Is There A Biological Basis For Race?

National Public Radio Broadcast
January 15, 2010

The 2010 census form has a box to check for race, but what do the categories mean? Some scientists say there’s no biological basis for dividing people into races. Others say race can be an important marker for disease. Host Ira Flatow and guests look at the science of race.

Guests:

Esteban González Burchard, MD, associate professor, Departments of Bioengineering, Therapeutic Sciences and Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, Calif.

Pilar N. Ossorio, associate professor of law and bioethics, University of Wisconsin, School of Law and School of Medicine, Madison, Wis.

Alan Goodman, past president, American Anthropological Association, co-director, The Race Project, vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty, Hampshire College, Amherst, Mass.

To read a transcript of this NPR broadcast: Click Here.