The Daily Folgen

The police identified a suspect in a double murder after combing through DNA profiles on a website designed to connect family members. We look at what his trial will tell us about the future of genetic genealogy in solving crimes. Guests: Heather Murphy, a New York Times reporter, spoke with CeCe Moore, a genetic genealogist, and Curtis Rogers, a creator of the genealogy website GEDMatch. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Background reading: The case of William Earl Talbott II, who is accused of killing a Canadian couple in Washington State 32 years ago, could result in legal precedents involving the use of genetic genealogy techniques by law enforcement. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

A year after police used a genetic database to help identify a suspect in the Golden State Killer case, the same technique has been used to arrest dozens of people. Now, for the first time, one of those cases is headed to trial. In Part 1 of a two-part series, we look at the tool that is transforming law enforcement and testing the limits of privacy. Guests: Heather Murphy, a New York Times reporter, spoke with Curtis Rogers, a creator of the genealogy website GEDMatch; Peter Headley, a detective with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department; and Barbara Rae-Venter, a genetic genealogist. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.Background reading:Using a technique that relies on DNA submitted to online genealogy sites, investigators have solved dozens of violent crimes. But some question the ethics and legality of the technique.GEDMatch, a free site that began as a side project, has upended how investigators across the country are approaching cold cases.Read about how genetic sleuthing through GEDMatch helped a woman who had been kidnapped as a child recover her identity. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

Dr. Robert Grant developed a treatment — a daily pill known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP — that could stop the AIDS crisis. We look at why that hasn’t happened. Guests: Dr. Grant, who has been working on H.I.V. treatment and prevention for over 30 years, and Donald G. McNeil Jr., a science and health reporter for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Background reading: Gilead Sciences, the maker of Truvada, the only drug approved to prevent H.I.V. infection, will donate enough of the drug to supply 200,000 patients, but critics questioned the company’s motives.The high cost of drugs remains a major obstacle to ending the AIDS epidemic.Here’s more information about PrEP from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.