CRISPR technology has opened Pandora's genetic toolbox — while it offers incredible potential for treating diseases like sickle cell anemia, it also enables the possibility of "designer babies" and genetic enhancements that could create new forms of social inequality. We're essentially writing code for humans now, but without a clear user manual for the consequences. DNA evidence has revolutionized criminal justice — but it took decades to establish proper standards and protocols. From its first use in catching Colin Pitchfork (whose villainous name seems almost too on-the-nose) to modern genetic genealogy solving cold cases, DNA has become the ultimate witness that never forgets and never lies. Understanding and working with DNA is becoming increasingly accessible and beneficial — from personalized medicine to ancestry exploration to crop improvements, we all have opportunities to engage with and benefit from DNA science. By staying informed about genetic advances while thoughtfully considering their implications, we can help shape a future where this powerful technology serves humanity's best interests rather than our darker impulses. Connect with Jordan on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. If you have something you'd like us to tackle here on Skeptical Sunday, drop Jordan a line at [email protected] and let him know! Connect with Michael Regilio at Twitter, Instagram, and See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Chapter 1: What is the main topic of this episode?
Welcome to Skeptical Sunday. I'm your host, Jordan Harbinger. Today I'm here with Skeptical Sunday co-host Michael Regilio. On the Jordan Harbinger Show, we decode the stories, secrets, and skills of the world's most fascinating people and turn their wisdom into practical advice that you can use to impact your own life and those around you.
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Just visit jordanharbinger.com slash start, or search for us in your Spotify app to get started. Today, DNA and genes are everywhere, both figuratively and literally. Get your mind out of the gutter, folks.
Not only are they the building blocks of every living thing, but they also hold the secrets to our ancestry, unlock the mysteries of unsolved crimes, and help doctors predict and treat potential health conditions. Even Maury Povich famously used DNA to determine if somebody is or is not the father.
You are not the father.
But as technology advances, we're now capable of manipulating DNA, raising profound questions about what it means to be human. Are we on the brink of a beautiful new age or stepping into a dystopian sci-fi nightmare? To help us navigate this microscopic landscape, skeptic Michael Rogelio is here to help us unravel the double helix of ethical dilemmas and excitement around DNA. Hey, Jordan.
If I may lay a quick compliment on you, you seem quite healthy and smart. Thank you. I do what I can. Sure, it's important to stay fit and sharp, but the fact of the matter is you had little to do with being healthy and smart. In fact, you had no say in the matter at all. You were predetermined to be those things. You just made the most of it.
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Chapter 2: How is DNA changing criminal justice?
Based on the fact that you already said this first case both in a bad guy and exonerated an innocent person, I'm going to guess the DNA proved that this kid was not the murderer.
And now with no suspects, the cops and Jeffries began to collect DNA samples from local men, but they came up with no matches.
You can tell this was the UK because I'm pretty sure in America the police can't just run around demanding everyone's DNA until they find the right guy.
Oh yeah, that gets us into all the ethical questions that we're going to get into in a second surrounding DNA. But yes, this was the UK in the 80s and there were no laws around DNA sampling yet. The cops had no leads in this murder case until someone overheard a local baker named Colin Pitchfork bragging that he had submitted a friend's DNA.
So the cops grabbed the dude and he was the perfect match.
Wow. OK, I'm glad they caught him. Right. But what a freaking moron. And his last name was Pitchfork, which is kind of on the nose for a villain.
Yeah, they brought out the torches and pitchforks for Pitchfork and he went down and DNA evidence became a thing because in truth, it actually took years for American courts to figure out how and when it was acceptable to use DNA evidence. There were ethical questions that needed to be addressed if they're going to be databases of people's DNA.
Then those databases and laboratories had to then meet the standards that were established. But there was no getting around it. This was a huge leap forward as DNA evidence enabled law enforcement to solve cases that had gone cold decades ago.
The DNA Identification Act of 1994 authorized the FBI to create a national DNA database that compares DNA found in crime scenes to the DNA of violent offenders.
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Chapter 3: What are the ethical implications of DNA databases?
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All the hilarious dad jokes aside about how I could use a clone of myself, it does seem really dicey and hard to put that genie back in the bottle. But I kind of assume places like China are doing this, and in a way, actually, I hope they are, because I'm dying to know how this all plays out.
Yeah, look, we'll get to China in a minute because they are players here. But each of these developments raises a new set of ethical questions. Genealogical databases, that's where tons of private health information is stored. They could be hacked by bad actors. And I don't mean like Nick Cage.
