2015-06-02
57 分钟That's the idea.
That shows we're one big family.
And that cliche is true.
We're all one big family.
And maybe if we see this more concretely, that we'll.
We'll be a little kinder to each other.
That's sort of the idealistic hope.
What if every person on the planet was actually your cousin?
What if there was a single family tree that existed online where you could literally go there, punch in your name, and a little bit more information, and track how you were related, related to almost every person on earth?
That is the absolutely gargantuan task that acclaimed author AJ Jacobs is working on right now.
Well, he's actually building the biggest family tree that's ever existed in history.
Now, there's some really interesting benefits and scary things about this.
For example, if you wanted to get in touch with somebody famous, it might be a little bit easier if you could kind of call them up and say, hey, you're my cousin.
We should hang out.
Then again, if you're looking to get romantically involved with somebody, if everyone's your cousin, that might provide a whole different set of challenges.
AJ Jacobs is renowned for having done these incredible, intensive, year long experiments that have produced books that have swept the mindset and the attention span of millions of people.
Really funny, really informative.
And in fact, this summer, he's launching the biggest global family reunion in history.
These are all things that we're going to explore in today's conversation.
I'm Jonathan Fields.