Episode: How Ben Lamm is Bringing Back The Extinct

ShowNotes

Ben Lamm is the co-founder and CEO of Colossal Biosciences, a company using genetic engineering, computational biology, AI, and reproductive technologies to tackle one of science’s biggest challenges: bringing extinct species back to life while helping protect the species still here.Ben joins Tom and Kyle to unpack the journey from his Texas upbringing and five successful entrepreneurial ventures to a conversation with renowned geneticist George Church that eventually became Colossal. He explains the science behind the company’s dire wolves, shares what it felt like to hear a howl that hadn’t been heard in thousands of years, and breaks down Colossal’s work on woolly mammoths, red wolves, and other species.

The conversation also explores conservation, the potential applications of genetic technologies to human health, the ethical boundaries of editing life, and why Ben believes Texas can become a major hub for the next generation of science and technology.

In This Episode

[03:22] Inside Colossal’s Mission to Reverse Extinction

[06:22] Ben Lamm’s Texas Roots & Entrepreneurial Journey

[17:19] Betting Early on AI, Defense & Space

[24:32] The Conversation That Started Colossal

[28:37] The Reality of Entrepreneurship

[31:37] How De-Extinction Actually Works

[35:37] Bringing Back the Dire Wolf

[46:23] Using De-Extinction Technology to Save Endangered Species

[55:45] The Race to Bring Back the Woolly Mammoth

[01:10:18] The Ethics & Future of Genetic Engineering

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