This week, we're trying something a little different: we team up with our friends at WNYC's Only Human podcast to find Tracy's roots. Growing up in Louisville, Kentucky, she always heard that her ancestors were, in her mother's words, "black, white and American Indian." But, like many black Americans, she's found it hard to [...]
In this episode of Sparks, FiveThirtyEight’s monthly science podcast that runs in the What’s The Point feed, the science team discusses DNA and genetic genealogy through the lens of Alondra Nelson’s book “The Social Life of DNA: Race, reparations, and reconciliation after the genome.” Nelson examines the experiences of African-American “root-seekers,” who explore their [...]
Joseph Boyden. Image via Getty. Click to read This is how sympathetic columnists have characterized questions regarding the ethnic heritage of Canadian writer Joseph Boyden: a “lynching,” a punishment, and a misguided attempt by “activist communities.” For at least a decade, Boyden has claimed that he is of Indigenous descent. [...]
This week we take a closer look at the intersection of genetics, politics, identity, and hundreds of years of colonization. We speak with Kim TallBear, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Peoples Technoscience and Environment and Associate Professor in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta, about her book "Native American DNA: [...]
