Some of our relatives can put us at greater risk of Covid-19 (and we’re not talking about the anti-maskers). Turns out pieces of Neanderthal DNA can increase our chances of getting sick with coronavirus. 

Click above to hear part 1 of Neanderthal in the Family, featuring Svante PääboEvolutionary geneticist and Director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

Neanderthal in the Family:
Part 1: Svante Paabo / Neanderthals and COVID
Part 2: Doyle Stevick and Beverly Brown / Sticking up for Neanderthals
Part 3: Rebecca Wragg Sykes / Neanderthal Life
Part 4: Alysson Muotri / Neanderthal Brains

Podcast also available on PocketCasts, SoundCloud, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, and RSS.

2026 Webby Award Nominee
for our three part series on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

Big Picture Science is an immersive radio show and podcast that reveals the unexpected connections in science.

Our Skeptic Check episodes take a critical look at extraordinary science claims and pseudoscience.

Don’t settle for a science snapshot. Get the big picture. 

Hosted By

Molly Bentley Executive Producer and Co-Host, Big Picture Science  

Seth Shostak Producer and Co-Host, Big Picture Science
Senior Astronomer, SETI Institute

Latest episodes