Episode

#503: Walter Isaacson on CRISPR, Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race
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1:25:03
Published: Thu Mar 04 2021
Description

Walter Isaacson on CRISPR, Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race | Brought to you by Magic Spoon delicious low-carb cereal, LinkedIn Jobs recruitment platform with ~720M users, and Eight Sleep’s Pod Pro Cover sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating. More on all three below.Walter Isaacson (@WalterIsaacson) is a professor of history at Tulane, has been CEO of the Aspen Institute, chair of CNN, and editor of Time. He is the author of Leonardo da Vinci; The Innovators; Steve Jobs; Einstein: His Life and Universe; Benjamin Franklin: An American Life; and Kissinger: A Biography. He is co-author of The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made.His new book is The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race.You can find our first conversation from 2017 at tim.blog/walter.This episode is brought to you by Eight Sleep! Eight Sleep’s Pod Pro Cover is the easiest and fastest way to sleep at the perfect temperature. It pairs dynamic cooling and heating with biometric tracking to offer the most advanced (and user-friendly) solution on the market. Simply add the Pod Pro Cover to your current mattress and start sleeping as cool as 55°F or as hot as 110°F. It also splits your bed in half, so your partner can choose a totally different temperature.˜And now, my dear listeners—that’s you—can get $250 off the Pod Pro Cover. Simply go to EightSleep.com/Tim or use code TIM. *This episode is also brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs. Whether you are looking to hire now for a critical role or thinking about needs that you may have in the future, LinkedIn Jobs can help. LinkedIn screens candidates for the hard and soft skills you’re looking for and puts your job in front of candidates looking for job opportunities that match what you have to offer.Using LinkedIn’s active community of more than 722 million professionals worldwide, LinkedIn Jobs can help you find and hire the right person faster. When your business is ready to make that next hire, find the right person with LinkedIn Jobs. And now, you can post a job for free. Just visit LinkedIn.com/Tim.*This episode is also brought to you by Magic Spoon cereal! Magic Spoon is a brand-new cereal that is low carb, high protein, and zero sugar. It tastes just like your favorite sugary cereal. Each serving has 11g of protein, 3g of net carbs, 0g of sugar, and only 110 calories. It’s also gluten free, grain free, keto friendly, soy free, and GMO free. And it’s delicious! It comes in your favorite, traditional cereal flavors like Cocoa, Frosted, and Blueberry.Magic Spoon cereal has received a lot of attention since launching in 2019 when Time magazine included it in their list of best inventions and Forbes called it “the future of cereal.” My listeners—that’s you—can get $5 off and a 100% happiness guarantee when you visit MagicSpoon.com/Tim and use code TIM. And some great news for Canadian listeners: Magic Spoon now also ships to Canada!*If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests. I also love reading the reviews!For show notes and past guests, please visit tim.blog/podcast.Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (“5-Bullet Friday”) at tim.blog/friday.For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.Follow Tim:Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss Instagram: instagram.com/timferrissFacebook: facebook.com/timferriss YouTube: youtube.com/timferrissPast guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, and many more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chapters
This transcript contains an advertisement for Eight Sleep mattress and Magicspoon cereal.
00:00 - 04:54 (04:54)
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Advertisement
Summary

This transcript contains an advertisement for Eight Sleep mattress and Magicspoon cereal.

Episode
#503: Walter Isaacson on CRISPR, Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
In this podcast episode, the guest discusses his new book "The Code Breaker" which highlights the science behind gene editing and its potential implications for the future of humanity.
04:54 - 10:16 (05:21)
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Gene Editing
Summary

In this podcast episode, the guest discusses his new book "The Code Breaker" which highlights the science behind gene editing and its potential implications for the future of humanity. He also talks about the importance of studying successful individuals.

