Jennifer Lahl

What this episode covers

Albert Camus writes about ethics, “A man without ethics is a wild beast loosed upon this world.” And while I think we’d be hard-pressed to find someone who denies the importance of ethics, the practice and application of ethics can get tricky when related to cultures and disciplines in which we’re not as knowledgable. Specifically, I'm thinking of the world of science and medicine. Conversations about right actions or decisions are often clouded by conflicting analysis of data points between voices whose degrees and expertise seem well beyond or above the capacities of “average” folks like myself. How do I talk about whether or not a procedure or medication is good or bad when I don’t understand the first thing about the medicine or the science behind it? Meanwhile, ethical decisions are made regularly in those spaces, sometimes by folks who don't recognize those decisions as ethical at all. Jennifer Lahl is the founder and president of The Center For Bioethics and Culture Network. Her work means diving headfirst into the oftentimes murky and turbulent waters where Science, religion, and politics mix together, a place most folks quite honestly would rather avoid or even run from. As you’ll learn in my conversation with her, Jennifer Lahl isn’t most folks.