Gut Strings

This playing god? episode, The Future of Baby-Making, first aired in December of 2023 and won a gold signal award for Best Conversation Starter in 2024.We’re thinking about this episode as we’re preparing to host a free, live event in New York City on November 19. Join us in-person or online for “Ethics and the Future of Reproduction: Making Eggs and Sperm from Skin Cells,” a Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library discussion exploring the science and ethical questions surrounding the future of reproduction at the New York Public Library’s SNF Library, 5th Ave., NYC.Visit nypl.org/events/snfl/adult-programs/bioethics for the event location, time, registration, and livestream details. The event is open to all, and we hope you’ll join us!If you have any reactions, questions, want to tell us your story or your favourite episode, you can leave us a voicemail  at 410-417-9860.In this episode we head into the future to learn about a controversial technology that could change the face of reproduction. Researchers are developing a technology called in vitro gametogenesis (IVG), which can reprogram human cells–like a skin cell–to become eggs or sperm. With IVG we could reach a future where anyone could produce either eggs or sperm, in potentially limitless quantities. This could open up a whole world of new options for how humans reproduce. Startup companies are working to bring this science to the public in ways that bypass the usual research routes for new reproductive technologies. When would it be ethically acceptable to try IVG to make a baby? How can we ensure the technology will be used ethically, including how it should be regulated? This episode features interviews with:Amander Clark, Professor, Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology,  University of California, Los AngelesI. Glenn Cohen, James A. Attwood and Leslie Williams Professor of Law, Deputy Dean and Faculty Director, Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology & Bioethics, Harvard Law SchoolIn 2023, the National Academies held a meeting to discuss the scientific, ethical, and legal implications of IVG. You can watch this meeting and learn more about IVG here. To learn more about the ethics issues raised in this episode, visit the Berman Institute’s episode guide. The Greenwall Foundation seeks to make bioethics integral to decisions in health care, policy, and research. Learn more at greenwall.org.

playing god? presents… "Gut Strings," a musician’s experience with uncertainty around an unexpected colon cancer diagnosis. Loren Ludwig, previously protected by confidence in his ability to learn his way past personal obstacles, must now grapple with medical uncertainty. Bioethicist Gail Geller draws on 35 years of research on uncertainty in medicine to reflect on the profound impact of what we don’t know and understand.Gut Strings is an original production by the iDeas Lab at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. Written and produced by Simon Adler.This production features: Simon AdlerLoren Ludwig, PhDGail Geller, PhDThis production was funded by Johns Hopkins’ Program in Arts, Humanities, & Health, led by Gail Geller, Kamna Balhara, and Loren Ludwig.

playing god? presents… "A World Without Nurses"—it’s a future no one wants to imagine, but doing so brings into sharp focus just how essential nurses are today. Prepare to be transported into this dystopian scenario through innovative storytelling and immersive sound design, ultimately serving as a call to action.Want to help make an impact? Explore our listening session facilitation guide: nursing.jhu.edu/faculty-research/research/centers/r3/a-world-without-nurses/"A World Without Nurses" is an original production by the iDeas Lab at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, made in association with Maryland's R3: Resilient Nurses Initiative. Written and Produced by Simon Adler. This production features:Sterling A. Wilmer, BSN, RN, BADiane Couchman, MBA, BSN, RNSharon A. Adamski, MSN, RN, CMSRNTamara Hill, DNP, RN, CPNP-ACRachel Robinson, BSN, RN, CCM, DNP-STyler Silvey, BS, ADN, RNLauren Geiling, BS, ADN, RNCaitlin McGeehan, BSN, RN, CHPN, CCRNDanielle McCamey, DNP, RN, ACNP-BC, FCCP, FADLN, FAANThis production is supported by the Nurse Support Program II grant administered by the Maryland Higher Education Commission and funded through the Health Services Cost Review Commission.We’d love to hear about your listening experience! It’d be very helpful to us. To do so, please visit this form: nursingjhu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_295dYZbajgm08T4For any further inquiries, please contact [email protected]

The iDeas Lab team is hard at work on playing god? Season 3, but we have some special things to share with you in the meantime. Listen for a preview of what’s coming next in the feed. And we’re opening a voicemail box! Call us at 410-417-9860 to tell us your questions, reactions, and stories. We look forward to hearing from you. 

When Ashley Womble decides she wants to start a family, she worries she'll need to stop taking her antidepressant medication. Instead of finding clear guidance, she runs head-first into a troubling reality: many of the questions pregnant women and their physicians face about medication safety remain difficult to answer because pregnant women have historically been excluded from medical research. This episode looks at the ethical trade offs of leaving pregnant women out of medical research—and what happens when they and their doctors must make high stakes healthcare decisions without high quality evidence.This episode features:Ashley Womble, MPH: Writer and marketing professional.Ruth Faden, PhD, MPH: Philip Franklin Wagley Professor of Biomedical Ethics at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics.Crystal Clark, MD, MSc: Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto.Marika Toscano, MD, MS: Assistant Professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.This episode contains references to suicide, which may be distressing for some listeners. If you or someone you know is struggling, support is available.In the U.S., you can call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline at 1-833-TLC-MAMA.For listeners outside the U.S., the International Association for Suicide Prevention can help connect you with support in your area: www.iasp.info/suicidalthoughts/“playing god?” is a podcast by the iDeas Lab at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. To read a transcript of this episode, visit the iDeas Lab website at https://bioethics.jhu.edu/pgs2e6.The Johns Hopkins University Sesquicentennial is proud to support this podcast. JHU celebrates 150 years of pioneering education and research—advancing knowledge to meet the challenges of every generation. Learn more at 150.jhu.edu.

