Media

Over the years I've been regularly contacted by journalists asking for comments for articles about genealogy and DNA testing. I've also appeared a few times on radio and TV.  The following is a list (though not guaranteed to be complete) of my various media appearances and the articles where I've been cited.

2022

• Does Gail Ritchey belong in prison? by by Ariel Ramchandani, Mother Jones, 24th March 2022.
• Killer in the family tree? DNA sites could be used to track down suspects by Josh Salisbury, Evening Standard, 4th August 2022.
• Guest on the Bill Buckley show to talk about family history and the Berkshire Heritage Fair. BBC Radio Berkshire, 4th August 2022.
• How police are using DNA from ancestry websites to catch murderers by Boris Starling, The Telegraph, 2nd October 2022.

2021

• Read this before you buy a genetic testing kit by Catherine Roberts, Consumer Reports, 2nd February 2021.
• Your DNA test could send a relative to jail by by Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, New York Times, 27th December 2021.

2020

• You can learn a lot about yourself from a DNA test. Here's what your genes cannot tell you by Libby Copeland, Time, 2nd March 2020.
• DNA sequencing to find our roots and solve cold cases, the ethics of DNA databases with Debbie Kennett.  The Genetics Podcast Episode 32, 3rd March 2020.
• Your DNA test could crack a cold case by Emily Mullin, Medium OneZero, 11th March 2020
• Genealogy websites lead police to criminals by Mark Bridge, The Times, 16th March 2020. The article references our paper in FSI Genetics An empirical investigation into the effectiveness of genetic genealogy to identify individuals in the UK.
• Can I trust DNA ancestry tests? CrowdScience podcast from BBC Sounds presented by Alex Lathbridge, 23rd March 2020. Isobel Steer of BioNews reviewed the podcast here.
• Genetic genealogy caught the Golden State Killer but is it ethical? by Steve Boggan, The Independent, 3rd July 2020.
• Why a data breach at a genealogy site has privacy experts worried by Heather Murphy, New York Times, 1st August 2020.
• Best ancestry tests for 2020, by Justin Jaffe, CNET, 23rd November 2020.

2019

• Privacy fear over DNA used to find ancestors... and criminals by Fred Greaves, The Times, 2nd January 2019
• DNA and family history live webinar interview with Alex Cox of Findmypast and David Nicholson of Living DNA. Recording available on YouTube.
• Talking Headlines with Debbie Kennett. Interview by Silvia Paracchini, The Headlines, 10th January 2019.
• Genetics extends the long arm of the law by Erika Check Hayden, Knowable Magazine, 18th January 2019.
• One of the biggest at-home DNA testing companies is working with the FBI by Salvador Hernandez, BuzzFeed News, 31st January 2019.
• Guest appearance on the Andrew Peach show to talk about Francis Drake and DNA testing, BBC Radio Berkshire, 29th January 2019. (Starts at 1 hour 36 minutes).
• People are seeking sperm donors online but are the risks worth it? by Clare Wilson, New Scientist, 30 January 2019.
• Is the FBI watching your DNA? Guest appearance on The Insight podcast hosted by Razib Khan and Spencer Wells, 6th February 2019
• An abandoned baby's DNA condemns his mother by Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic, 13th March 2019.
• Home DNA testing firm will let users block FBI access to their data by Adam Vaughan, New Scientist, 13 March 2019.
• We tried to find 10 BuzzFeed employees just like cops did for the Golden State Killer by Peter Aldhous, BuzzFeed News, 9th April 2019.
• A researcher needed three hours to identify me from my DNA by Kristen V Brown, Bloomberg News, 12th April 2019.
• 'Ban DNA family searches to protect sperm donors' by Mark Bridge, The Times, 23 April 2019. The story was also picked up by the Daily Mail.
• The arrest of a teen on an assault charge has sparked new privacy fears about DNA sleuthing by Peter Aldhous, BuzzFeed News, 15 May 2019.
• This genealogy database helped solve dozens of crimes. But its new privacy rules will restrict access by cops by Peter Aldhous, BuzzFeed News, 19 May 2019.
• What's my real identity? by Damian Garde, STAT, 22nd May 2019.
• NatGeo discontinues Genographic ancestry kit sales, will shutter service by end of 2020 by Justin Petrone, GenomeWeb, 7 June 2019.
• DNA site that helps cold-case sleuths curbs access for cops by Kristen V Brown, Bloomberg News, 10th June 2019.
• Genealogy companies could struggle to keep clients' data from police by Tina Hesman Saey, ScienceNews, 10th June 2019.
• The death of the family secret by Jeffrey Young, HuffPost, 14th June 2019.
• How a third of people conceived using sperm or egg donors are at risk of finding the truth from DNA testing websites by Victoria Allen, Daily Mail, 15th June 2019.
• Woman discovers she was result of secret affair after tracking dad with home DNA kit by Nada Farhoud, Mirror, 25th June 2019. The story was also reported in the Scottish Daily Record.
• Not everyone on 23andMe will get the latest gene chip updates by Elena Lacey, Wired, 16 July 2019.
• Experts speak out on direct-to-consumer genetic testing by Shaoni Bhattacharya, BioNews, 22nd July 2019.
• Complaints about AncestryDNA and 23andMe sent to UK data watchdog by Adam Vaughan, New Scientist, 27th July 2019.
• There's no such thing as anonymity by Meghana Keshavan, STAT, 11th September 2019.
• Guest appearance on BBC Watchdog with Nikki Fox to discuss DNA ancestry testing. Series 42 Episode 5, 10th October 2019.
• Guest appearance on the Sarah Walker show on BBC Radio Berkshire to talk about cousin matching and DNA for genealogy, 16th October 2019. (Starts at one hour 42 minutes)
• Genetic privacy attack could reveal DNA secrets from genealogy sites by Adam Vaughan, New Scientist, 24th October 2019.
• Guest appearance on the Sarah Walker show on BBC Radio Berkshire to discuss family history, the Berkshire Family History Society and the Battle of Waterloo, 27th November 2019.
• A DNA firm that caters to police just bought a genealogy website by Megan Molteni, Wired, 9th December 2019.
• DNA site GEDmatch sold to firm helping US police solve crime by Adam Vaughan, New Scientist, 10th December 2019.
• New owner of consumer DNA database GEDmatch vows to fight police search warrants by Jon Schuppe, NBC News, 10th December 2019.
• DNA site that thawed cold cases sold as forensic business booms by Kristen V Brown, Bloomberg News, 11th December 2019.
• 'Most people don't realise the power of these tests and the can of worms they open' by James Murray, Daily Express, 31st December 2019.

