playing god?

Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics

Life and death dilemmas. New medical technologies. Controversial treatments. In playing god? we hear from the patients whose lives were transformed—and sometimes saved—by medical innovations and the bioethicists who help guide complex decisions. Ventilators can keep critically ill people alive, but when is it acceptable to turn the machines off? Organ transplants save lives, but when demand outpaces supply, how do we decide who gets them? Novel reproductive technologies can help people have babies in ways that are far beyond what nature allows. So, when should these “Brave New World” technologies be introduced, and who should control them?  playing god? is a production of the Berman Institute of Bioethics at Johns Hopkins University. New episodes drop every Tuesday. The Berman Institute has created a guide for each episode where you can learn more about the guests, the history, and the ethics issues at: bioethics.jhu.edu/playing-god

  1. To Infinity and Beyond—At What Cost?

    3d ago

    To Infinity and Beyond—At What Cost?

    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.

    25 min
  2. I Need You To Help Me Die

    May 19

    I Need You To Help Me Die

    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.

    30 min
  3. Coming soon: playing god? Season 2

    Season 2, Episode 1 Trailer

    Coming soon: playing god? Season 2

    Life and death decisions. Difficult tradeoffs. “playing god?” explores ethical dilemmas in health and medicine through the first-person stories of people who have lived them. Brought to you by the Dracopoulos-Bloomberg iDeas Lab at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. New episodes weekly starting May 19.

    2 min
  4. Prequel: The God Squad

    12/12/2023

    Prequel: The God Squad

    Back in the 1960s, a committee of seven Seattle residents met regularly to decide which patients with chronic kidney disease were “worthy” of life-saving dialysis.  Whoever wasn’t selected by the committee would likely die within months. An exposé of this so-called “God Squad” helped spark the formation of a new field: bioethics. In this prequel to playing god?, we’ll find out how this committee made life-and-death decisions, and why something like it is unlikely to happen again.  Show Notes: This episode features interviews with:  Richard M. Mizelle, Jr., Associate Professor of History, University of Houston Kate Butler, Assistant Professor of Nephrology, University of Washington School of Medicine The God Squad was just one of many notable cases that led to the formation of the field of bioethics. The Hastings Center, a bioethics research institute, has compiled a timeline of many of the most famous cases and their impact. Check it out here.  The Berman Institute has also collected oral histories– first hand accounts of the doctors, philosophers, lawyers and other scholars who were involved in many of these cases. You can explore that collection 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.

    21 min
  5. The Future of Baby-Making

    12/05/2023

    The Future of Baby-Making

    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?  Show Notes: This episode features interviews with: Amander Clark, Professor, Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology,  University of California, Los Angeles I. 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 School In 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.

    34 min
  6. Miracle Drugs, Million Dollar Price Tags

    11/28/2023

    Miracle Drugs, Million Dollar Price Tags

    Cheryl Yoder’s son Jase, was born with an incurable rare disease called spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), which meant he was unlikely to live beyond two years old. Jase managed to get a spot in a clinical trial for an experimental drug. It halted the disease and allowed him to grow up as an active little boy–a miracle cure.   A growing list of uniquely tailored drugs can treat, and even cure, some debilitating and fatal diseases. But often these so-called “miracle drugs” can cost a fortune. In this episode: why miracle drugs cost so much, why it’s so hard to do anything about the costs and how challenging it is to work towards equitable access for patients who can benefit from them. Show Notes: In addition to Cheryl Yoder, this episode features interviews with: Tom Crawford, Co-Director, Muscular Dystrophy Association Clinic and Professor of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Holly Fernandez Lynch, Assistant Professor of Medical Ethics and Health Policy, University of Pennsylvania You can learn more about spinal muscular atrophy, learn about the latest research, and find resources for those affected by the disease 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.

    32 min
  7. An Off Switch For Depression?

    11/21/2023

    An Off Switch For Depression?

    For years Brandy Ellis had tried everything to treat depression but nothing worked. Then one day she heard about something called deep brain stimulation, a brain implant that treats some neurological conditions. This technological intervention–that changed her life–also raises ethics questions. Because brain implants have the potential to change our personalities and our performance– where do we draw the line? Are we giving such devices too much control over who we are by using them to alter fundamental human traits like our emotions? Note: This episode contains references to suicide.  If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, there are resources that can help you. In the US, dial 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis lifeline for free 24/7 confidential support from a trained listener. Or text SAVE to 741741 to reach a trained helper at the Crisis Text Line. Show Notes: In addition to Brandy Ellis, this episode features interviews with:  Patricio Riva Posse, Associate Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine Karen Rommelfanger, Founding Director, Institute of Neuroethics; CEO, Ningen Neuroethics Co-Lab;  Senior Faculty Fellow, Emory University Center for Ethics (previously director of the Neuroethics Program); Adjunct Associate Professor,  Departments of Neurology, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine. You can learn more about deep brain stimulation (DBS) 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.

    28 min
  8. Creating One Life to Save Another

    11/14/2023

    Creating One Life to Save Another

    When Laurie Strongin’s son Henry was born with the rare, often fatal disease of Fanconi anemia, doctors told her that the best way to save his life was with an umbilical cord blood transplant from a genetically matched sibling. But Henry had no matching siblings. Laurie and her husband then got a call from a doctor with a novel idea of combining three technologies to create a child who was guaranteed to be a genetic match, raising the question: is it ethical to create a life in order to save another? Show Notes: In addition to Laurie Strongin, this episode features interviews with: John Wagner, Co-Leader of the Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Program, Professor in the Division of Transplant and Cell Therapy in the Department of Pediatrics, and the McKnight-Presidential Endowed Chair, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplantation & Cellular Therapy, University of Minnesota Jeffrey Kahn, Andreas C. Dracopolous Director of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics You can learn more about Fanconi anemia, learn about the latest research, and find resources for those affected by the disease here. You can read more about the Strongin-Goldbergs’ and the Nashes’ stories in this New York Times article from 2001.  Laurie Strongin went on to found the Hope for Henry Foundation, which works with hospitals to help provide support and better care for pediatric patients. 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.

    29 min
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About

Life and death dilemmas. New medical technologies. Controversial treatments. In playing god? we hear from the patients whose lives were transformed—and sometimes saved—by medical innovations and the bioethicists who help guide complex decisions. Ventilators can keep critically ill people alive, but when is it acceptable to turn the machines off? Organ transplants save lives, but when demand outpaces supply, how do we decide who gets them? Novel reproductive technologies can help people have babies in ways that are far beyond what nature allows. So, when should these “Brave New World” technologies be introduced, and who should control them?  playing god? is a production of the Berman Institute of Bioethics at Johns Hopkins University. New episodes drop every Tuesday. The Berman Institute has created a guide for each episode where you can learn more about the guests, the history, and the ethics issues at: bioethics.jhu.edu/playing-god

Information

  • Creator
    Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    14
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. Any use of this intellectual property for text and data mining or computational analysis including as training material for artificial intelligence systems is strictly prohibited without express written consent from the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics
  • Show Website
    playing god?

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