Bonus: I Gave Birth Alone in the Pandemic
S1 E8 | What Does It Mean to Be Human?
Over the course of this season, we’ve explored the science of changing our genetics, asking which characteristics we ought to change, and why. Who gets to decide? Left to our own devices, do we really understand what’s important about ourselves? If we use genetic editing to “improve” ourselves or our children, will it have the impact we think it will?
S1 E7 | Carrying the Cross of Suffering
A life filled with suffering isn’t worth living. That’s what we’re told, right? That ending a life is a compassionate choice. As the Netherlands expand their program of euthanasia for children, we need to explore these assumptions that it’s okay to let suffering have the last word.
In this episode, author and speaker Mary Lenaburg shares her experience caring for her severely disable daughter Courtney, and what over 20 years of accompanying her taught her about bearing her cross with joy.
S1 E6 | What Makes a Life Valuable?
S1 E5 | Reimagining the Role of Disability in God's Kingdom
When we imagine that some people endure “special” kinds of suffering, we alienate one another. We leave people isolated when what we actually need is each other.
I wanted to explore something Mary shared in the last episode, about this lie that the lives of the disabled are “impossibly hard.” What is it like for families coping with disabilities? What are the solutions we offer them now? Is erasing the disability something they even want, or are they asking for something else?
S1 E4 | The New Eugenics
S1 E3 | Using Genetic Editing to Heal Disease
S1 E2 | Where are we now? The Science of Genetic Editing
S1 E1 | Using Genetic Editing for Human Enhancement
This season on Brave New Us, we’re exploring the field of genetics, its human applications, and the ethical question that arise when we think about using this knowledge to alter the building blocks of who we are.
First up, we take a look at human enhancement. What are some of the ways this technology might be able to improve our capabilities or help us ensure that our children have particular characteristics, and why, just maybe, we ought to be cautious about doing so.
