THIS IS AN ONLINE EVENT.

Guests who pre-order a book at the time of registration will also receive temporary access to a post-event recording of this one-of-a-kind conversation. Reserve your spot early!

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Curing disease, defeating viruses, changing the structure of life— Jennifer Doudna and the story of CRISPR is the tale of humanity’s future itself. Joining us at Kepler’s for an in-depth conversation on March 17th, biographer and journalist Walter Isaacson turns his powerful pen to the history, future, and ethical questions of gene editing, perhaps the most important science of our day.

Researchers have studied DNA since the 1860s. But until Doudna’s team cracked the code, the methodical manipulation of the DNA molecule was the genetic Holy Grail. Now it has introduced ethical questions we’re just beginning to grapple with. How far, and in what ways, is it acceptable to tweak the makeup of bodies and lives? Do we build superior physiques— and according to whose definition? Do we prioritize some human traits and discard others? How do we apply all this to the animals and plants we exist alongside?

Walter Isaacson, international bestselling biographer of Einstein, Kissinger, Franklin, and Jobs, adds this fascinating story to his long resume. The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race tracks Doudna’s transformation from curious teen to groundbreaking scientist and Nobel Prize co-winner, and on to world leader in genetic ethics. Join Kepler’s journalist-in-residence Angie Coiro as she welcomes Isaacson for an evening of absorbing storytelling, examining the complex questions that will carry us into the future.

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