Rebecca Morrison is healthy by many measures. But like millions of people today, she finds herself wondering whether or not she should be taking a GLP-1 drug. What's the right thing to do? This episode explores how this new class of weight loss drugs is reshaping our healthcare choices, and the landscape in which we make them.You can read more about Rebecca Morrison’s story in her novel, The Blue Dress, released March 2026. This episode features:Rebecca K. Morrison: Writer.Mara Gordon, MD: Primary Care Physician at Cooper University Hospital and Assistant Professor of Family Medicine at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University.Alexandra Brewis, PhD: Regents Professor and President's Professor at the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University.Jeffrey Kahn, PhD, MPH: Andreas C. Dracopoulos Director of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics.“playing god?” is a podcast by the iDeas Lab at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. To read a transcript of this episode, visit the iDeas Lab website at https://bioethics.jhu.edu/pgs2e5.The Johns Hopkins University Sesquicentennial is proud to support this podcast. JHU celebrates 150 years of pioneering education and research—advancing knowledge to meet the challenges of every generation. Learn more at 150.jhu.edu.

After losing their son Noahto to mitochondrial disease, Kristelle and Evan Shulman are determined that his death will not be in vain, holding fast to their dream of having healthy, biologically-related children. This search leads them abroad in pursuit of an emerging reproductive technology, one filled with scientific promise, but also ethical questions, financial strain, and profound uncertainty. This episode explores how families and physicians make decisions when novel approaches can reduce risk, but never eliminate it. (Part 2 of 2.)This episode features:Kristelle and Evan Shulman: Parents navigating mitochondrial disease and reproductive decisionmaking.Marni Falk, MD: Attending physician and Executive Director of the Mitochondrial Medicine Frontier Program at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Professor in the Division of Human Genetics, Department of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.Jeffrey Kahn, PhD, MPH: Andreas C. Dracopoulos Director of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics.“playing god?” is a podcast by the iDeas Lab at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. To read a transcript of this episode, visit the iDeas Lab website at https://bioethics.jhu.edu/pgs2e4.The Johns Hopkins University Sesquicentennial is proud to support this podcast. JHU celebrates 150 years of pioneering education and research—advancing knowledge to meet the challenges of every generation. Learn more at 150.jhu.edu.

When Kristelle and Evan Shulman lose their young son Noah to a rare mitochondrial disease, they are told they may never be able to have a healthy biologically related child. Then they discover mitochondrial replacement technology, or MRT, a controversial procedure that could prevent the disease from being passed on to future generations. This episode explores how families, clinicians, and policymakers grapple with the ethics of novel reproductive technologies that offer extraordinary hope amid profound uncertainty. (Part 1 of 2.)This episode features:Kristelle and Evan Shulman: Parents navigating mitochondrial disease and reproductive decision-making.Marni Falk, MD: Attending physician and Executive Director of the Mitochondrial Medicine Frontier Program at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Professor in the Division of Human Genetics, Department of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.Jeffrey Kahn, PhD, MPH: Andreas C. Dracopoulos Director of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics.“playing god?” is a podcast by the iDeas Lab at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. To read a transcript of this episode, visit the iDeas Lab website at https://bioethics.jhu.edu/pgs2e3.The Johns Hopkins University Sesquicentennial is proud to support this podcast. JHU celebrates 150 years of pioneering education and research—advancing knowledge to meet the challenges of every generation. Learn more at 150.jhu.edu.

Humanity is actively working towards a mission to Mars. When astronauts like Bernard Harris leave Earth, they accept risk as part of the mission. But a journey to Mars would push that risk into entirely new territory—where help is unreachable, uncertainty is unavoidable, and coming home may not be an option. This episode explores how space agencies, astronauts, and all of us need to grapple with how much risk is ethically acceptable for individuals to take on in pursuit of societal benefit, and who gets to decide. This episode features:Bernard A. Harris Jr., MD: former NASA astronaut.James D. Polk, DO: Chief Health and Medical Officer of NASA.Jeffrey Kahn, PhD, MPH: Andreas C. Dracopoulos Director of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics.“playing god?” is a podcast by the iDeas Lab at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. To read a transcript of this episode, visit the iDeas Lab website at https://bioethics.jhu.edu/pgs2e2.The Johns Hopkins University Sesquicentennial is proud to support this podcast. JHU celebrates 150 years of pioneering education and research—advancing knowledge to meet the challenges of every generation. Learn more at 150.jhu.edu.

When journalist Esmé Deprez receives a text from her father, Ron Deprez, asking for help to die, she enters one of the most ethically fraught spaces in modern medicine: Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD). This episode explores what it means to assist a loved one’s death under MAiD law—and how personal compassion collides with professional and societal ethics.This episode features:Esmé E. Deprez: Writer and investigative journalist. Jeffrey Kahn, PhD, MPH: Andreas C. Dracopoulos Director of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics.Jennifer Eitingon, MD: Medical Director of Monument Health Hospice and Inpatient Palliative Care Attending Physician.You can see photos and read more about Esmé and Ron Deprez’s story in her 2021 essay, “Death With Dignity: How I Helped My Dad Die.” “playing god?” is a podcast by the iDeas Lab at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. To read a transcript of this episode, visit the iDeas Lab website at https://bioethics.jhu.edu/pgs2e1 The Johns Hopkins University Sesquicentennial is proud to support this podcast. JHU celebrates 150 years of pioneering education and research—advancing knowledge to meet the challenges of every generation. Learn more at 150.jhu.edu.