Is De-extinction Really Possible?

De-extinction. It’s not a word many of us were thinking about just a decade ago, but it’s one that we’re getting ever more familiar with. The de-extinction company Colossal Biosciences has set its sights on de-extincting 5 key species whose extinction is thought to have either been caused, or heavily contributed to, by humans: the woolly mammoth, thylacine, dodo, moa, and dire wolf. By their definition of “functional de-extinction,” they’ve already brought back the dire wolf, and have set a goal to see a living, breathing mammoth by 2028, but what do they mean by de-extinction, and what can it realistically achieve? In this episode of The Big Questions, writer Rachael Funnell goes on a deep dive into de-extinction, speaking with Colossal’s co-cofounder Ben Lamm, chief science officer Beth Shapiro, and chief animal officer Matt James. We also hear from historian Professor Sadiah Qureshi, author of Vanished: An Unnatural History Of Extinction, who raises some interesting questions we should all be asking ourselves as this curious new branch of science marches on – both in its efforts to bring back creatures from the past, and to prevent further extinctions in the future.

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Is De-extinction Really Possible? is an episode from IFLScience - The Big Questions by IFLScience.

This episode is 41:03 long.

This episode was published on Sep 25, 2025.

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