“Your genes are a blueprint. But they are not your destiny”

Evolutionary biologist. Surgeon. Oncologist. Physician. Plastic surgeon. A masters in medical law and ethics. Scientist. Author. Storyteller. Social entrepreneur.

“Open heart(ed) surgeon”, in the words of TIME magazine.

These should be an impossible-enough roster.

But the landscape of Sharad Paul’s imagination doesn’t fall into neat disciplinary grooves. And in this conversation, the polymathic author and surgeon – he’s a New Zealander who’s won his country’s highest medical honour and is often called Renaissance Man – takes a rollercoaster ride through our evolutionary and genetic makeup, and decodes how they shape everything from our allergies and food cravings to procrastination and impulsiveness, and even how many cups of coffee a day we can get away with.

Sharad’s new book, The Genetics of Health, is – to quote the Pulitzer-winning writer Siddhartha Mukherjee, “an exhilarating journey through the shifting landscape of genetics, health and evolution”, a window into your future self and your future wellbeing, so do yourself a favour. Watch the session. Buy the book.