There is probably no one who has done more scientific work on the genetics of race than Dr. Joseph L Graves. Dr. Graves has been writing, thinking, and doing research on this topic for almost 30 years. In the midst of a national uprising of anger and frustration at the continued systemic racism in this country and around the world, this conversation probes the scientific reality that there is no genetic basis for race and addresses some common misconceptions as well. 

We split our conversation up into two parts. In this first part Dr. Graves tells the story of his journey through higher education, which was not without hardships. Then, as a precursor to talking about the genetics, we discuss some basics of evolution and what it even means to be a species or a subspecies.

Dr. Graves is the author of The Emperor’s New Clothes and The Race Myth.

Need a refresher on Evolution? Check out Evolution Basics, an introductory series on the BioLogos website.

Hear Dr. Graves on the Science Vs podcast episode on race.

Find a conversation about this episode on the BioLogos forum.