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General => The Common Room => The Lighter Side => Topic started by: andrewalston on Friday 16 November 18 10:58 GMT (UK)
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The first of the new series of Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry on Radio 4 goes into DNA testing and descendance from royalty and the Vikings.
Adam Rutherford is a geneticist, and he and others explain how the likes of Ancestry give us "ethnicity" reports.
Also available as a podcast. Because it isn't TV, it is not restricted to the UK.
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Just listened to this, this morning. Pretty much as I thought.
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Missed it, - did he say it was all a waste of time then?
Romilly.
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You can download the podcast and listen whenever.
For a while you can browse the schedules on the website. Today it's also showing under "Highlights". I notice that the offered version there is the 26-minute podcast one, which includes the background chats at the beginning and end.
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I listened to the live programme during last night. The question posed was 'are we all Vikings'. The outcome was probably reasonably accurate, 'no, but there's a lot of mingling'. Saxons only mentioned once and Celts not at all.
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I listened to the live programme during last night. The question posed was 'are we all Vikings'. The outcome was probably reasonably accurate, 'no, but there's a lot of mingling'. Saxons only mentioned once and Celts not at all.
It was a very short programme - only 15 minutes. Rutherford & Fry take a light-hearted approach to topics.
Hannah is a mathematician and is interested in data. She removed her imaginary Viking helmet at the end of the programme. ;D
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The podcast - 'available from your usual podcast provider' - is longer and worthwhile listening to, often laugh-out-loud funny.
Adam Rutherford pointed out that the estimates provided by the DNA testers depended on the data they'd accumulated, and also that you didn't have to go back very far before we are related to each other. And to royalty.
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.... as I said, exactly what I'd expected.
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.... as I said, exactly what I'd expected.
Since his expert subject is genetics, a relief that Adam Rutherford gave a suitably lightweight and entertaining - but accurate - response ;D
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Dr. Hannah Fry is on "Tomorrow's World Live: for One Night Only" on BBC 4 tonight.
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"Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry" is an excellent popular science series, with two very intelligent and personable presenters.
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I also enjoy "The Life Scientific", which has another great presenter and some fascinating stories.
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I agree with both Mike's post today.
Tuesday's edition of "The Life Scientific" was particularly interesting. The scientist featured was an expert on chemical weapons who investigated their use and campaigned against them. Some of his university colleagues and superiors thought he should have been spending his time on scholarly pursuits.
I didn't take to science at school
"More or Less" is another programme worth hearing. It "explains and often debunks statistics" used in politics, headlines and everyday life.