#1248 Carles Lalueza-Fox - Identity: What DNA Can Tell Us About Ourselves

May 1, 2026

Carles Lalueza-Fox, director of Barcelona’s Natural Science Museum and paleogeneticist who helped sequence ancient human genomes, joins to explore genetic identity. He discusses human genetic variation, what ancestry tests actually reveal, twins and lookalikes, sex versus gender, kinship and royal endogamy, and why notions of pure populations and race are scientifically flawed.

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ADVICE

Interpret Direct To Consumer Ancestry Results Carefully

Treat consumer ancestry reports cautiously because companies use opaque reference datasets and methods.
Lalueza-Fox warns interpretation varies by company sample composition, so small African representation yields unreliable fine-scale calls.

INSIGHT

Identical Twins Carry Small Genomic Differences

Identical twins are rarely 100% genomic clones; sequencing shows small early embryonic mutations create differences.
Lalueza-Fox cites studies finding on average ~5 differences and sometimes up to ~20 new mutations between monozygotic twins.

ADVICE

Question Small Twin Studies In Behavioral Genetics

Be skeptical of small-sample behavioral genetics claims from twin studies because of replication and environmental confounds.
Lalueza-Fox cautions many twin studies have low sample sizes and identical-environment effects that bias estimates.

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Dr. Carles Lalueza-Fox is Director of the Natural Science Museum in Barcelona. He participated in the Neanderthal Genome Project and led the first retrieval of the genome of an 8,000-year-old European hunter-gatherer. His latest book is Identity: What DNA Can Tell Us About Ourselves.

In this episode, we focus on Identity. We talk about identity from the perspective of genetics. We discuss how much genetic variation and similarity we find across humans; identical twins and behavioral genetics; the genetics of look-alikes; sex determination, sexual development, and gender; kinship genetics; and the genetics of royals and endogamy. We also talk about the ideas of “pure” populations and “race”, racism, and the political misuse of genetics; and how there is so much human interconnectedness. Finally, we discuss the future of genetic identity.

A HUGE THANK YOU TO MY PATRONS/SUPPORTERS: PER HELGE LARSEN, BERNARDO SEIXAS, ADAM KESSEL, MATTHEW WHITINGBIRD, ARNAUD WOLFF, TIM HOLLOSY, HENRIK AHLENIUS, ROBERT WINDHAGER, RUI INACIO, ZOOP, MARCO NEVES, COLIN HOLBROOK, PHIL KAVANAGH, SAMUEL ANDREEFF, FRANCIS FORDE, TIAGO NUNES, FERGAL CUSSEN, HAL HERZOG, NUNO MACHADO, JONATHAN LEIBRANT, JOÃO LINHARES, STANTON T, SAMUEL CORREA, ERIK HAINES, MARK SMITH, JOÃO EIRA, TOM HUMMEL, SARDUS FRANCE, DAVID SLOAN WILSON, YACILA DEZA-ARAUJO, ROMAIN ROCH, YANICK PUNTER, CHARLOTTE BLEASE, NICOLE BARBARO, PAWEL OSTASZEWSKI, NELLEKE BAK, GUY MADISON, GARY G HELLMANN, SAIMA AFZAL, ADRIAN JAEGGI, JOÃO BARBOSA, JULIAN PRICE, HEDIN BRØNNER, FRANCA BORTOLOTTI, GABRIEL PONS CORTÈS, URSULA LITZCKE, SCOTT, ZACHARY FISH, TIM DUFFY, SUNNY SMITH, JON WISMAN, WILLIAM BUCKNER, LUKE GLOWACKI, GEORGIOS THEOPHANOUS, CHRIS WILLIAMSON, PETER WOLOSZYN, DAVID WILLIAMS, DIOGO COSTA, ALEX CHAU, CORALIE CHEVALLIER, BANGALORE ATHEISTS, LARRY D. LEE JR., OLD HERRINGBONE, DAN SPERBER, ROBERT GRESSIS, JEFF MCMAHAN, JAKE ZUEHL, MARK CAMPBELL, TOMAS DAUBNER, LUKE NISSEN, KIMBERLY JOHNSON, JESSICA NOWICKI, LINDA BRANDIN, VALENTIN STEINMANN, ALEXANDER HUBBARD, BR, JONAS HERTNER, URSULA GOODENOUGH, DAVID PINSOF, SEAN NELSON, MIKE LAVIGNE, JOS KNECHT, LUCY, MANVIR SINGH, PETRA WEIMANN, CAROLA FEEST, MAURO JÚNIOR, TONY BARRETT, NIKOLAI VISHNEVSKY, STEVEN GANGESTAD, TED FARRIS, HUGO B., JORDAN MANSFIELD, CHARLOTTE ALLEN, PETER STOYKO, DAVID TONNER, LEE BECK, PATRICK DALTON-HOLMES, NICK KRASNEY, RACHEL ZAK, DENNIS XAVIER, CHINMAYA BHAT, RHYS, ALEX MACLEOD, HAIDAR, JULIEN PORCHER, ROBERT SUNDSTRÖM, JON STEWART, AND JENNY M!

A SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PRODUCERS, YZAR WEHBE, JIM FRANK, ŁUKASZ STAFINIAK, TOM VANEGDOM, BERNARD HUGUENEY, CURTIS DIXON, THOMAS TRUMBLE, KATHRINE AND PATRICK TOBIN, JONCARLO MONTENEGRO, NICK GOLDEN, CHRISTINE GLASS, IGOR NIKIFOROVSKI, PER KRAULIS, ADAM HUNT, ANTHONY DI LORENZO, AND JOÃO BARBOSA!

AND TO MY EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS, MATTHEW LAVENDER,SERGIU CODREANU, AND GREGORY HASTINGS!