There’s a commonly held belief that Black folks are thicker, bigger, and carry more fat than others…but where did this idea that our bodies only look a certain way come from? Join us as we disentangle fact from oftentimes fat-phobic fiction when it comes to assumptions about how our bodies are shaped. . In our Season 2 finale, "Baby Got Black", we dissect whether here is a genetic difference between the body shape of Black folks compared to other populations. Black women and men have...

This week we travel to 1989 to a conversation with Dr. Edwards and NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw and we bring in the science we learned last week about what role genetics has in athletic ability to this critical conversation about Black superior athletes. . Blackletes Fact and Fiction dissects the claims made in the NBC News Tonight broadcast, “Black Athletes Fact and Fiction” featuring our guest from last week, Dr. Harry Edwards. We use the scientific method as a basis to critique the claims...

Serena Williams. Usian Bolt. Michael Jordan. Some of the world’s strongest, fastest, and most decorated athletes are Blackity Black. Sometimes people chalk this up to genetics, claiming that this sort of extraordinary athleticism is unique to Black folks’ ancestry. Is there any truth to that claim? In this episode, we untangle what role genetics has in athletic ability and map out how Black Americans came to be viewed as superior athletes in the first place. . Blackletes explores the...

Oral history is such an integral part of our family history and our collective story as African descendents; without our elders passing this history to us much of our Black History would remain unknown. This Black History Month, we revisit an episode from Season 1 that features one of my newest ancestors, the late “Uncle Warren” and other elders in my hometown of New Orleans as they discuss their views and concerns about commercial genetic testing. . Bonus Episode - “A Tribute to Uncle...

It isn’t hard to point out the person in the room who is clapping off beat. But how can we use the scientific method to study why some folks are rhythmically coordinated and others not? How does one’s ancestry play into this? In this bonus episode, we head to the In Those Genes lab with neuroscientist AZA Allsop, MD, PhD to map out a hypothetical study using genetics and neurology that could help explain why some of us can catch a beat and others not. . Be sure to listen to the first part of...

We all got that one friend that just can’t seem to catch the beat. And yes…yes, they usually are. But is rhythm really a thing you either have or you don’t? Are some of us just born with a rhythm and others not? Could this be explained by genetics? In this episode, we break down what rhythm actually is, and talk to experts who help us understand how neuroscience, genetics, and culture shape the conversation around Black people and our relationship to rhythm and music. . Episode 4: R&B-...

After some time traveling, and understanding why we all look so different, it’s time we look at the age old question: Why aren’t Black people aging? Through all of the beauty products, and magazines that promote youth, Black people never really seem to age. It’s cultural at this point with its cornerstone being JET magazine’s 1970 “Black Don’t Crack” . “Black Don’t Crack” is an adage that assumes that Black people age slower. This episode addresses the genetics behind physical characteristics...

How will humanity continue to evolve? Will our distinct physical features stand the test of time? Do we still adhere to social constructs like race and gender? Find out on this week’s bonus episode as we continue our journey from last week and head 15,000 years into the future with Afrofuturist Ytasha Whomack . . “The Future is Black AF” is a short mini BONUS episode that continues the journey from episode 2 with Afrofuturist Ytasha Whomack. One thing we learned last week traveling through...

Race is a social construct and not a distinction we make in biology. But as humans we do look *very* different from one another. Shoot, family members that share the same genes don’t look the same. Why do we look so different? Join three time-traveling scientists on an afrofuturist journey through the ages to trace how climate, migration, and mating patterns over the last 200,000 years have created all the different hair textures, skin, and eye colors we see today. . “Black to the Future...

Is Race Genetic? . “How the World Inherited Blackness” answers a common question by many....."Is race genetic?" This episode takes the listener on a journey through time to understand how race was birthed and the history behind how race became a reputable (pseudo)scientific theory that justified an entire global system of oppression still used today. We leverage the genetics expertise of our host, as well as two Black scholars leading the field in sociology and anthropology, to dive deep...

In Those Genes is BAAAAAAACCCCKKKK for Season 2! "She Get It From Her Moma”, the official title of Season 2 builds on Season 1 and asks the central question in each episode- “Is it genetic?!” Six brand new episodes in this season will focus on understanding the origins of long-held beliefs about inheritance within the Black community that, in some cases, are and are not supported by genetics. For example, one of our favorite episodes, “Black Don’t Crack,” will explore prolonged aging and...

Hey fam! We're back for an unofficial release of a bonus episode for season 2 to report on Dat Rona! Unfortunately the virus is still here BUT with the rise of the new delta variant and misinformation running the streets we knew it was time for an update! So what better way to do it than in the format of our favorite pandemic event, VERZUZ!! In this bonus episode we will be talking about life with the mRNA vaccine (Pfizer and Moderna) VERZUZ life with the virus COVID-19. Every round is a...

