environmental influences

Twins are used to fielding all sorts of questions, like "Can you read each other's minds?" or "Can you feel each other's pain?" Two of our Planet Money reporters are twins, and they have heard them all.

But it's not just strangers on the street who are fascinated by twins. Scientists have been studying twins since the 1800s, trying to get at one of humanity's biggest questions: How much of what we do and how we are is encoded in our genes? The answer to this has all kinds of implications, for everything from healthcare to education, criminal justice and government spending.

Today on the show, we look at the history of twin studies. We ask what decades of studying twins has taught us. We look back at a twin study that asked whether genes influence antisocial behavior and rule-breaking. One of our reporters was a subject in it. And we find out: are twin studies still important for science?

(Note: This episode originally ran in 2019.)

Our show today was hosted by Sally Helm and Karen Duffin. It was produced by Darian Woods and Nick Fountain. It was edited by Bryant Urstadt.

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Raphael Rowe is the host of Worlds Toughest Prisons on Netflix, the worldwide-hit show that takes us inside the toughest penitentiaries on the planet. It’s a world he knows well, wrongfully convicted of murder, he spent twelve years in maximum security prisons before he proved his innocence and was released. In a conversation that goes into more depth about how he survived twelve years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit than he ever has before, Raphael bares all about the son he’s never spoken to, how he kept going against all the odds, what the experience taught him about life, and about himself. But what’s striking about Raphael’s story is it’s often the simple things that get us through the difficult moments. A good relationship, exercise, self awareness. Raphael really illustrates how control over basic components of self and social awareness help people survive in even the toughest environments. Raphael: Instagram - https://bit.ly/3UAADV1 Twitter - https://bit.ly/3zN84vK  Website - https://bit.ly/3E4N9Xz  Follow me: https://beacons.ai/diaryofaceo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices