What would you give to see a breathing woolly mammoth? Or a flight of passenger pigeons? For all the damage humans have done to the planet, science may be offering a way to bring animals back from extinction. Some researchers and environmentalists are exploring how to combine the DNA of lost species with their living relatives. But would this be resurrection or dangerous reinvention? Wednesday, we're talking about the ethics and implications of "de-extinction" with essayist Nathaniel Rich and science writer Brian Switek.
Nathaniel Rich is a novelist and an essayist. His article The Mammoth Cometh appeared in the New York Times. His latest book is called Odds Against Tomorrow: A Novel [Amazon|Indiebound]. He's joining us from New Orleans.
Brian Switek is the author of My Beloved Brontosaurus [Amazon|Indiebound]. He blogs for National Geographic at Laelaps and has written about de-extinction here and here. He is based in Salt Lake City.