Today we are airing our first Intronic Episode of 2021, Trusting The Vaccine While Black Part 2, a live community cypher conversation with Dr. Ashira Blazer and our family of listeners on Instagram and Clubhouse. . For those of you who follow us on Instagram you know we host an IG Live and now a Clubhouse Club Conversation that we call Community Cyphers. The purpose of these sessions is to further engage with the community and provide accurate information from experts. On most Thursdays we...

Hey fam! Today we are hitting you with another Intronic episode but this time from high school interns from the Biorocket Program at Genspace who used our show as a model to do some science storytelling themselves. We call their short audio stories, SNP-its, a play upon words from an acronym in genetics that stands for single nucleotide polymorphism and describes common mutations in populations. . Over the next 40 minutes you’ll hear four SNP-its produced by this year’s Biorocket interns. The...

We're BACK---well kind of... . This week we want to hit you with a new Rona update all about the development of coronavirus vaccines. This update is inspired by our fam on Black Twitter and the discourse popping up that’s claiming the vaccine will be created to intentionally do harm us Black folks. . Specifically folks who are weary of engaging in vaccine related research or even taking the vaccine when it’s ready because of our history with medical racism and exploitation in this country....

Welcome to…... the “Intronic Season”. During the intronic season we will be doing episode swaps with other podcasts that are closely related to our show or interviews from shows that I have been on. Some weeks we might just point you to a podcast to listen to, some weeks we might just drop some genetic knowledge on social media through our Henrietta Facts posts, and I will still be dropping that Helix playlist with new music that I am into during this time. So today we are doing an episode...

In our season finale, we continue the discussion with our host, Dr. Jeff and lead producer Sam Riddell to discuss her journey to be becoming the first African American to receive a PhD in Human Genetics from Vanderbilt. We'll do a deep dive on her entire process and discuss how she overcame racism, sexism, and imposter syndrome all while still being focused on the community and centering Black people in her artistry. Then we learn how our Genet-SIS became a podcaster and how the In Those...

On this episode we’re bringing in our lead producer Sam Ridddell to get into some questions about MY thoughts around genetic testing that y'all have been asking me all season. You'll also here Sam give the update on Dat Rona this week and we’re talking all about the SEVERE racial disparities when it comes to diagnoses and deaths resulting from COVID-19. We’re going to talk about the PLETHORA of reasons why Black Americans specifically are dying in higher numbers from the coronavirus and how...

This week we take you on a genetics road trip to find disease cures and our GPS is the African genome! Then we will talk about National Research Initiative, All of Us, that is asking for 1 million samples from underrepresented communities like ours to better understand health outcomes for future generations to come. Then we travel 100 years into the future and imagine what science might look like then. And as promised at the top of the episode we have a quick update on Dat Rona, this week we...

Wanna make money? Wanna find bae?? Or maybe you want to find all your cuzins in the world?! You can do all this with your DNA and in this episode we each you how. Then we'll be speaking with a genealogy enthusiast who has used his data to go on to discover over 20,000 relatives and become an internationally known advocate and educator of genealogical research. And as always, I'll leave you with some encouraging words about do it yourself science in the black community. . **NEW WEEKLY UPDATES...

This week we’re doing a special episode on Dat Rona aka the coronavirus or as its scientifically known -- SARS CoV 2. We decided to pull together and disseminate some Rona’ knowledge because we are all being bombarded with a lot of information that is often inconsistent and rapidly changing. We’ll give you a rundown of what Rona is, what we know about it genetically, and I’ll tell you about a vaccine being developed to combat the spread of the virus. Then we will have a Q&A session...

Damn GINA, the infamous Martin reference but also the acronym for the Genetics Information Nondiscrimination Act. We learn all our homegirl GINA and what she can and cannot do from our fellow Geneti-SIS, Shawneequa Callier, an Associate Professor of medical ethics at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. We also will learn about old methods used in forensics back in the day and we tell the beautiful story of Henrietta Lacks in our gene therapy...

This week we intellectually drag the Ancestry DNA AD that glamorized slavery on primetime TV. First, we hit you with the science, hard facts, that disprove this sick love story. Then, we speak with Aspirin AD Woman, also known as the fancy ass copywriter, also known as Flagrant Creative, Jewell Donaldson to break down how ads like this see the light of day. Lastly, we re-create what an Ancestry ad for Black people SHOULD sound like and it is guaranteed to make you laugh so hard you get that...

Have you heard of or thought about doing 23&Me test? Well this week we dive deep into the only direct to consumer genetics company with FDA approval and the first to return health reports with our very first Geneti-SIS on the show, Dr. Altovise Ewing. We understand what this means for Black people specifically in regards to accuracy. We also give you all the TEA about 23&Me around the partnership they have with GSK and what went down with the FDA. Lastly, we will hear from our special...