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.