Your At-Home DNA Test Could Crack a Cold Case

The hit podcast Bear Brook detailed how genetic genealogy—the use of DNA testing in conjunction with family-tree mapping—helped identify the perpetrator of a horrific crime in New Hampshire more than three decades ago. The same technique helped capture the notorious Golden State Killer and has led to the identification of both victims and perpetrators of other cold crimes—at least 23 in 2018 alone.

But the method also raises new questions. Now, your consumer DNA test results could implicate a third cousin you’ve never met in a crime. Do we have an obligation to protect our families' privacy? Should there be strict limits on how law enforcement can use genetic genealogy? Join Future Tense for a conversation on the cutting edge of crime solving, featuring experts on DNA, law enforcement, and privacy.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University.

Participants: Jason Moon, Reporter, New Hampshire Public Radio and Host, Bear Brook; Nila Bala, Associate Director, Criminal Justice & Civil Liberties and Senior Fellow, R Street Institute; and John Fitzgerald, Chief of Police, Chevy Chase Village Police Department. Moderated by Rebecca Lavoie, Digital Director, New Hampshire Public Radio and Host, Crime Writers On...