Talking Biotech with Dr. Kevin Folta

Colabra•www.colabra.app

Talking Biotech is a weekly podcast that uncovers the stories, ideas and research of people at the frontier of biology and engineering. Each episode explores how science and technology will transform agriculture, protect the environment, and feed 10 billion people by 2050. Interviews are led by Dr. Kevin Folta, a professor of molecular biology and genomics.

Last refreshed: July 11th, 2025 at 10:29 PM ⓘ

Follow this podcast in the Metacast mobile app to refresh it and see new episodes.

Follow on

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

RSS

Podcasts are better in Metacast mobile app

Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more

Episodes

Biotechnology in Uganda; Reflections on a Public Discussion

This week features two discussions with fellows serving in the Global Leadership Program of the Cornell Alliance for Science. The first part is a discussion with Nassib Mugwanya, Outreach Leader for the Ugandan Biosciences Information Center. He discusses the state of biotech solutions in Uganda, both in terms of critical needs and the current pipeline. The second part is a discussion about the public Ask Me Anything event that was held near the university where I served as a panelist. Jayson Me...

Sep 12, 2015•59 min•Ep. 16

Tomatoes! Innovative Breeding and a Biotech Solution

This episode is an introduction to tomatoes, popular fruits that provide great variation to the eye and palate, as well as the foundation of many recipes. Surprisingly, tomatoes are fragile fruits and the plants can be difficult to grow. They are under constant attack from pests and pathogens, and new varieties must deliver profits for growers and beautiful, flavorful fruits for industry and the consumer. Tomato improvement is happening in several ways. Dr. Sam Hutton is an Assistant Professor a...

Sep 05, 2015•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 15

Biotech Solution to Citrus Greening Disease; Your Questions Answered

This week’s Talking Biotech features discussion of Huanglongbing (HLB) also known as Citrus Greening Disease. The disease is devastating Florida citrus, and is causing a massive hardship on the State’s iconic industries. We are joined by Ricke Kress from Southern Gardens Citrus, one of the largest producers and processors. Southern Gardens has experienced massive losses from citrus greening, losing over 800,000 trees. They are now in the process of deregulating the first genetically engineered c...

Aug 29, 2015•59 min•Ep. 14

Kevin Folta — Monsanto Outreach Support, FOIA, Transparency

This week I had to address the elephant in the room. What’s up with the recent flack about Monsanto funding a science communication outreach program? What is happening with FOIA? What is the future of the Talking Biotech science communication program? Yes, I actually went on a vacation-vacation, first time since April 2002. And it was in a place with no cell signal or internet access. # COLABRA Talking Biotech is brought to you by Colabra – an R&D platform that brings your lab’s world-changi...

Aug 23, 2015•48 min•Ep. 13

Genetically Modified Mosquito Control – Careers in Plant Breeding

This week’s podcast discusses Kevin Folta’s public records situation for 60 seconds. That is followed by a talk with Dr. Andrew McKemey from Oxitec in Oxford, England. Oxitec has a technology that allows rearing of male mosquitoes that transmit a gene that disrupts offspring from developing. This technology has been show to work field situations, providing potential solutions to mosquito-borne disease. Dr. McKemey describes the technology and addresses ecological concerns. In the second part Dr....

Aug 15, 2015•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 12

Success or Failure? Good Study Called Bad, Bad Study Called Gold.

This week’s podcast is an important analysis of two published reports. First, the results from the famous Rothamstead wheat trial show that their transgene does not confer resistance to aphids, inconsistent with their laboratory findings. While this outcome was considered to be a successful, reliable answer, it was billed as an abject failure on anti-biotech activist websites. Today we revisit the issues of publication and peer-review, and the story of the threats of vandalism against the experi...

Aug 01, 2015•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 11

Saving the American Chestnut; Lettuce History and Modern Improvement

This Talking Biotech Podcast features Dr. William Powell from SUNY, where he is co-Director of the American Chestnut Research and Restoration Project. The American Chestnut was a dominant forest tree in Appalachia until the late 1800’s when it was destroyed by disease. Dr. Powell’s project has used a transgenic approach to confer resistance to the disease, with the goal of repatriating the forest with this dominant tree species. Dr. Richard Michelmore from UC-Davis talks about lettuce history, g...

Jul 25, 2015•1 hr•Ep. 10

Don’t Let Dr. Oz Tell YOUR Story– Teaching the Public about Farming

Ag professionals know their businesses and on-farm practices better than anyone. However, they don’t tend to share their story in public space, allowing others (including unscrupulous hucksters and activists) to warp their reality. How do we get the real experts excited about communicating about new technology, and how it is used on the farm? New innovations in crops and animals stand to improve productivity and quality of farm products, with benefits to farmers, the consumer and the environment...

Jul 21, 2015•47 min•Ep. 9

Sustainable Salmon; All ‘Bout Bananas

Salmon is an outstanding food for protein, and undeniably great table fare. The AquaBounty company has produced the AquaAdvantage salmon, a fish that grows to production size in less time. This means the same amount of healthy fish using less food, labor, water, and other limited resources. Dave Conley speaks about the salmon, how the trait works, it’s deregulation, and addresses questions about safety and containment. The second part of the podcast visits with Professor Pat Heslop-Harrison, whe...

Jul 17, 2015•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 8

Stopping Avian Flu Spread; Potato Origins

This episode of Talking Biotech features stories of genetically engineered chickens that do not spread the avian influenza virus. This year over 45 million birds have died or have been euthanized because of illness from the avian flu. Prof. Helen Sang of the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, Scotland is part of the research team that engineered chickens using a clever strategy– they can catch the virus and become ill, but they do not transmit it. She discusses the technology and its hurdles to comm...

Jul 11, 2015•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 7

← Prev

Hosted on Transistor

For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android