With Nikki Fox after being interviewed for BBC Watchdog.

2018

• How DNA testing botched my family's heritage, and probably yours, too. By Kristen V Brown. Gizmodo, 16th January 2018. 
• Guest on the Phil Kennedy show on BBC Radio Berkshire, 25th January 2018.
• Guest on You and Yours with Winifred Robinson on BBC Radio 4, 22nd February, 2018. A clip from my interview is available online here.
• Privacy fears over 'flawed' DNA tests by Mark Bridge. The Times, 16 June 1018.
• The unlikely crime fighter cracking decades old murders? A genealogist by Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 16 July 2018. 
• Greeks investigating their roots through DNA testing by Yiannis Papadopoulos, Ethathimerini.com, 31 July 2018.
• DNA heritage tests might not be as accurate as you think by Mark Daalder, Detroit Free Press, 5 October 2018.
• 'Everyone will be potentially identifiable': booming DNA testing means no identity is hidden on the web by Kristen V Brown, Bloomberg, 11 October 2018.
• Most people of European ancestry can be identified from a relative’s DNA by Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic, 11th October 2018.
• Guest with Paul Stuart on the Stephen Nolan show, BBC Radio 5 Live 20th October 2018. (Starts at 1 hr 37 mins).
• How taking a home genetics test could help catch a murderer by Zoë Corbyn, The Observer, 1st December 2018. 

2017

• You and Yours. BBC Radio 4, 25th May 2017. 
• Can genealogy DNA tests really help you find your family and where you are from? The Courier Mail, 23 October 2017. 
• TasWeekend: Science is helping find the answer to the question ‘Who are you?’ Mercury, 18th November 2017. 
• Trust me I’m an artist with Larry Achiampong and David Blandy. Arts Catalyst Centre, 7th December 2017. 

2016

• There’s nowt so British as Yorkshire folk, DNA map of the nation reveals by Sean O'Neill, The Times, 28th July 2016. 
• Video review: The DNA Journey (Momondo) by Matthew Thomas, BioNews, 31st October 2016.
• This DNA ancestry company is telling its customers "mostly total bollocks" about their ancestors by Tom Chivers, BuzzFeed News, 4th December 2016.

2015

• The Business of Genetic Ancestry presented by Dr Adam Rutherford. BBC Radio 4, 26th May 2015.

At BBC Broadcasting House in London with Adam Rutherford.

2012

• Traditional surnames are becoming extinct: farewell to the Footheads and Pauncefoots. Daily Telegraph, 18 November 2012.