Episode
#503: Walter Isaacson on CRISPR, Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
This podcast episode discusses how the meaning of home can differ from person to person, the future possibility of gene editing in embryos, and the speaker's personal connection to New Orleans as a second home.
10:16 - 18:34 (08:17)
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Gene Editing
Summary

This podcast episode discusses how the meaning of home can differ from person to person, the future possibility of gene editing in embryos, and the speaker's personal connection to New Orleans as a second home.

Episode
#503: Walter Isaacson on CRISPR, Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
David Rubenstein interviews Jennifer Doudna, a leading innovator in the field of gene editing, about the power and potential of CRISPR technology in fighting diseases and improving human health.
18:34 - 22:33 (03:59)
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Gene Editing
Summary

David Rubenstein interviews Jennifer Doudna, a leading innovator in the field of gene editing, about the power and potential of CRISPR technology in fighting diseases and improving human health.

Episode
#503: Walter Isaacson on CRISPR, Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
The potential of gene editing can eliminate negative genetic disease traits, but could also lead to increased muscle mass and athletic abilities, similar to the use of steroids by athletes.
22:33 - 29:28 (06:55)
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Gene editing
Summary

The potential of gene editing can eliminate negative genetic disease traits, but could also lead to increased muscle mass and athletic abilities, similar to the use of steroids by athletes.

Episode
#503: Walter Isaacson on CRISPR, Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
Our world is becoming increasingly reliant on new technologies, including biotech.
29:28 - 41:25 (11:57)
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Biotech
Summary

Our world is becoming increasingly reliant on new technologies, including biotech. Biotech knowledge is essential not only for scientists but for everyone in understanding how we can create a healthier species.

Episode
#503: Walter Isaacson on CRISPR, Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
In this podcast, the speaker emphasizes the importance of pure curiosity and basic science in discoveries such as CRISPR.
41:25 - 48:55 (07:29)
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Basic Science
Summary

In this podcast, the speaker emphasizes the importance of pure curiosity and basic science in discoveries such as CRISPR. He highlights how the discovery of the natural phenomenon of CRISPR was made by a group of scientists who cared about curiosity-driven science.

Episode
#503: Walter Isaacson on CRISPR, Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
In this podcast episode, the concept of Lady Lovelace's objection is discussed along with the Imitation Game test meant to show the indistinguishable thinking of humans and machines.
48:58 - 1:01:34 (12:35)
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Artificial intelligence
Summary

In this podcast episode, the concept of Lady Lovelace's objection is discussed along with the Imitation Game test meant to show the indistinguishable thinking of humans and machines. They also talk about curiosity and how science sometimes requires funding through mechanisms like technology transfer.

Episode
#503: Walter Isaacson on CRISPR, Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
Dr. Robert Doudna explains that people should keep an open mind when it comes to the potential uses of CRISPR technology, such as editing genes to fight viruses and alleviating suffering.
1:01:34 - 1:18:40 (17:06)
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CRISPR gene editing
Summary

Dr. Robert Doudna explains that people should keep an open mind when it comes to the potential uses of CRISPR technology, such as editing genes to fight viruses and alleviating suffering. He also highlights the importance of understanding the technology's capabilities to shape our future.

Episode
#503: Walter Isaacson on CRISPR, Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
In this podcast, the speaker discusses Aidsleep's effectiveness in helping users fall asleep faster and get better quality sleep overall.
1:18:41 - 1:22:25 (03:43)
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Sleep
Summary

In this podcast, the speaker discusses Aidsleep's effectiveness in helping users fall asleep faster and get better quality sleep overall. The speaker also explores the impact of temperature on sleep and suggests sending out weekly emails as a fun way to enhance sleep.

Episode
#503: Walter Isaacson on CRISPR, Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
Magic Spoon just launched two new limited edition flavors, honey nut and peanut butter, in addition to their already popular low carb, high protein and zero sugar options.
1:22:25 - 1:24:49 (02:24)
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Magic Spoon Cereal
Summary

Magic Spoon just launched two new limited edition flavors, honey nut and peanut butter, in addition to their already popular low carb, high protein and zero sugar options.

Episode
#503: Walter Isaacson on CRISPR, Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show