I mean, somebody leaks your DNA on the Internet and now insurers don't want to cover you because you're prone to cancer or whatever.
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Chapter 4: How does CRISPR technology affect genetics?
To be fair, Michael, that does sound like the plot of a movie with a script that Nick Cage would say yes to. Yeah.
That is so true. And you know what? I saw his movie Pig recently, and it was really weird and good. I haven't seen it.
Chapter 5: Can humans be cloned?
I haven't watched anything since my kids were born other than Cocomelon.
Okay, I haven't heard of Cocomelon yet.
Yeah, don't worry about it. It's a cartoon that repeats sing-songy stuff over and I don't want to talk about it. Yeah, look, Nick Cage basically just shrugs and says sure to every script that slides across his desk. That's, I'm convinced.
Yeah. You know, if he's working that hard, maybe he could use a clone of himself. But look back to the ethical questions like the genetic counseling, which could arise as we enter this brave new world, that could turn easily into eugenics. And eugenics, in case anyone doesn't know, is an attempt to create a superior gene pool.
And it is widely condemned as racist, ableist and in violation of human rights. And if you needed any more evidence that it's a bad idea, the most famous champions of eugenics were, of course, the Nazis.
Okay, got it. So eugenics, bad idea.
Right. And I don't know if this company is a sponsor, but I have to say my jaw was on the ground when I first saw a commercial for a company that has a product called Eugenics. Eugenics. So definitely eugenics. Bad. Don't even talk about it. So personalized medicine.
Look, as we head into this brave slash weird new world, personalized medicine could then eventually equal one quality of care for the rich and another one for the poor. You mean like health care is right now in America, basically? True. And here's a really scary one. How about biological weapons that target individuals? Whoa, that's sci-fi crazy talk. Is that actually possible?
That's actually, yeah, that's a real possibility. And the idea here is to use DNA to create weapons that exploit the genetic differences between ethnicities. Obviously, most weapons research is secret, but rest assured, DNA targeting as a weapon of war is something that's being developed.
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Chapter 6: What are the risks of DNA home tests?
Or the world could come together and implement meaningful changes to stem the worst effects of climate change. Yeah, I'm kidding. That'll probably never happen, and we should probably be open to technology that solves parts of this for us.
And plus, through DNA, doctors can create truly personalized care for patients based on their individual DNA. Because we're all genetically different. Well... Technically, we're actually pretty darn similar. Humans are 99% genetically the same. But that little 1% does a lot of work to make us unique. But even that could change as we face the realities of gene splicing through CRISPR.
Chapter 7: How does DNA influence personal health insurance?
So tell us what CRISPR is again. I think a lot of people have heard of it. A lot of folks might not know what that is. It was a massive leap forward for humanity.
It made the cover of magazines, newspapers, and won the Nobel Prize for the two scientists who discovered it. And I only mention this because we talked about how Rosalind Franklin was initially denied credit for her contribution to our understanding of DNA. These two scientists were both women, Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna.
And like so often in science, they made this discovery by accident.
I always find that so interesting. Many scientific discoveries are just made by accident. It doesn't happen as often in other fields. You know, a random accountant was not doing some dry cleaner's taxes and is like... Oh, look, I've invented cryptocurrency. So what was the happy accident that ended up with us getting the ability to edit DNA?
They were studying how bacteria protects themselves from viruses. This also blew my mind. Bacteria can get sick. Really? How ironic is that?
Yeah, I'm just telling you what I learned. So basically my infection can get an infection, which is crazy. Okay, so you said CRISPR is gene splicing. Tell us what that is exactly.
Yeah, it's gene splicing or gene editing. In short, while studying bacteria, these scientists discovered that bacteria have a part of their DNA called CRISPR, which stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats. Palindromic? Like a palindrome? Like the word race car? I think so. And just as a total aside, my favorite palindrome is go hang a salami.
I'm a lasagna hog. So palindromes are when it's the same when it reads the same backwards and forwards. A race car is the same backwards and forwards. And apparently so is go hang a salami. I'm a lasagna hog, which is you got to wonder how they figured that one out. That's almost as impressive as discovering the ability to edit genes while looking for something else.
You talked about these very specific kind of nerds that celebrate Mitochondrial Eve. I think palindromes are probably discovered by a different kind of very specific nerd. I think you might be right. Yeah. So this CRISPR stores a tiny piece of a virus's DNA. And the next time the virus comes back, this CRISPR snips out a piece of the DNA and destroys it.
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